From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with Roman Gelman, CEO and co-founder of eMBR Genomics.
The Madison-based business is developing liquid biopsy tests for cancer and other conditions, “meaning someone can walk into their doctor’s office and from one blood draw, be able to determine if they have a number of cancers or other diseases,” Gelman said.
He discusses the company’s focus on “molecular residual disease” to assess the effectiveness of various treatments for cancer or other diseases. The name eMBR Genomics — pronounced like ember — references mid-body remnants, a leftover cellular material linked to cell division.
“While the body has natural cells that divide, it’s very few … the thing that divides the most is cancer,” Gelman said. “So the mid-body remnant is a very interesting target for research and also diagnostics, and that’s the premise for our business.”
One of the company’s fo-founders, UW-Madison Prof. Ahna Skop, has spent years studying mid-body remnants, and the startup aims to transition the results of her research into a marketable product.
Disease screening would be based on “libraries” of biomarkers that can indicate the presence of cancer, Gelman explains.
“We need to build out those libraries for [mid-body remnants] and that’s what we’re in the process of doing,” he said. “So our partnerships are focused predominantly on that. We know how to isolate them, we know how to analyze them, and then we’re going to be correlating them to those libraries.”
In the coming years, Gelman says the company could help more people identify cancer earlier by offering a less invasive, more affordable testing method.
“That’s what got me into the space … contributing to something that is good for humanity,” he said.
Listen to the podcast and see the full list of WisBusiness.com podcasts.
— UW-Madison has announced Dr. Nita Ahuja will be the next dean for the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and the university’s vice chancellor for medical affairs.
Ahuja, a surgical oncologist, has been the chair of Yale University’s Department of Surgery since 2018 and was the first woman to hold the position, according to the release. She’s also an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and a board member for the Association of American Medical Colleges.
She will succeed current dean Dr. Robert Golden in the spring, after he announced last year that he would be stepping down from the role.
“This is a remarkable opportunity to help lead the state’s flagship institution and the region’s hub for higher education,” Ahuja said in a statement.
See the release below.
— Senate Sergeant at Arms Tom Engels is leaving his post to take a senior position with the Trump administration in the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a letter obtained by WisPolitics.
Engels wrote Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, that he’s been asked to report to Washington, D.C., on Monday to be sworn in. His last day with the state Senate will be today.
Engels, who was the deputy secretary at the Wisconsin Department of Human Services during Scott Walker’s second term as guv, served under Trump during his first term. Along with being an administrator with the Health Resources and Services Administration, Engels was also a member of the White House COVID-19 task force during the last year Trump was in office.
He returned to Wisconsin and became the Senate’s sergeant at arms in mid-2021.
Engels didn’t provide specifics on the new job he is taking in the administration in his resignation letter to LeMahieu. He also didn’t return a call from WisPolitics seeking additional details.
He wrote to LeMahieu it’s been an honor to serve in the sergeant at arms role.
“I have served in the capacity to the best of my ability and have always held the integrity of my duties to the highest level,” he wrote.
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