UConn clinical trial of ‘innovative technology’ could be a game-changer for certain cancer patients

Hartford Courant – Wednesday, August 19, 2026
By Pamela McLoughlin

UConn School of Medicine physician-scientists have partnered with a precision medicine start-up company to explore treatments for pancreatic cancer that could be a game changer.

Although the five-year survival rate for the deadly cancer has gone up from about five percent to more than 10 percent, cases have increased greatly in the last several years, from about 50,000 in the United States to about 70,000 to 80,000 per year, said Dr. John Birk, co-principal investigator of the trial, professor and chief of gastroenterology and hepatology at UConn School of Medicine.

According to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, changes in DNA cause cancer and “pancreatic cancer’s exact causes are not well understood. About 10% of pancreatic cancers are considered familial or hereditary. Most pancreatic cancer happens randomly or is caused by things such as smoking, obesity and age.”

“If you are a first-degree relative of someone diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, you may have an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer,” according to the network. “Your family member with pancreatic cancer is strongly recommended to undergo genetic testing for inherited mutations.”

Birk also does screenings for pancreatic cancer for those with family history and other factors. An early diagnosis of the disease is key, doctors say.

“I’m very hopeful,” Birk said. “I’m thinking this has the potential to be very useful in the treatment of these patients.”

The study at the UConn Technology Incubation Program involves personalizing difficult to treat pancreatic cancer to improve the outcomes and life expectancy of patients. According to the American Cancer Society, the “5-year relative survival” rate for pancreatic cancer that is localized is 44%. Localized means there is “no sign that the cancer has spread outside of the pancreas.”

The collaborative UConn School of Medicine research study is exploring this possibility with Encapsulate, Inc. and their pioneering Biochip system.

Creators of the company and technology are UConn’s own Leila Daneshmandi and Armin Rad.

The hope is that Encapsulate’s rapid, functional testing in the lab can quickly examine a pancreatic cancer patient’s individual tumor tissue sample, replicate its cellular growth in the lab, and predict which agents will be the most effective to stop its progression.

Birk said the goal is to shrink tumors to improve surgical outcomes.

Dr. Murali Dharan, director of the Advanced Endoscopy Program said currently, chemotherapies only work 60 percent of the time for pancreatic cancer clinical care with often more than one drug needing to be tried at a time to see which is effective which can draw out treatment time.

Encapsulate’s NASA and National Science Foundation funded testing of its Biochip device’s capabilities has already shown it can successfully predict future cancer clinical insights in advance in space’s microgravity environment inside the International Space Station, a UConn spokesperson said.

Weight loss, abdominal pain and jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes) are common symptoms of pancreatic cancer, but they often only become apparent in advanced disease stages.

“The good news about pancreatic cancer tumors is that they don’t tend to mutate much,” said Birk. “If this innovative technology can help us pinpoint the right drug or drug combination to fight each pancreatic patient’s cancer, that is our biggest hope for advancing the future of care.”

Rad, co-founder and CEO of Encapsulate, agrees.

“This clinical study with UConn Health represents an important step toward making cancer treatment more personalized and less reliant on trial and error,” Rad said. “Through our rapid functional testing platform, we aim to revolutionize the cancer treatment selection paradigm, improve patient outcomes, and ultimately help save thousands of lives.”

The approach has been to treat patients with chemotherapy based on demographics and the method being tested would be individualized based on the tumor, or which agents will inhibit tumor growth, Birk said.

Birk said the clinical research study should begin in August and his role will be to follow the clinical course of patients.

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