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Source: University of Houston, written by Laurie Fickman; research by Wei-Chuan Shih (University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering) (November 12, 2026). AI-generated summary by biochip.com, published . Not independently reviewed.
Key takeaways
- A $2.5 million NIH grant will move University of Houston researcher Wei-Chuan Shih’s exosome-analyzing chip toward clinical testing.
- Planned studies will evaluate detection in high-risk patients and examine people with early-stage HCC after liver transplants.
- The grant supports planned testing; the reported work does not establish that the chip detects cancer in patients.
University of Houston engineer Wei-Chuan Shih is developing a light-based chip to look for signs of liver cancer in tiny particles circulating in blood. A new $2.5 million National Institutes of Health grant will support moving the technology toward clinical testing, including studies in people at high risk and patients monitored after treatment. The approach aims to detect cancer earlier and track its return without relying on an invasive tissue biopsy.
A chip that reads particles in blood
The platform uses a specially engineered chip with metasurfaces, structures designed to interact with light, to detect and analyze exosomes. These microscopic particles are released by cells into the bloodstream and carry molecular material from the cells they came from.
Shih, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Houston’s Cullen College of Engineering, is designing the system to isolate and examine individual exosomes directly from blood plasma, without extensive purification. Researchers can then look for cancer-related molecular markers in the particles. The chip is intended to make those signals easier to identify, including signals that conventional screening might miss in early disease.
What the grant will support
The five-year NIH award will help researchers move the technology toward clinical testing. Plans include evaluating whether it can detect liver cancer in high-risk patients and studying people with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC, after liver transplants. HCC is the most common form of primary liver cancer, and nearly 90% of cancers originating in the liver in Texas, excluding bile duct cancers, are HCC.
The proposed blood test could also help monitor people at elevated risk, including some with cirrhosis, in which scar tissue replaces healthy liver tissue. Researchers are also interested in using it to identify recurrence after treatment. These are goals for evaluation, not established clinical uses.
Why earlier detection matters
The difference between finding liver cancer early and finding it late can be substantial. The American Cancer Society figures cited by the university put the five-year survival rate at 22% overall, 37% when the disease is detected early, and less than 5% when it is diagnosed in later stages.
The need is especially pressing in Texas, which the Texas Department of State Health Services reports has the nation’s highest rates of liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancers. The university also notes that Texas HCC rates have remained elevated or continued to rise even as rates across the country began to decline after peaking around 2015.
What comes next
The new award brings Shih’s total funding for the technology to $8 million across three NIH grants and a grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The planned clinical studies will test whether the chip’s exosome measurements can help identify liver cancer in the intended patient groups. The grant supports that next step, but the technology’s ability to detect cancer in patients has not yet been established in the reported work.
Topics: Cancer
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