Decoding Cancer - Brittany Wenger '17

Brittany Wenger, founder of Cloud4Cancer breast cancer detection app, explains how to leverage the power of the cloud to accurately diagnose breast cancer. Brittany Wenger is a junior at Duke University majoring in biology and pursuing the genome sciences and policy certificate. She is the creator of Cloud4Cancer, a neural network cloud service that seeks to improve effectiveness of fine needle aspirations (a biopsy procedure). Cloud4Cancer is designed to reduce invasiveness, move toward earlier diagnosis, and minimize the cost of breast cancer diagnostics. To date, the service has achieved more than 99 percent accuracy of identifying malignant masses over a series of 7.6 million trials. Wenger has also extended the program with 100 percent success at identifying aggressive leukemia subtypes. She was the 2012 Global Google Science Fair grand prize winner for her work on Cloud4Cancer. Wenger has spoken about her research at TEDxWomen, Google Zeitgeist, TEDxAtlanta, breastcancer.org, the Clinton Global Initiative, and Women of Worth. Wenger attended the Equal Futures Partnership Launch at the United Nations General Assembly and the White House Science Fair. Wenger conducts research at the Duke Center for Applied Genomics and Precision Medicine to explore genetics in immune system response, and applies big data to predict sickness before symptoms manifest. She shares her passion for research as co-president of the Duke Undergraduate Research Society and as a Google Made with Code mentor. Wenger is a member of Round Table, plays intramural soccer, serves as a campus tour guide, and volunteers at Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center. Duke Forward, a seven-year, comprehensive fundraising campaign, aims to raise $3.25 billion by June 30, 2017. It supports priorities across Duke's 10 schools, Duke Health, and a range of university programs, and initiatives.