Research
Biomarkers for Precision Oncology : A. Thierry

Biographical sketch:
Prof. A.R. Thierry has a strong background in synthetic DNA complex formation, notably its use for the in vivo gene therapy he developed for cancer and HIV at the Georgetown University and the US National Cancer Institute, with Dr RC Gallo. He was the principal founder of MedinCell SA (Jacou, France) devoted initially to the development of drug delivery system, in particular for nucleic acids. His area of expertise is particularly applicable to research which focusses on the diagnostic capacity of circulating nucleic acids (cirDNA), and on the development of methods which support personalized medicine. His team has developed an preclinical model model to specifically quantify the different origins of cirDNA, and has demonstrated the importance of short cirDNA fragment detection for high specificity and sensitivity in cirDNA analysis. That observation enabled dominant IP and the design of the IntPlex test. At the Inst. Cancer Res. of Montpellier (INSERM), France, A.R. Thierry coordinated the first prospective blinded multicenter study to offer clinical validation of plasma analysis which detects mutations in cancer patients. Recently, his team was the first to demonstrate the clinical utility of using cirDNA analysis for mCRC patients. His research also focusses on the other potentials of cirDNA, including: (i), in detecting mutations following targeted therapy ; (ii), in developing the Intplex test (a multimarker quantitative analysis of cirDNA); (iii), in the follow-up of CRC patients; (iv), for ctDNA’s prognostic power; and (v) as a screening tool for a universal cancer test. Besides working on the applications of cirDNA as a diagnostic tool in oncology, his team has also been engaged for a long time in basic research programs on cirDNA structure and functions, and has notably demonstrated that most cirDNA derives from neutrophil extracellular traps, either in the presence of invasive microorganisms (such as COVID-19) or of cancer. They also recently discovered the presence in blood of circulating functional cell-free mitochondria. His team is currently coordinating 10 clinical trials (in part funded by 2 European grants) and 3 basic research programs. He is the principal founder of DiaDx SAS (Montpellier), which is devoted to providing liquid biopsy solutions in oncology.