Sean Agbor-Enoh, MD, PhD (center) celebrates his BEAR Cage Award with two colleagues

Sean Agbor-Enoh, MD, PhD, took home the fourth annual BEAR Cage prize on Monday afternoon. He pitched a serum-based genomics system to detect early-stage antibody-mediated lung allograft rejection to improve survival. The device uses next-generation genomic screening to detect cell-free donor DNA in graft recipient plasma.

The combination of cell-free donor DNA and circulating antibodies can identify antibody-mediated rejection three to four weeks earlier than current methods, which require lung biopsy. The procedure costs about $400, compared to up to $5,000 for a biopsy, and requires only a standard blood draw. This was Dr. Agbor-Enoh’s second appearance in the competition. He is a researcher at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.