Cha-Mei Tang, ScD, Advances Cancer Diagnostics Through Science, Engineering and Biotechnology Innovation

POTOMAC, Md. — The Dynamo Times highlights Cha-Mei Tang, ScD, for a distinguished scientific and entrepreneurial career spanning electrical engineering, physics, microfabrication, biotechnology and the continuing advancement of blood-based cancer diagnostics.

Dr. Tang is the founder, president and chief executive officer of Creatv MicroTech, a technology company whose work has expanded from advanced microfabrication into cancer diagnostics and screening research. Her professional journey represents an unusual intersection of disciplines — she began her career immersed in electrical engineering and physics, later applied her engineering knowledge to microfabrication, and that technology ultimately contributed to discoveries involving cancer-associated cells circulating in patients' blood.

Dr. Tang's path into cancer diagnostics did not begin in a conventional biomedical laboratory. Her academic foundation was built at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she completed multiple degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, culminating in a Doctor of Science. Her early professional work focused heavily on physics — following her education, Dr. Tang conducted research involving relativistic electron beams and free-electron lasers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, where she eventually became Head of the Radiation and Accelerator Physics Section. Her career also included a period as a visiting scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Dr. Tang founded Creatv MicroTech as a microfabrication company. Microfabrication involves producing extremely small structures and components with a high degree of precision. Although these technologies can be applied across many industries, Creatv's capabilities eventually opened an unexpected path into cancer research. Around 2010, the company developed a microfilter intended to capture circulating tumor cells from blood samples obtained from cancer patients. If cancer-associated cells circulating through the bloodstream could be captured and analyzed, they could potentially provide valuable information about a patient's disease without requiring conventional tissue collection for every analysis.

While examining patient blood samples, the research team observed unusually large cells that had received relatively little attention within conventional cancer research. Dr. Tang and her colleague Daniel L. Adams systematically investigated these cells, and their work indicated that the cells were macrophage-related cells that had engulfed tumor material. The team termed them cancer-associated macrophage-like cells, commonly known as CAMLs. Instead of treating the unusual cells as irrelevant material within a blood sample, the team began investigating whether their presence and biological characteristics could provide useful information about cancer.

Traditional cancer diagnosis and monitoring can involve imaging, tissue biopsies, laboratory tests and numerous other clinical tools. Blood-based diagnostics offer another potential source of information — a blood draw is comparatively accessible and can potentially be repeated at different points throughout a patient's treatment. Creatv's work focuses on cancer-associated cells that can be isolated from blood and evaluated for information relevant to a patient's disease, examining CAMLs and circulating tumor cells across numerous cancer types.

One of the major outcomes of this work is LifeTracDx®, Creatv's blood-testing platform for cancer diagnostics. LifeTracDx is designed around the analysis of cancer-associated cells obtained through a patient's blood. Potential applications described by Creatv include helping physicians evaluate treatment response, monitor changes in cancer-associated biomarkers, provide prognostic information, assist with companion diagnostics and obtain tumor DNA for sequencing. Creatv reports that its technology can provide treatment-response information approximately 30 days after the first dose of therapy in certain applications.

Cancer is not necessarily static — tumors can change, biomarker expression can change, and treatment pressure can influence cancer biology. Creatv's work includes evaluating biomarker expression on cancer-associated cells, including markers relevant to immunotherapy. This approach could provide physicians with additional information as they monitor patients throughout treatment. The broader concept is often referred to as liquid biopsy: obtaining cancer-related information from blood rather than relying exclusively on tissue.

An important step in translating laboratory research toward clinical use has been Creatv's development of its LifeTracDx testing operation. Creatv reports that LifeTracDx blood-testing services are performed through a CLIA-certified laboratory in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey. CLIA certification establishes federal laboratory standards for testing performed on human specimens for health assessment or diagnosis. Creatv is continuing to develop additional diagnostic applications while pursuing appropriate regulatory pathways.

Dr. Tang's career illustrates the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of modern medicine. Engineers build the devices used to isolate cells. Computer scientists analyze large quantities of information. Physicists contribute imaging and measurement technologies. Biologists investigate cellular mechanisms. Clinicians determine how discoveries can ultimately help patients. Dr. Tang's background allows her to operate across several of these disciplines — her expertise in engineering and microfabrication provided the technological foundation that ultimately led her toward biological discoveries.

Dr. Tang's scientific career has resulted in significant professional recognition. She was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1990. In 1992, she received the WISE Award for Science recognizing her as an outstanding woman scientist within the federal government. She became a Senior Member of IEEE in 1995. Her technological work later received an R&D 100 Award in 2006. Creatv MicroTech was also recognized as Bioscience Company of the Year in Montgomery County, Maryland, in 2013.

Dr. Tang and her colleagues have presented their work at professional conferences and published findings involving cancer diagnostics. Creatv's management biography reports that Dr. Tang has contributed to more than 160 journal publications and book chapters. Her work has also generated substantial intellectual property — Creatv reports that she has filed numerous U.S. and international patent applications related to cancer research, resulting in dozens of issued patents.

Transforming a scientific discovery into a functioning biotechnology company requires skills extending beyond laboratory research. As founder, president and CEO of Creatv MicroTech, Dr. Tang operates within both the scientific and entrepreneurial sides of this process — considering intellectual property, regulatory requirements, clinical validation, financing, laboratory operations, product development and business strategy. Her leadership demonstrates how researchers can take discoveries beyond academic publication and work toward real-world applications.

Cancer diagnostics continues to evolve rapidly. Researchers around the world are exploring technologies involving circulating tumor DNA, circulating tumor cells, artificial intelligence, advanced imaging, molecular biomarkers and other forms of liquid biopsy. Dr. Tang's work with cancer-associated macrophage-like cells contributes another potential source of information within that evolving landscape, with her team's research suggesting that these cells may provide insight into cancer biology that was previously overlooked.

The Dynamo Times recognizes Cha-Mei Tang, ScD, for her contributions to cancer diagnostics and for a career demonstrating the power of interdisciplinary science, entrepreneurship and technological innovation.