Partnership with Oxford Nanopore Technologies will support development of RNA liquid biopsy for cancer early detection
https://news.ucsc.edu/2026/06/kim-lab-oxford-nanopore-liquid-biopsy/
Publish Date: 2026-06-25 16:04:00
Source Domain: news.ucsc.edu
Esophageal cancer, which is cancer of the swallowing tube, has only a 22.2% five-year relative survival rate, but early detection and intervention can greatly improve outcomes. That’s why Daniel Kim, an assistant professor of biomolecular engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is developing a technology for early detection called an RNA liquid biopsy that screens for cancer, and even abnormal “precancerous” cells, using a simple blood draw.
Now, Kim’s lab has entered a research partnership with Oxford Nanopore Technologies, a leading company in DNA and RNA sequencing technology. Through this collaboration, Oxford Nanopore supports the development of Kim’s RNA liquid biopsy technology, with the goal of improving diagnosis and helping identify more precise treatment options for esophageal and other cancers.
“Our long-term goal is not only to detect cancer at the earliest stages, but also to detect these precancerous conditions at very early stages before they become cancerous, so that hopefully we can understand how to prevent cancer in the future,” Kim said. “We are also working on establishing strategic partnerships with global pharmaceutical companies to discover novel drug targets for cancer interception—preventing progression from precancerous conditions to cancer.”
Novel early detection technology based on RNA and nanopore sequencing
Daniel Kim speaks at London Calling, Oxford Nanopore’s flagship annual conference.
Kim’s research focuses on discovering cellular warning signs of cancer long before symptoms appear. In a recent preprint study, Kim and his collaborators Karen Miga at UC Santa Cruz and Rebecca Fitzgerald at the University of Cambridge showed that they can detect early esophageal cancer as well as a precancerous condition called Barrett’s esophagus with their nanopore-based RNA liquid biopsy technology.
Kim’s approach to liquid biopsy is unique in that it looks for…
