The paper develops an epigenetic enrichment method for fetal cfDNA using a first-trimester methylome reference, increasing fetal fraction from 5.1% to 28.4%.

bioRxiv · Oct 25, 2026 · PreprintGenomics

Adapting Clinical Chemistry Plasma as a Source for Liquid Biopsies

Spencer C Ding, Jingru Yu, Tiepeng Liao, Lauren S. Ahmann, Yvette Y. Yao, Chandler C. Ho, Linlin Wang, Benjamin A. Pinsky, Wei Gu

The paper evaluates using residual plasma from heparin separators for cfDNA testing, showing high concordance with EDTA and Streck samples for methylation, fragmentation, and viral detection.

eLife · May 1, 2026Peer-reviewedGenetic & Genomic Medicine

Enriched Methylomes of Low-input and Fragmented DNA Using Fragment Ligation EXclusive Methylation Sequencing (FLEXseq)

Jingru Yu, Lauren S. Ahmann, Yvette Y. Yao, Angus Martin Shaw Toland, Alicia Snowden, Chandler C. Ho, Netanel Loyfer, Tommy Kaplan, Hannes S. Vogel, Linlin Wang, Brooke E. Howitt, Brittany Holmes, Alarice Cheng-Yi Lowe, Wei Gu

The paper introduces FLEXseq, a methylation sequencing method that enriches and sequences DNA fragments flanking the CCGG motif, showing strong correlation with WGBS and potential for diagnostic applications.

Nucleic Acids Research · Apr 16, 2026Peer-reviewedGenomics

Cell-Free DNA in Blood Reveals Significant Cell, Tissue and Organ Specific injury and Predicts COVID-19 Severity

Alexandre Pellan Cheng, Matthew Pellan Cheng, Wei Gu, Joan Sesing Lenz, Elaine D. Hsu, Erwin Schurr, Guillaume Bourque, Mathieu Bourgey, Jerome Ritz, Francisco M. Marty, Charles Y. Chiu, Donald Cuong Vinh, Iwijn De Vlaminck

This study uses cell-free DNA methylation profiling in plasma to identify organ-specific injury and predict COVID-19 severity in hospitalized patients.

Med · Jan 18, 2021Peer-reviewedGenetic & Genomic Medicine