May 2023: Ebenstein: A new approach for cancer diagnostic using blood test

Prof. Yuval Ebenstein, Edmond J. Safra affiliate (Chemistry), is developping a new diagnostic platform for blood cancers. The Ebenstein lab has received a €8.5M grant from the EU for this project, called Sanguine, which aims to create a liquid biopsy test that can classify different types of cancers using epigenetic markers found in the blood. The test will use a custom microarray, together with a novel computational pipeline, to analyze these markers. The goal is to make the test available in clinical settings within three years. Importantly, the technology developed in Ebenstein lab supports the analysis of a large number of markers simultaneously, making it more cost-effective than other methods, such as sequencing. Ultimately, it is expected that the cost of each such test will be around $30, making it competitive in comparison with other diagnostic methods.

Prof. Ebenstein was interviewed about this project in the Israeli TV channel 13 news.