The Merker Laboratory is focused on translating novel molecular biomarkers into clinical oncology practice. The overarching goal of this work is to improve the care and survival of patients with cancer. The biomarker development life cycle is a challenging multistep process, and our group works on projects at each step, including:
- Molecular biomarker discovery
- Molecular oncology assay development and evaluation
- Evaluation of clinical validity and utility of biomarker in cancer clinical trials
- Clinical test validation
Our group is highly collaborative and applies genomic, genetic, bioinformatic, informatic, statistical, and molecular approaches. Current projects in the laboratory involve supporting correlative genomic testing for clinical trials, expanded clinical applications of RNA sequencing, and cell free, circulating tumor nucleic acid assays. We have successfully translated genomic and other molecular testing into clinical practice and are actively developing other assays for future application.