ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers have found that artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled spatial analysis can identify patterns in routine pathology slides that may help clinicians identify which patients with pancreatic cancer are at greater risk of recurrence after treatment and surgery.

The study, published in Clinical Cancer Research, suggests that looking at how residual cancer is organized — not just how much remains — could eventually improve estimates of recurrence risk, particularly for patients whose tumors show only a limited response to chemotherapy before surgery.

Patients with a more fragmented, intermixed pattern of cancer and the surrounding tissue, or stroma, had earlier recurrence. The amount of residual cancer alone did not reliably separate patients at higher and lower risk.

"Current pathology assessments largely tell us how much tumor is left after treatment. We wanted to know whether the geography of that remaining cancer could reveal additional biology about recurrence risk," says Ryan Carr, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic oncologist and senior author of the study.

Dr. Carr and his team used an AI tool to identify cancer and stromal regions on standard pathology slides, then measured how those regions formed patches, boundaries and mixed areas to evaluate spatial patterns tied to a higher risk of recurrence. 

Reading the geography of cancer 

The study analyzed tissue from 203 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who received treatment before surgery but showed only a limited pathologic response. The researchers combined an AI-enabled digital pathology platform with methods adapted from landscape ecology to analyze standard hematoxylin and eosin, or H&E, slides. The approach measured tissue shape, fragmentation, and the degree to which the cancer and stroma were intermixed.

The work builds on Dr. Carr's broader research applying ecological principles to cancer. His team uses machine learning and spatial analysis to map the pancreatic cancer ecosystem and study how cancer cells interact with neighboring cells and tissues — relationships that may influence treatment resistance and recurrence.

Two spatial signatures predicted disease-free survival even after accounting for stage, lymph node status, and other established clinical and pathologic risk factors.

In one model, high-risk patients had a 71% higher adjusted risk of recurrence. In another, high-risk patients had more than twice the adjusted risk. These spatial models helped distinguish patients at higher and lower risk when standard measures, including how much cancer remained, did not.

Because the approach uses pathology slides already generated as part of routine care, it could potentially give clinicians additional information to inform recurrence risk without requiring another tissue test.

Linking tumor patterns and immune response 

"What is exciting is that this information is already present in the tissue," Dr. Carr says. "AI-enabled analysis gives us a way to measure features that are difficult to capture by eye and potentially add another layer of precision to how we assess risk after surgery."

The research also found that high-risk spatial patterns contained fewer immune cells within the cancer itself, with immune cells tending to collect around the tumor instead of entering it. The finding underscores the importance of the tumor microenvironment — the cells and tissues surrounding a tumor — in treatment resistance and disease behavior.

More broadly, the work aligns with Mayo Clinic's Precure Research priority to use data and technology to predict risk earlier and create opportunities to intercept serious disease before it advances.

"Our long-term goal is to better identify which patients remain at greatest risk and ultimately use that knowledge to guide more individualized surveillance, adjuvant therapy and clinical trial design," Dr. Carr says.

The researchers say the results are promising but need to be confirmed in prospective studies before this approach could be used to inform clinical decision-making.

The research was supported in part by the Gerstner Family Foundation Career Development Award, the Grand Forks Career Development Award, the Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science, and the ARPA-H ADAPT program. For a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding, review the study. 

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About Mayo Clinic 
Mayo Clinic  is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.  

Media contact: 

• Julie Ferris-Tillman, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu 

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ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers have identified a potential new approach to treating glioblastoma that could help the immune system fight the aggressive brain cancer while improving the effectiveness of existing chemotherapy.

The preclinical research, published in Nature Communications, found that inhibiting the enzymatic activity of a protein called MALT1 can reprogram immune cells surrounding glioblastomas, shifting them from a state that helps protect the cancer to one that promotes an antitumor immune response.

Researchers also found that treatment with a MALT1 inhibitor slowed tumor growth in preclinical models and that combining MALT1 with temozolomide, the chemotherapy most commonly used to treat glioblastoma, enhanced temozolomide effectiveness. In one preclinical model, median survival substantially increased when this chemotherapy was combined with MALT1 inhibition in comparison to treatment with temozolomide alone.

"Glioblastoma is extraordinarily difficult to treat, in part because the tumor is able to manipulate the immune cells around it and create an environment that protects the cancer. Our findings point to a potential approach to disrupting that protection and, importantly, to making an existing treatment more effective," says Juliana (Hofstatter Azambuja) Yerneni, Ph.D., lead author and researcher in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic.

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary cancerous brain tumor in adults and accounts for roughly 5% of malignant brain tumors in children. Despite surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, the cancer remains incurable and almost always returns.

The findings raise the possibility of a future approach that could help patients get more benefit from existing treatments.

"Our goals are to discover how glioblastoma communicates with the immune cells surrounding the tumor in order to dampen the antitumor immune response and to use these discoveries to identify new treatments that enhance antitumor immune response and improve outcomes for patients with this devastating disease," says Linda McAllister-Lucas, M.D., Ph.D., pediatric oncologist, enterprise deputy director for pediatric cancer programs of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center and co-senior author of the study with Peter Lucas, M.D., Ph.D., vice chair for research in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic.

More research is needed to determine which specific subtypes of glioblastoma may be most likely to respond to MALT1-targeted therapy and to evaluate its potential for use in patients.

Review the study for a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:

• Tia Ford, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Mayo Clinic researchers find a way to reprogram immune cells and boost chemotherapy response in glioblastoma appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Fainting became commonplace for Brenda in 2021. She and her husband, John, were so accustomed to what they called "blood pressure crashes" that they developed a routine.  

"I would feel dizzy, nauseated and sweaty, and (I would) alert my husband. He would run for a bucket and a cold compress. I would lie on the ground and get my feet up," Brenda shares.  

John would check her blood pressure. Once she stabilized, they would go about their day.  

Brenda, then 53, attributed the episodes to traveling too much for work or not drinking enough water, especially because many occurred on hot days in her home state of Arkansas.  

"I had an excuse every time," she says.  

But in 2023, as she headed out for a run with John — her favorite leisure activity — Brenda fainted and couldn't get back up. John called an ambulance.  

Watch: Dr. Guru Kowlgi explain cardioneural ablation

Journalists: Broadcast-quality sound bites are available in the downloads at the end of the post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network." Name super/CG: Guru Kowlgi, M.B.B.S./Cardiovascular Medicine/Mayo Clinic.

After extensive testing at the hospital and a review of Brenda's smartwatch health data, her physician found that the fainting episodes coincided with drops in her heart rate. Brenda received a pacemaker, a device implanted under the skin that sends small electrical impulses to the heart to keep it from beating too slowly or pausing too long.   

But the fainting episodes continued. Brenda also experienced fatigue, brain fog, hair loss and inflammation throughout her body.  

"I'd gone from a person with great energy and vitality to someone who struggled to walk. I was trying every remedy possible," Brenda says.  

She tried cold plunges, gluten-free and dairy-free diets, and intermittent fasting. She took 13 different medications and multiple vitamins, and she stopped air travel. Nothing worked. She lived in constant fear that something was seriously wrong with her heart.  

Brenda continued checkups with her local care team. Despite her symptoms, she kept receiving the same report: "Your heart is fine. Your pacemaker is working. You're good." 

In April 2025, before Brenda left to visit her home country of Ireland, a nurse practitioner who had been part of her care team from the beginning expressed concern about Brenda's condition and advised her to seek care elsewhere. The nurse practitioner referred Brenda to Mayo Clinic, and soon afterward, Brenda and John made the 10-hour drive to Rochester, Minnesota. 

Finding the cause of years of fainting 

In September 2025, after months of extensive evaluations at Mayo Clinic, Brenda met Guru Kowlgi, M.B.B.S., a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist. 

She walked into the appointment with little hope, expecting him to deliver the same message she had heard from other physicians: "You're fine. Keep doing what you're doing."  

Instead, Dr. Kowlgi said, "Brenda, we know exactly what the issue is, and we have a plan to solve it." 

"I couldn't believe it. John and I felt relieved to finally have answers," Brenda says.  

Brenda was diagnosed with vasovagal syncope, a common condition that causes fainting when the vagus nerve triggers a drop in heart rate and blood pressure.   

"A pacemaker is usually the last treatment option for patients like Brenda, but it does not solve all their issues," says Dr. Kowlgi.  

Pacemakers treat slow heart rates, which are the result of vasovagal syncope, but do not address the root cause. Thus, Dr. Kowlgi says patients may continue to have lightheadedness, and even faint, and the condition can significantly affect quality of life.  

For Brenda, Dr. Kowlgi recommended a specialized procedure called cardioneuroablation, also referred to as cardioneural ablation. The procedure uses a catheter to target and ablate, or destroy, areas around the nerve cells in the heart that contribute to the abnormal reflex.   

"It is like a recalibration," explains Dr. Kowlgi. "Since the vagus nerve activity is high, we are trying to blunt it and bring it closer to normal."   

Using cardioneuroablation to target the cause  

Dr. Kowlgi first performed cardioneuroablation at Mayo Clinic in 2022 and has helped advance its use for vasovagal syncope.   

Cardioneuroablation builds on techniques used in cardiac ablation procedures to treat heart rhythm disorders. Dr. Kowlgi is among the physicians using the approach to treat vasovagal syncope, including in patients with pacemakers, such as Brenda. 

In 2024, Dr. Kowlgi performed cardioneuroablation for the first time on a patient with an existing pacemaker. "We started building on that experience. I realized there was an opportunity to not only make patients' symptoms better but to remove pacemakers, which can cause a multitude of issues, especially when implanted in young patients who would otherwise live with them for life."  

Brenda underwent the procedure in October 2025. "When I came off the operating table, I could feel my energy coming back. I was out walking within a week," Brenda says.  

Within two months of the procedure, Brenda went from having her pacemaker provide pacing 40% of the time to no pacing, and her symptoms resolved.  

She spent Christmas in Rochester, skiing with her family for the first time in years. In February 2026, Brenda's pacemaker was removed.  

Returning to running, traveling and family life 

As Dr. Kowlgi continues clinical research on cardioneuroablation and its potential uses, Brenda and John are reclaiming their life together.  

"I thought I'd never be able to run another marathon or plan travel with John to see my mum in Ireland, our sons in New York and Kentucky, and visit the last state on our bucket list," Brenda says. "Now I run 3 to 4 miles a day and am about to go on a cruise to Alaska. It's not just me who got my life back, but my family did too." 

The post Innovative heart procedure helps woman reclaim her active life (VIDEO) appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic Platform today announced that its Accelerate program for healthcare technology companies is now available through a multiyear engagement pathway. The inaugural participants of the multiyear track include 12 companies developing artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solutions to enhance care delivery and healthcare operations.

"The Accelerate program was intentionally designed to support digital health companies ready to transform healthcare," says Jamie Sundsbak, director of the Mayo Clinic Platform Accelerate program." As participation continues to grow, the program has evolved to support solutions developers through multiple pathways tailored to their different stages of development."

The multiyear pathway is designed for select companies seeking sustained access to Mayo Clinic Platform's discovery environment, data, technology and expertise. Through an extended engagement, participants can work alongside Mayo Clinic Platform's experts and leverage its de-identified clinical data ecosystem to advance the development and validation of their digital health solutions.

The 12 companies selected as the first participants in the multiyear pathway are developing AI-enabled solutions that leverage clinical data and advanced analytics to transform healthcare.

• Cappsule is an AI-enabled ambient monitoring platform designed to support clinical decision-making through continuous, real-world data capture.
• CerebraAI develops AI-powered software as a medical device that aims to upgrade the diagnostic capability of noncontrast computed tomography imaging, bringing it closer to MRI standards.
• Clair Health is building a women's health intelligence platform grounded in continuous, direct hormone data.
• Durotimi AI is a pioneering healthcare technology company dedicated to transforming cancer care through advanced, localized AI.
• Electrokare is building AI infrastructure for continuous biological intelligence — turning today's snapshot healthcare system into continuous measurement.
• Floe Health is a clinical reasoning engine for hospital case management.
• Koroid is an AI-native operating system for healthcare operations.
• MedLink Global is pioneering AI-powered solutions to transform psychiatric care.
• OPTT Health is a clinically led AI platform for scalable mental healthcare.
• PONS aims to make ultrasound accessible to the mass market by addressing the limitations of high-resolution images in the early stages of disease.
• Radical Health offers a patient-facing second opinion service that allows patients to receive personalized treatment recommendations.
• Respiree is an AI/machine learning health tech company building state-of-the-art, clinically-validated AI for managing disease progression across healthcare's care continuum.

Since its launch in 2022, Accelerate has supported more than 130 companies from around the world. To learn more about the program or to apply for an upcoming cohort, visit Mayo Clinic Platform Accelerate.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

About Mayo Clinic Platform
Mayo Clinic Platform is a strategic initiative of Mayo Clinic that enables collaboration, data-driven innovation and responsible AI development to transform healthcare globally. Mayo Clinic Platform is reimagining healthcare as an ecosystem — one where data, digital solutions and expertise flow seamlessly between innovators and care teams to improve care for patients everywhere.

Media contact:

• Caroline Auger, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Mayo Clinic Platform Accelerate announces inaugural participants of its new multiyear pathway program appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers tested an approach that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help people without previous ultrasound experience capture heart images and identify patients who may have a common and serious heart valve condition. In a study published in JAMA Cardiology and presented at the 2026 ESC Congress, after four hours of training, novice users were able to collect focused heart ultrasound images while using  AI models to guide their image collection and help to analyze the images for signs of moderate or greater aortic stenosis.

Aortic stenosis happens when the heart's aortic valve narrows, making it harder for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body. It affects approximately 7% of people age 75 and older and is the most common reason for heart valve intervention worldwide. People with aortic stenosis may not experience symptoms until the condition is more advanced. Finding the disease earlier can help ensure patients receive appropriate monitoring and care.

"A comprehensive echocardiogram is the standard diagnostic test for aortic stenosis. However, its use is resource-intensive, requiring specialized equipment as well as trained personnel with expertise in both image acquisition and interpretation. These requirements can limit access, particularly in resource-constrained settings, and make comprehensive echocardiography neither feasible nor cost-effective as a broad screening tool," says Gal Tsaban, M.D., Ph.D., a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic and senior author of the study.

"We wanted to see whether combining AI guidance with focused cardiac ultrasound could help people with no previous ultrasound experience capture usable heart images and identify patients who may need further evaluation," adds Jared Bird, M.D., a Mayo Clinic cardiologist who co-led the study.

First, the researchers developed and validated the deep learning algorithm using echocardiograms from patients at Mayo Clinic sites in Arizona, Florida, the Mayo Clinic Health System and Rochester. They evaluated the model's performance on hand-held ultrasound images collected by experienced sonographers.

In the prospective study, nine research staff members with no previous clinical or ultrasound experience used AI guidance to perform focused heart ultrasounds after four hours of training. The staff members were able to use the AI model to analyze nearly 97% of the exams. It helped the researchers correctly identify 93% of patients with moderate or more severe aortic stenosis and correctly rule out 96% of patients who did not have the condition.

About 10% of exams were flagged for review by a heart imaging specialist. The combined approach of AI plus human review reduced false-positive results, but it also meant that some patients with aortic stenosis were not identified.   

Dr. Tsaban and Dr. Bird note that the approach is intended to help people screen for aortic stenosis and determine who may benefit from additional testing. It is not intended to replace a comprehensive echocardiogram or a physician's evaluation. Patients identified as potentially having moderate or more severe aortic stenosis still need comprehensive echocardiography to confirm the diagnosis and determine the severity of the condition.

The findings suggest that putting AI tools in the hands of people with limited ultrasound experience could help more patients access screening for aortic stenosis, particularly in communities where comprehensive echocardiography and trained imaging professionals are less readily available.

A full list of authors, appropriate disclosures and funding sources for this research can be found within the paper: "Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Acquisition and Interpretation for Screening Aortic Stenosis." Mayo Clinic has a financial interest in the technology referenced in this news release and will use any revenue it receives to support its nonprofit mission in patient care, education and research.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:

• Terri Malloy, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post AI-assisted approach helps novice users capture heart ultrasound images, identify aortic stenosis  appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A liver disease affecting nearly 30% of adults worldwide is not a single illness but five biologically distinct subtypes, Mayo Clinic researchers have found. Each carries different risks for heart disease, liver failure, cancer and the need for liver transplantation.

The study, published in Nature Communications and conducted in collaboration with scientists at Virginia Tech, shows that metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease has multiple pathways — some tied to obesity and diabetes, others driven by inherited genetic factors.

Notably, genetic subtypes are associated with a higher risk of progression to advanced liver disease, including in patients without typical metabolic risk factors.

The findings could help identify high-risk patients earlier and guide more precise screening and personalized treatment.

"When clinical and genomic data are analyzed together at this scale, you begin to see patterns of disease progression that would otherwise remain hidden," says Shulan Tian, Ph.D., co-senior author and a bioinformatician at Mayo Clinic. "Once you separate these subtypes, you can start to match treatments to the biology that's actually driving the disease."

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, formerly called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, occurs when fat builds up in the liver. It often develops without symptoms but can progress to inflammation, scarring and irreversible damage. It is a leading cause of cirrhosis, liver cancer and transplantation worldwide.

Decoding liver disease at scale

To uncover these subtypes, researchers integrated genetic sequencing with detailed clinical data from more than 4,600 patients with the disease. The dataset spanned a wide range of measures — from liver enzymes, body mass index and lipid levels to coexisting conditions such as diabetes, depression and sleep apnea.

Using advanced computational modeling, the team identified groups of patients who shared underlying biological signals, defining distinct subtypes of the disease.

"What's emerging here is a way to systematically identify meaningful subgroups within complex disease," says Eric Klee, Ph.D., co-senior author and the Everett J. and Jane M. Hauck Midwest Associate Director of Research and Innovation. "It helps us map complex disease with such precision that we can begin to anticipate its course and intervene before the most serious damage occurs."

The discovery was powered by Mayo Clinic's Research Data Atlas, a platform that connects genetic data with patient records to reveal patterns across large populations — a system Dr. Klee helped build. A key component of the Atlas is the Tapestry Study, which has generated Mayo Clinic's largest collection of exome data from more than 100,000 participants. The dataset captures key genetic information that shapes how diseases develop and progress.

"This is exactly the kind of insight large-scale genomic research was built to deliver," says Konstantinos Lazaridis, M.D., the Carlson and Nelson Endowed Executive Director for the Center for Individualized Medicine who led the Tapestry Study and is a co-author of the research. "When you connect genetic data with detailed clinical information across large populations, you can start to redefine diseases in ways that directly impact patient care."

Liver disease's hidden effects across the body

The study also revealed links beyond the liver. For the first time, researchers found that specific subtypes are associated with conditions such as depression, sleep apnea and migraine, underscoring the disease's broad systemic impact across multiple organ systems.

Next, the team plans to test the approach in broader patient populations and explore how these subtypes respond to different treatments, including therapies such as GLP-1 receptor agonists.

First author Tahmina Sultana Priya, now a Ph.D. student at Virginia Tech, contributed to the research while at Mayo Clinic. For a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding, review the study.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:  

• Kelley Luckstein, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post 5 subtypes of common liver disease discovered — including rapidly progressing genetic forms appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — BioLabs Rochester, MN is building momentum toward its September opening, with leadership in place and recruitment underway for early-stage biotechnology and health technology companies seeking to grow alongside Mayo Clinic and Minnesota's expanding life science ecosystem.

Announced in 2025 and developed through a collaboration among stakeholders Mayo Clinic, BioLabs, Destination Medical Center (DMC) and Mortenson Properties, BioLabs Rochester, MN reflects a shared vision to strengthen the region's innovation ecosystem and support the growth of life science companies in Minnesota. With construction nearing completion and leadership in place, recruitment is now underway for the incubator's inaugural resident companies.

Located in Two Discovery Square at Discovery Square Innovation District, the newly constructed 17,000-square-foot shared laboratory and office facility will support emerging biotechnology and health technology companies developing new diagnostics, therapeutics, medical devices and digital health technologies while advancing the partners' shared vision to grow Rochester as a destination for life science innovation.

As BioLabs Rochester, MN prepares to welcome its first resident companies, BioLabs announces that Carmen Schicklberger, Ph.D., M.B.A., will serve as BioLabs site director, leading facility operations, startup scaling support and innovation network development. Schicklberger joins BioLabs Rochester, MN from the University of Minnesota, where she served as chief operations officer and founder of the Minnesota Bioinnovation Accelerator. She previously held business development and operations roles at startups in biotech, automation and SaaS/diagnostics. 

Geof Hannigan, Ph.D., will serve as Mayo Clinic's director of startup engagement, helping connect BioLabs Rochester, MN resident companies with Mayo Clinic physicians, scientists and business development teams to explore research, clinical and commercialization opportunities. Hannigan brings experience in pharmaceutical research and startup acceleration, including leading the Merck Digital Sciences Studio in Boston before joining Mayo Clinic.

"Rochester offers a unique combination of world-class clinical expertise, a growing innovation ecosystem and a strong commitment to advancing healthcare," says Johannes Fruehauf, CEO of BioLabs. "As we prepare to open our doors, we're excited to establish BioLabs' first Midwest location in a community where entrepreneurs can work alongside leading researchers, clinicians and industry partners. We invite innovative biotech and health tech startups to apply and become part of our inaugural cohort, helping shape a new hub for healthcare innovation in Minnesota."

Application process open

Applications are now being accepted for early-stage biotechnology and health technology companies interested in joining the inaugural BioLabs Rochester, MN community. Companies selected for the incubator will have access to flexible, turnkey laboratory and office space, entrepreneurial programming, and opportunities to collaborate with Mayo Clinic while becoming part of the growing community of innovators and companies at Discovery Square Innovation District.

"BioLabs Rochester represents a significant investment in the people and companies that will shape the future of health," says Patrick Seeb, DMC executive director. "We are grateful to BioLabs, Mayo Clinic and Mortenson for the partnership and confidence required to bring the first BioLabs location in the Midwest to Discovery Square Innovation District. To entrepreneurs developing the next breakthrough in health, our message is simple: This place was built for you. We invite you to apply, join the inaugural BioLabs Rochester community and build your company alongside one of the world's leading medical institutions."

Resident companies will also have access to BioLabs' national network of investors, industry partners and entrepreneurial resources, along with pathways to engage Mayo Clinic expertise through scientific, clinical and commercial collaborations and ecosystem support through Destination Medical Center.

"Innovation happens when great ideas have the opportunity to be tested, refined and translated into solutions that improve patient care," says Andrew Danielsen, chief business development officer, Mayo Clinic. "BioLabs Rochester creates a new opportunity for entrepreneurs to engage with Mayo Clinic's clinical, research and business development expertise, helping accelerate promising technologies from concept toward impact."

Learn more about BioLabs Rochester, MN and the application process here.

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About Mayo Clinic  
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

About BioLabs  
BioLabs is a global innovation infrastructure company creating the physical and community backbone that powers life science discovery worldwide. Through a growing network of premium shared laboratories and coworking spaces, BioLabs provides turnkey access to state-of-the-art research facilities, entrepreneurial programming, and deep industry and capital connections. These integrated ecosystems enable innovators from early-stage founders to established R&D teams to rapidly translate ideas into impact without the constraints of traditional lab ownership. The BioLabs network now spans major innovation hubs across the United States, Europe, and Asia, serving as a catalyst for collaboration and a launchpad for breakthroughs that advance human health and sustainability.

About Destination Medical Center  
Destination Medical Center (DMC) is the largest public-private economic initiative in Minnesota's history. The 20-year plan to transform Rochester into a global destination for health and wellness will attract developers, investors, startups and entrepreneurs to live, work and play in America's City for Health. For more information, visit dmc.mn.

Applications contacts:

• Carmen Schicklberger (primary), BioLabs Rochester MN Site Director, cschicklberger@biolabs.io
• Geof Hannigan, Mayo Clinic Director of Startup Engagement, hannigan.geoffrey@mayo.edu

Media contacts:

• BioLabs, BioLabsRochesterMN@biolabs.io
• Geno Palazzari, Destination Medical Center, Communications Manager, 307-696-9088, genopalazzari@dmceda.org
• Tom Millikin, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu 

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ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered that chemical signals produced by gut bacteria work together to control intestinal movement. One bacterial signal helps set the intestines in motion, while another primes gut cells to respond more strongly, amplifying the effect.

The research expands scientists' understanding of how the gut microbiome communicates with the body, moving beyond the traditional focus on individual bacteria or bacterial molecules.

The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, point to a potential new direction for microbiome-based treatments: restoring combinations of microbial signals rather than targeting a single microbe or molecule. The strategy could have implications for constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, a chronic condition marked by abdominal pain and constipation.

"The gut microbiome is made up of trillions of microbes producing a vast array of chemical messages that interact with cells throughout the digestive tract," says Purna Kashyap, M.B.B.S., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist, director of the Mayo Clinic Microbiomics Program and a senior author of the study. "Deciphering how those signals work in combination gives us a much more precise picture of what is disrupted in disease and what would need to be restored to recover normal function."

How bacterial signals work in combination

Researchers focused on two bacterial molecules: hypoxanthine and butyrate. Earlier Mayo Clinic research found lower levels of both in patients with constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome. That finding led researchers to a deeper question: How do these molecules affect intestinal movement?

In the new study, the researchers found that hypoxanthine prompts specialized cells lining the intestine to release serotonin, a chemical messenger that helps move food through the digestive tract. Butyrate works differently. It primes the cells to respond more strongly to hypoxanthine, amplifying the effect.

These specialized cells, called enterochromaffin cells, serve as hubs where different microbial signals come together. They help the gut receive and respond to multiple chemical messages at once.

Researchers followed that chain of events from what happens inside a single gut cell to how contents move through the intestines. They used laboratory-grown intestinal cells, miniature gut models called organoids, intestinal tissue and genetically altered bacteria to piece together each part of the process.

Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., president and CEO of Mayo Clinic and a co-author of the study, is a gastroenterologist whose research has focused on the mechanisms that control gastrointestinal function.

"We have an opportunity to move beyond managing the consequences of disease and toward restoring function for patients," Dr. Farrugia says. "That starts with answering the unanswered questions we see in our patients and following the biology until we understand the mechanism. With that depth of understanding, we can uncover new possibilities for treatment and ultimately advance new cures."

What's next 

Researchers next want to determine whether identifying combinations of microbial signals that are altered in individual patients could eventually help guide treatment. Future research will explore whether restoring complementary signals can improve intestinal movement, with the longer-term goal of developing more precisely targeted microbiome-based therapies.

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine, Mayo Clinic Microbiome Program and other organizations. One or more of the investigators is an inventor of technology related to this research. For a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding, review the study.

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About Mayo Clinic  
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.  

Media contact:   

• Sharon Theimer, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Scientists uncover microbiome signaling system that could open new paths for IBS-related constipation appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Three new articles from The Lancet Hematology published today examine how clinicians and researchers can better identify, track and measure the effects of blood cancer treatments on patients during treatment and over the long term.

Gita Thanarajasingam, M.D., a Mayo Clinic hematologist and oncologist, leads The Lancet Haematology's Adverse Events Reporting Series. The Series focuses on how clinicians care for people after treatment, how they measure treatment side effects and whether digital tools can help detect and manage those effects in real-world practice.

"Blood cancer treatments continue to become more effective and patients are living longer," says Dr. Thanarajasingam. "Just as we continue to evolve our treatments and detection in cancer, however, we need to evolve how we measure the effects on patients and their lives."

First launched in 2018, the Commission explores how newer treatments can be evaluated and whether new questions and tools can improve assessment. Current models for measuring treatment side effects may not adequately or consistently capture the duration and impact of symptoms on patients' lives. For example, a grading system might rank six months of mild nausea lower than four days of severe nausea without fully accounting for how a persistent symptom affects a patient's daily life.

The articles also examine the need for longer-term assessment. Many treatment studies measure outcomes only through five years after treatment, potentially leaving gaps in identifying and addressing health problems that emerge later. The reports suggest that cancer care should extend beyond treatment and that new approaches could help support patients’ health and quality of life during and after treatment.

The articles also describe how technology could support changes in how treatment effects are measured. Digital tools such as symptom-reporting apps, wearable devices and artificial intelligence could shift cancer safety monitoring from periodic assessments of what has already happened toward more continuous monitoring.

"Technology can enable new standards in care simply because it could offer more and real-time data," says Dr. Thanarajasingam. The report cautions, however, that new technologies are only a valuable catalyst if they are accurate, useful, equitable and built around patients.

"Complete cancer care is driven by the patient and their needs. For every therapeutic advance we make, we must also evolve our assessment standards and take advantage of new information to keep people's full and ideally, long lives at the core of our decision-making," says Dr. Thanarajasingam. "Just as we are now able to better personalize treatments, so, too, should we begin to address the whole person and their long-term needs."

For a complete list of commission members, disclosures and funding, review the articles in The Lancet Haematology.

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About Mayo Clinic
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• Julie Ferris-Tillman, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

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ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic is a clinical collaborator on an award of up to $27.7 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to help develop affordable, scalable gene-editing therapies for children with rare inherited immune disorders.

The project, known as AEGIS, is led by the Innovative Genomics Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, and brings together a consortium of academic, clinical, nonprofit and industry partners.

The five-year initiative aims to advance gene-editing treatments for children with inborn errors of immunity — a group of more than 500 rare genetic disorders that can leave children vulnerable to severe infections, autoimmune disease and other life-threatening complications. Many of these conditions currently have limited treatment options and no cure.

Mayo Clinic will serve as one of three clinical sites participating in the program's planned clinical trials, helping identify, enroll and care for children who may benefit from these investigational therapies.

"By combining advances in gene editing with new ways to deliver treatments, we hope to create therapies that not only treat disease but address its root cause," says Avni Joshi, M.D., chair of Mayo Clinic's Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology and the lead principal investigator for Mayo on the project. "Our goal is to free patients from the burden of ongoing treatments, and ultimately improve the lives of patients and families."

Gene editing seeks to correct the genetic mutations that cause disease. In AEGIS, researchers will use CRISPR-based technologies to repair disease-causing errors in blood-forming stem cells that give rise to the immune system. The goal is to develop one-time treatments that restore normal immune function and potentially provide lasting benefit for children with these rare disorders.

The award reflects Mayo Clinic's growing leadership in genomic medicine, pediatric immunology and next-generation therapies. As a participating clinical center, Mayo Clinic will help evaluate how emerging gene-editing technologies can be safely integrated into patient care and expanded to reach more children with rare diseases.

Mayo Clinic brings expertise in rare immune disorders, pediatric transplantation, and advanced cellular and gene therapies. As a member of the Primary Immune Deficiency Treatment Consortium and a FACT-accredited transplant center, Mayo will help guide the clinical evaluation of these emerging gene-editing approaches.

The AEGIS team will combine advances in CRISPR gene editing, innovative manufacturing approaches and new delivery technologies to make precision genetic medicines more accessible and affordable for patients with ultra-rare diseases. Researchers hope the work will establish a scalable framework that can accelerate the development of treatments for a broad range of rare immune disorders.

The consortium includes researchers and clinicians from the Innovative Genomics Institute at UC Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford University, the University of Utah, Princeton University, the University of California San Diego, Emory University, Danaher Corporation, the Immune Deficiency Foundation and other partners.

The project aligns with ARPA-H's mission to accelerate breakthroughs that improve health outcomes and with the agency's THRIVE program, which seeks to expand access to transformative genetic medicines. While the initial work will focus on several severe inherited immune disorders, researchers hope the platform could eventually support the development of treatments for hundreds of rare genetic diseases, expanding access to precision therapies for patients who currently have few options.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:

• Allison Duran, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Mayo Clinic collaborates on ARPA-H award to advance gene-editing therapies for rare immune diseases appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.