Development and Application of Biomarkers

First introduced to biomedical research in 1980, the term biomarker has taken on a life of its own in recent years and has come to mean a number of things. In biomedical science, biomarker has evolved to most commonly mean a characteristic that can be used either as a diagnostic or a prognostic, but most significantly as a screening indicator for pathologies that tend to be somewhat silent prior to overt clinical display.

Applying scientific rigor, as well as a disciplined approach to nomenclature, Roger Lundblad's Development and Application of Biomarkers rationalizes the current enthusiasm for biomarkers with the use of well-established clinical laboratory analytes in clinical medicine. Highly respected for his work as both a classical protein scientist and as a pioneer in proteomics, Dr. Lundblad catalogs various biomarkers recognized in clinical medicine and, where possible, matches the expectations for advances in screening technologies with the realities of statistical analysis. More specifically, this important reference:

• Details an extensive list of biomarkers for various stages of a number of cancer types including ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, and breast cancer
• Looks at how proteomics is used for the discovery and validation of biomarkers
• Explores the use of microarray technology, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography, and computational bioinformatic approaches for the discovery and use of biomarkers
• Examines the use of cells and cell fragments as more complex biomarkers
• Organizes a host of significant biomarkers and essential research by type and use in a series of readily accessible tables

Throughout this volume, Dr. Lundblad encourages consideration of biomarkers more as a concept than as laboratory analytes, emphasizing the relation between the discovery of a biomarker and the biology underlying its production. Ultimately, it is a thorough understanding of that underlying biology that will lead to the development of assays that are robust and reproducible, as well as clinically significant.

Roger L. Lundblad is a highly accomplished expert in protein science and proteomics. He is well known for the rigorous application of classical protein science to more modern approaches and the development of a wealth of viable and practical applications. Dr. Lundblad is a native of San Francisco, California. He received his undergraduate education at Pacific Lutheran University and his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry at the University of Washington. After post-doctoral work in the laboratories of Stanford Moore and William Stein at the Rockefeller University, he joined the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1968 attaining the rank of Full Professor in 1976 He joined the Hyland Division of Baxter Healthcare in 1990.

Currently Dr. Lundblad is an independent consultant and writer in biotechnology in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He is an adjunct Professor of Pathology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Editor-in-Chief of the Internet Journal of Genomics and Proteomics. He has authored and edited numerous books that focus both on advances in proteomics and modern applications as well as on the fundamentals of protein science. He recently co-edited Handbook of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Fourth Edition.