Daniel Hagey is the new Assistant Professor in immunology within pediatrics
Daniel Hagey will assume the position of Assistant Professor at the Department of Women's and Children's Health on 1 September 2026. His research focuses on developing novel methods to detect cancer through simple blood tests – far earlier than is possible today.
From Edmonton in Canada to leading research environments across Europe. Daniel Hagey has spent his academic career in pursuit of better ways to identify diseases before they progress. Now he takes the step to become an Assistant Professor at one of Europe's foremost medical universities.
From RNA to Blood Tests
Hagey began his research career in the field of transcriptional regulation – how cells control which genes are switched on and off. After completing his doctorate at Karolinska Institutet and undertaking postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge, he recognised something important.
"I came from the field of single cell RNA-sequencing and transcriptional analysis. These powerful technologies should be applied to improve human health," Hagey explains his transition towards cancer detection.
By studying liquid biopsies – analyses of the contents of blood and other bodily fluids – Hagey identified new possibilities. Rather than focusing solely on cell-free DNA, which is the most common approach to detecting cancer remnants in blood, he turned his attention to something else: extracellular vesicles.
These small, organelle-like structures that cells release into the bloodstream represent an early hallmark of cancer. They hold considerable potential for detecting the disease far earlier than current methods permit.
A New Approach to Diagnosis
Hagey's research focuses on developing optimised workflows for detecting multiple types of cancer through a single blood test – a method known as multi-cancer early detection via sequencing-based liquid biopsy.
What makes this approach compelling is both the methodology and its potential. A simple blood test is considerably less invasive than many other diagnostic methods. Moreover, if cancer can be detected at an early stage, the prospects for successful treatment often improve markedly.
Collaboration Across Borders
Now that Hagey becomes Assistant Professor at the Department of Women's and Children's Health at Karolinska Institutet, his ambitions are clear.
"My hope is to forge new collaborations to expand diagnostic research at KBH and beyond. By developing a workflow for minimally invasive and unbiased diagnostics, I believe this research can touch many patient groups," Hagey states.
Hagey's research on cancer detection can offer new perspectives on how cancer might be detected and monitored in these particularly important patient populations.
From 1 September 2026, the Department looks forward to welcoming a new colleague who can contribute specialist expertise in cancer detection and diagnostic research.