Main Host Institution: Amsterdam University Medical Centre (Amsterdam UMC)

Host Lab: Neuro-Oncology Group

Project Title: Comprehensive characterization of nucleic acid compo-sition in TEPs from NSCLC patients

Project Background:  Blood is a rich source of biomarkers which can be used to diagnoses, monitor tumor progression and response to therapy in a minimal-invasive way. Tumor Educated Platelets (TEPs) have shown to be an efficiency biomarker for detect and classify several types of cancers. During my PhD I aim to exploit the potential of TEPs in order develop a liquid biopsy assay for the early detection of NSCLC.

Project Aim:

• Optimize samples processing and compare RNA isolation methods for optimal total RNA recovery from TEPs in order to maximize sample data output.
• Optimize RNAseq-based detection of all RNA types for comprehensive analysis in order to maximize biomarker discovery.
• Identify RNA molecules as potential biomarkers and select optimal detection methodologies for biomarker validation and computational analysis for biomarker validation and computational analysis.