MULTIDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIONS
The Bernard Lab is affiliated with many of the multidisciplinary groups at HCI. Dr. Bernard's lab is helping to develop and transition molecular diagnostics into the clinical laboratory. Recent work with the Melanoma Group has identified a set of expression-based markers for the detection of occult lymph node metastases in melanoma patients. These markers are now being validated retrospectively on a large cohort of melanoma patients. In addition, collaborations with the Sarcoma Group have resulted in the development of molecular diagnostic tests that are clinically offered through ARUP Laboratories, Inc for the diagnosis of Rhabdomyosarcoma (test# 0040113), Synovial Sarcoma (test# 0040114), and Ewing's Sarcoma (test# 0051220). These assays are now being used on a research basis to detect minimal residual disease in the blood and bone marrow of sarcoma patients.