Biography
At Foundation Medicine, Dr. Hegde oversees clinical product development, cancer genomics, and early-stage research, as well as regulatory and quality assurance, to accelerate advancement of the Company’s leading comprehensive genomic profiling portfolio. She is passionate about innovation in cancer research and translating innovations to precision medicine tools to advance care for patients. Dr. Hegde has spent nearly two decades in the biopharmaceutical industry, with a proven track record in drug development, registration, and commercialization of therapeutics with companion diagnostics in cancer immunotherapy. Prior to joining Foundation Medicine, Dr. Hegde spent 12 years at Genentech. Most recently, Dr. Hegde served as senior director and principal scientist in oncology biomarker development at Genentech, during which she established and led the biomarker group accountable for translational science strategies in cancer immunotherapy. Dr. Hegde was instrumental in the approvals for atezolizumab in both the United States and European Union, as well as its forthcoming diagnostic filings.
The analysis of blood for circulating tumor cells (CTC), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), extracellular vesicles, or more recently, tumor-educated platelets has opened new avenues for cancer diagnostics, including early detection of tumors, improved risk assessment and staging, as well as early detection of relapse to improve patient care. The track will introduce the up-to-date technologies used in liquid biopsy and review the clinical utilities in cancer screening, detection of minimal residual diseases, selection of molecular-targeted drugs, as well as monitoring of treatment responsiveness.
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