How Liquid Biopsy Is Becoming Standard of Care with Rita Shaknovich, CMO, Agilent

In this episode of Mendelspod, Theral welcomes Dr. Rita Shaknovich, Chief Medical Officer in Agilent’s Life Sciences and Diagnostics group, for a high-level and deeply insightful look at where liquid biopsy technology stands today.

With her background in hematopathology and molecular diagnostics, Rita brings clarity to a field that has long promised transformation—and is now delivering. “It’s not the future anymore. It’s actually here,” she says. Liquid biopsy has moved beyond the buzzword phase and is increasingly integrated into both clinical trials and standard care for cancers like non-small cell lung cancer.

We talk about why fluids are such a powerful source for diagnostics, with Rita reminding us, “Sixty percent of our body is water.” Sampling these accessible fluids not only makes for less invasive testing but also captures the heterogeneity and clonal evolution of diseases like cancer better than traditional biopsies.

Rita also offers a tour through the latest technology advances, from target enrichment chemistry to the rise of multiomic platforms, including Agilent’s Avida portfolio. “There are 30 million CpG sites in the genome that can be methylated,” she explains, highlighting why DNA methylation is such a rich source of diagnostic information.

She discusses the operational hurdles labs face in adopting liquid biopsy—chief among them being assay complexity and staffing—and how automation and customizable panels are easing the way.

The show concludes with a call to action: "We are very slow often as a medical community adopting new tools. I hope we will democratize access as the clinical evidence grows.”

Bonus: To go deeper, listeners are invited to attend a GenomeWeb webinar on July 8th, presented by Dr. Nicola Normanno, a leading voice in the liquid biopsy space.

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