Andrew Lai

I’m a Research Fellow and Proteomics Leader at the UQ Centre for Extracellular Vesicle Nanomedicine, Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland. I work in the Translational Extracellular Vesicles in Obstetrics and Gynae-Oncology Group (TEVOG), led by Prof. Carlos Salomon Gallo. My research uses extracellular vesicle (EV) proteomics to find blood-based biomarkers for gynaecological cancers, with a particular focus on the early detection of ovarian cancer. I also study EVs in pregnancy complications such as gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.

I lead the group’s mass spectrometry proteomics, building data-independent acquisition (DIA-MS) workflows on Orbitrap Astral and ZenoTOF 7600 platforms and benchmarking EV isolation methods across sites. I also develop bioinformatics tools and pipelines that take EV proteomics from raw data to candidate biomarkers in large, multi-site patient cohorts.

A key outcome of this work has been contributing to the development of OCRF-7, an early-detection blood test for ovarian cancer that is currently undergoing clinical validation. I collaborate closely with clinicians and industry to move assays from discovery to verification in patient cohorts, with the goal of delivering practical diagnostics that improve women’s health.

• Interests: Extracellular vesicles, ovarian and gynaecological cancers, biomarker discovery, pregnancy complications (GDM, preeclampsia)
• Methods: DIA-MS proteomics (Orbitrap Astral, ZenoTOF 7600), EV isolation and characterisation, bioinformatics and HPC pipelines