Ryan Van Laar Ph.D. Email & Phone Number

Melbourne, Vic, Au

Melbourne, Vic, Au

Geneseq Biosciences is the product of 20+ years in the field of cancer genomics, assay development and delivery of clinical services. Continuous technological advances, coupled with lessons learned along the way, have inspired me to pursue a goal of highly accurate and widely available, genomic tools to help doctors diagnose and improve the lives of people living with cancer.

Main functions: Provide overall direction and management of Signal Genetics’ laboratory operations, evaluate and implement new technologies, manage change and process improvement work. With the help of an outstanding team, I ensure the reliability and quality of Signal Genetics' proprietary microarray based "MyPRS" assay. This multi-gene assay combines flow cytometry, gene expression analysis and advanced bioinformatics to determine a patient's prognosis, molecular subtype and virtual karyotype. From fresh tissue to QC-reviewed physician report in 1-2 weeks, performed in our CLIA and CAP certified high throughput diagnostic laboratory. In addition to these functions, I provide support to our sales and marketing department and am actively involved in efforts to grow the business, adhere to budgets and foster relationships with collaborators and commercial partners. Another major part of this role is evaluating and integrate new technologies (microRNA, NGS, RNAseq) to as appropriate to develop new assays to assist in prognostication or targeted therapy response prediction. Relevant publication: van Laar, Ryan; Flinchum, Rachel; Brown, Nathan; et al (2014) Translating a gene expression signature for multiple myeloma prognosis into a robust high- throughput assay for clinical use. BMC Medical Genomics, 2014, 7(1):25. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1755-8794/7/25

Signal Genetics provides detailed, personalized diagnostic results that can assist cancer patients and their physicians in determining the best course of treatment.As Head of Bioinformatics & New Product Development I am overseeing a growing team of analysts and also supervising our CLIA approved laboratory in Little Rock, Arkansas. We are implementing new laboratory protocols and quality control procedures, automated online reporting of diagnostic results and working to have our flagship assay, MyPRS Plus (Myeloma Prognostic Risk Score), approved and reimbursed by more organizations nationally and internationally.Our pipeline consists of a number of multi-gene assays aiming to improve diagnostic, prognostic and treatment-response-prediction options people diagnosed with cancer. My role involves signature/gene discovery, coordinating of validation activities (internal studies and collaborative efforts), billing/reimbursement activities and many other aspects involved in translating scientific discoveries into clinically useful products.

ChipDX develops and delivers novel multi-gene diagnostic and prognostic assays for oncology. The aim of the company is to increase access to advanced, well-validated predictive and prognostic assays, through collaborations with existing diagnostic service providers and also through our modular, online HIPAA-compliant genomic data analysis platform: www.ChipDX.comCurrently we have created personalized multi-gene tests for: - Assessing the quality of a patients genomic profile to ensure reliable and accurate results - Identifying the pimary origin of metastatic or poorly differentiated tumors, - Predicting recurrence in patients diagnosed with early stage breast, lung or colon cancerRelated publications:1. Van Laar RK: An online gene expression assay for determining adjuvant therapy eligibility in patients with stage 2 or 3 colon cancer. British journal of cancer 2010, 103(12):1852-1857.2. Van Laar RK: Design and Multiseries Validation of a Web-Based Gene Expression Assay for Predicting Breast Cancer Recurrence and Patient Survival. The Journal of molecular diagnostics : JMD 2011.3. Van Laar R: Genomic signatures for predicting survival and adjuvant chemotherapy benefit in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. BMC Medical Genomics 2012, 5(1):30.

Tarrytown, New York, Us

Genomic data analysis and interpretation for high throughput oncology and angiogenesis projects, including collaborative identification of novel therapeutic targets. Sourcing and management of large-scale multi tissue genomic and clinical datasets. Modeling and prediction of potential toxicity, tissue recovery and dose-response for a range of novel, targeted therapeutics. Use of R, Bioconductor, Medcalc, dChip, Genespring BRB Arraytools, & various statistical packages. Assisting with manuscript preparation, conference presentations and consulting on experimental design, analytical approaches, biostatistics and technology development.

Irvine, Ca, Us

Development of novel diagnostic and prognostic multi-gene assays for cancer using custom gene expression microarrays & machine learning algorithms. Experience with internally-developed and externally sourced assays for breast, colon and unknown primary cancer. Bioinformatics, biostatistics, database development and programming. Quality control and laboratory automation. Process documentation, manuscript preparation, conference presentations, assistance with regulatory affairs.Relevant publications:1. Glas, A.M., et al., Gene-expression and immunohistochemical study of specific T-cell subsets and accessory cell types in the transformation and prognosis of follicular lymphoma. J Clin Oncol, 2007. 25(4): p. 390-8.2. Horlings, H.M., et al., Gene Expression Profiling to Identify the Histogenetic Origin of Metastatic Adenocarcinomas of Unknown Primary. J Clin Oncol, 2008. 26(27): p. 4435-4441.3. Kok, M., et al., Comparison of gene expression profiles predicting progression in breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen. Breast Cancer Res Treat, 2008.4. van Laar, R.K., et al., Implementation of a novel microarray-based diagnostic test for cancer of unknown primary. Int J Cancer, 2009. 125(6): p. 1390-1397.

Au

Melbourne, Australia2 years in Pathology Department (Research Assistant) 3 years in Research Department (Bioinformatics Development & Support).* Microarray data analysis, data management, assessment of new software algorithms and tools, database & web site development.* Genomic data analysis training, manuscript and patent preparation, conference presentations. * Laboratory methods performed included tissue culture, PCR and CGH.Relevant publications:1. Eckhardt, B.L., et al., Genomic analysis of a spontaneous model of breast cancer metastasis to bone reveals a role for the extracellular matrix. Mol Cancer Res, 2005. 3(1): p. 1-13.2. Holloway, A.J., et al., Options available--from start to finish--for obtaining data from DNA microarrays II. Nat Genet, 2002. 32 Suppl: p. 481-489.3. Peart, M.J., et al., Identification and functional significance of genes regulated by structurally different histone deacetylase inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2005. 102(10): p. 3697-3702.4. Ritchie, M.E., et al., Empirical array quality weights in the analysis of microarray data. BMC Bioinformatics, 2006. 7: p. 261.5. Tothill, R.W., et al., An expression-based site of origin diagnostic method designed for clinical application to cancer of unknown origin. Cancer Res, 2005. 65(10): p. 4031-4040.

I began working at the CSIRO Animal Health laboratory as a part time communications department intern, helping with the preparation of print and web-based scientific information. After this I became a laboratory research assistant role in the Immunology department, working on a range of projects, including characterization of the Hendra virus attachment protein.Related publications:1. White, J.R., et al., Location of, immunogenicity of and relationships between neutralization epitopes on the attachment protein (G) of Hendra virus. J Gen Virol, 2005. 86(Pt 10): p. 2839-48.

Postgraduate Certificate, Biostatistics

Phd, Biotechnology, Molecular Oncology

Bsc (Hons), Biotechnology