Nanosensor blood test to spot early pancreatic cancer fingerprints
Official title: Machine Perception Nanosensor Array Platform to Capture Whole Disease Fingerprints of Early Stage Pancreatic Cancer
Funded at Georgia Institute of Technology · NIH-11469630 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will use a nanosensor blood test to detect early-stage pancreatic cancer by reading a disease 'fingerprint' in patient serum.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Georgia Institute of Technology NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Atlanta, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2022 |
| Project end | November 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $243,137 |
| NIH project number | 5R00EB033580-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11469630 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are adults at high risk for or being evaluated for pancreatic cancer who can provide blood samples.
✕Less likely to help
People without pancreatic disease or those with advanced metastatic cancer are less likely to gain direct benefit from this early-detection-focused work.
What this research studies
You would give a small blood sample that researchers would expose to an array of nanosensors made from DNA-stabilized carbon nanotubes. Each sensor captures patterns of molecular binding to create a unique 'fingerprint' that may reflect disease-related changes in the blood. The team will build large datasets and apply machine perception algorithms to distinguish early pancreatic cancer from normal samples and to discover new biomarker signatures. The goal is to improve early diagnosis and guide future clinical testing.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could enable earlier and more accurate blood-based detection of pancreatic cancer, improving chances for timely treatment.
How similar studies have gone: Existing markers like CA19-9 are clinically used but have limited accuracy, and sensor-array approaches such as this are novel and remain largely experimental with limited clinical validation so far.
Where this research is happening
-
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kim, Mijin — Georgia Institute of Technology
- Study coordinator: Kim, Mijin
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.