# The next generation of liquid biopsies: Predictive and pharmacologic biomarkers

> **NIH NIH R50** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2024 · $104,101

## Abstract

Project Summary:
The laboratory of Dr. Joshua Lang is focused on targeting treatment resistant PCa through developing new
biomarkers for precision medical strategies using liquid biopsies; discovering novel vulnerabilities in PCa; and
translating these discoveries and biomarkers into clinical trials. Dr. Jamie Sperger has been an integral part of
Dr. Lang’s laboratory for the past 11 years and has contributed to 3 NCI funded RO1 projects and co-authored
24 publications. Together, Drs. Lang and Sperger have developed novel liquid biopsy assays which helped
identify persistent Androgen Receptor (AR) signaling in men treated with AR signaling inhibitors (ARSIs) due to
complex genomic alterations, including AR gene rearrangements, amplifications, and mutations that can be
detected in liquid biopsies. Currently Dr. Sperger leads two NCI funded projects in the Lang laboratory. The first
project “Molecular regulation of Trop-2 in advanced prostate cancer: Biomarkers and therapeutic niches”
(R01CA276269) aims to leverage liquid biopsies as a tool to better understand which patients might benefit from
Trop-2 targeted therapies. The second project titled “Enhancing epigenetic analysis of rare cells with multi-phase
microfluidics” aims to develop novel methods to detect epigenetic changes by developing new methods using
technology co-developed with the laboratory of Dr. David Beebe. Dr. Sperger is uniquely qualified to lead these
projects, with over a decade of experience with assay development for liquid biopsies using microfluidics.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10977893
- **Project number:** 1R50CA293840-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** Jamie M Sperger
- **Activity code:** R50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $104,101
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10977893

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10977893, The next generation of liquid biopsies: Predictive and pharmacologic biomarkers (1R50CA293840-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10977893. Licensed CC0.

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