1. In your view, what are the most significant recent trends and advancements in immuno-oncology and biomarker science — particularly those that are reshaping how we discover, develop, and evaluate cancer therapies?
Bright red-shifted and colour-shifting near-infrared bioluminescence systems have been developed which are as versatile as standard the firefly bioluminescence system but can light two types of cell or gene pathway simultaneously in vivo, e.g. in cancer (like T-cell CAR research), stem-cell research, mRNA technologies, gene therapy and countless other biomedical fields, non-invasively and longitudinally with greater quantifiability and better imaging rendering than ever before.
2️. Without giving too much away, what key takeaways should our audience anticipate from your presentation — and how might these insights contribute to accelerating clinical impact in IO/ biomarker development?
We have developed new brighter dual-colour near infrared enzymes that utilise infraluciferin to mark two types of cell or gene that can be imaged simultaneously in vitro and animals using standared imaging equipment. The output of our new enzymes equals the light output of bright analog aminoluciferin and we are developing even brighter variants, and those that allow triple parameter bioluminescence imaging in vitro and in vivo.
