{"entity":{"id":"viktor-adalsteinsson","kind":"person","name":"Viktor A. Adalsteinsson","aka":[],"tldr":"Engineer who showed low-pass sequencing of blood can replace tumour biopsies and built ultra-sensitive MRD tests.","summary":"Viktor Adalsteinsson led the work showing that ultra-low-pass whole-genome sequencing of cell-free DNA can screen for tumour fraction and that whole-exome sequencing of plasma faithfully reproduces the tumour's mutations, enabling biopsy-free genomic profiling. His group developed MAESTRO and other methods to detect residual disease at parts-per-million sensitivity, and he directs cancer diagnostics at the Broad Institute.","asOf":"2026-09-10","links":[{"label":"PubMed","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Adalsteinsson%20VA%5BAuthor%5D%20cell-free%20DNA"}],"tags":["ctdna","mrd","diagnostics"],"related":[],"cancers":[],"sections":[],"technologies":["liquid-biopsy","mrd-testing"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":["broad-institute"],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":["nature-communications"],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"role":"Director, Gerstner Center for Cancer Diagnostics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard","institutionId":"broad-institute","specialisms":["Liquid biopsy technology","Minimal residual disease detection","Cancer genomics","Diagnostics engineering"],"profiles":[{"label":"PubMed","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Adalsteinsson%20VA%5BAuthor%5D%20cell-free%20DNA"}],"papers":[{"title":"Scalable whole-exome sequencing of cell-free DNA reveals high concordance with metastatic tumors","journal":"Nature Communications","year":2017,"doi":"10.1038/s41467-017-00965-y"},{"title":"MRD detection in a variety of cancers at unprecedented sensitivity with MAESTRO (minor allele enriched sequencing through recognition oligonucleotides)","journal":"Nature Communications","year":2022}],"orcid":"0000-0003-4555-2485"},"route":"/people/viktor-adalsteinsson/","neighbours":{"technology":[{"id":"liquid-biopsy","kind":"technology","name":"Liquid biopsy (ctDNA)","route":"/technologies/liquid-biopsy/"},{"id":"mrd-testing","kind":"technology","name":"MRD / molecular residual disease testing","route":"/technologies/mrd-testing/"}],"institution":[{"id":"broad-institute","kind":"institution","name":"Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard","route":"/institutions/broad-institute/"}],"journal":[{"id":"nature-communications","kind":"journal","name":"Nature Communications","route":"/journals/nature-communications/"}]}}