UMCUniversity of Massachusetts Chan Medical School · Mathematics & Statistics
Canine Cancer Detection Lab
Elinor Karlsson · Worcester, Massachusetts
Research Focus
Dr. Elinor Karlsson's lab focuses on using pet dogs with spontaneous cancer to improve blood tests that can detect cancer-related genetic changes. By studying how dog cancer mirrors human cancer, the lab aims to develop better techniques for monitoring cancer through blood samples. Their work has the potential to influence how we screen for cancer and monitor its progression in humans.
canine cancerblood biopsycirculating tumor DNAprecision medicinetumor genome evolution
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate the factors that affect the yield of circulating tumor DNA in dogs with cancer.
AIM 02Develop a diagnostic mutation panel for screening cancer patients.
AIM 03Track minimal residual disease and likelihood of relapse in canine cancer models.
AIM 04Assess the concordance between tumor and ctDNA genetic data.
AIM 05Facilitate the rapid translation of findings from canine models to human oncology.
Skills the Lab Values
PCRDNA sequencingbioinformaticsanimal modelslongitudinal study design
Output against the department
Publications192bottom 40% of dept.77th of 131
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations26ktop 20% of dept.26th of 131
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.