The CMO Innovation Laboratory develops assays and platforms for the molecular profiling of tumors — including genetic, epigenetic, proteomic, and metabolomic assays — and associated computational pipelines. These assays can be used in retrospective studies to discover new cancer biomarkers or in prospective clinical analysis to guide treatment decisions and direct patients to promising clinical trials.
In collaboration with the IGO unit, the Innovation Laboratory also evaluates emerging technologies for potential clinical use and partners with MSK’s Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory to ensure that clinical tumor profiling tests meet the federal regulatory standards mandated by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments.
Active areas of research include the optimization of DNA and RNA capture techniques, molecular profiling of challenging clinical samples (including FFPE tissue, small biopsies, cytological specimens, and circulating DNA), single-cell genomics, and single molecule sequencing.