Patents by Inventor JOSHUA M. FRANCIS

JOSHUA M. FRANCIS has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20170369939
    Abstract: Provided are systems, kits, and methods for the quantitative detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms or variants to identify malignant neoplasms. The methods include use of modified oligonucleotide blockers with peptide nucleic acid backbones that hybridize to and block logarithmic amplification of the wild-type alleles of a target, and incorporation of locked nucleic acids into probes that are complementary to a mutant allele of the target sequence to increase specificity. The methods include detection of variants in sequences with high GC content and/or low complexity, such as the TERT promoter, IDH1, BRAF, NRAS, GNAQ, GNA11 and H3F3 A gene variants. The methods include sensitive detection and staging of cancers with low cellularity, and can be used intraoperatively such as for glioma, or to detect cell-free circulating tumor DNA, such as for melanoma.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 22, 2015
    Publication date: December 28, 2017
    Applicants: THE BROAD INSTITUTE, INC., DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE, INC., THE GENERAL HOSPITAL CORPORATION
    Inventors: MATTHEW MEYERSON, GANESH M. SHANKAR, JOSHUA M. FRANCIS, DANIEL P. CAHILL, MIKAEL L. RINNE