Dr. Olivier Loudig, an associate member at the Hackensack Meridian Health Center for Discovery and Innovation, received the inaugural Emerging Tech Award for his innovative efforts on biomarker discovery for early detection of metastasizing breast cancer and lung cancer, at the 45th annual Edison Patent Awards Ceremony.
The event is sponsored and organized by the Research & Development Council of New Jersey.
Loudig has developed research programs for the discovery of cancer biomarkers, with projects focused on breast, lung, prostate, and bladder cancers.
Working with his senior research associate, Dr. Megan Mitchell, they have designed technologies and received patents for the isolation of circulating extracellular vesicles, and particularly contained in exhaled breath condensates, the analysis of which may facilitate early and non-invasive detection of lung diseases and cancers.
“Refining the threshold of detection” through minute isolation of unique and disease-specific biomarkers is how Dr. Loudig has described his work. Recent peer-reviewed publications of his laboratory’s work has demonstrated the potential of an exhaled-breath test for non-invasive detection of human lung cancer.
Loudig, who joined Hackensack University Medical Center in 2017, and was one of the five founding laboratories to join the CDI at its inception in 2019.
HMH CEO Bob Garrett said the organization is thrilled to have him on the team.
‘This is a major recognition for Dr. Loudig’s innovative, exciting work,” he said. “It is also a fantastic milestone for our health network, which continues to develop bold new ideas to push the envelope for 21st-century health care.”
Dr. Ihor Sawczuk, HMH’s president of Academics, Research and Innovation, founding chair of the Hackensack Meridian Health Research Institute, was equally grateful.
“Olivier Loudig’s work is a great example of the CDI’s science accelerating discoveries into innovations to change lives as soon as possible,” he said.
Dr. David Perlin, the chief scientific officer at CDI, agreed.
“We are thrilled that the discovery and innovation of Olivier Loudig continues to earn support, and accolades, from the scientific community,” he said.
Loudig’s honor is presented to a New Jersey individual, team or organization whose early stage inventions or innovations have the potential to make a significant impact on the marketplace. Individual award winners alongside Loudig included: Computer science pioneer Brian Kernighan, DEVCO President Chris Paldino, Rowan University Provost Anthony Lowman, N.J. Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology Executive Director Judith Sheft.
