Victor Velculescu

Victor Velculescu pioneered many of the foundational technologies for cancer genome analysis, including SAGE for gene expression profiling and digital karyotyping for detecting chromosomal alterations, and co-led some of the first systematic sequencing of cancer genomes that identified novel oncogenes and tumor suppressors. His laboratory was among the first to demonstrate that circulating tumor DNA could be detected and analyzed from blood samples, founding the liquid biopsy field. He showed that ctDNA analysis can detect minimal residual disease and track tumor evolution non-invasively. His technological innovations have enabled both comprehensive tumor genomics and non-invasive cancer monitoring.