UI health startup hopes test will prevent disease, improve nutrition

September 26, 2022

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Kelsey Dawes expects cutting-edge technology will soon be able to motivate changed behaviors by personalizing nutrition plans using quantifiable data, ultimately preventing deadly cases of disease. That’s the goal of her research as CEO and founder of Relevant Methylomics, a startup company she began as a PhD student at the University of Iowa where she is studying the applicable uses of epigenetic technology. “You can think of your cells as the computer and your genetics as the hardware of the computer,” she explained. “Your epigenetics is kind of like the software that you update. You need both of them to have a computer. Genetics are the same in all your cells, but what genes are doing and how they are expressed is caused by epigenetics. Epigenetics is the bridge between your environment, lifestyle, behaviors and genetics.” Her product, which could enter the market within 6-8 months if patents are approved, is a saliva-based at-home test that will diagnose the nutrition levels of cells to determine what each cell actually needs. Once results are received, individuals may then choose to follow specific nutrition plans or take custom vitamins, improving long-term health. In the Corridor, Relevant Methylomics’ parent company Behavioral Diagnostics, where Ms. Dawes is the chief scientific officer, is working on three separate epigenetics products related to smoking intensity, alcohol intensity and lung cancer. Another UI startup company, Cardio Diagnostics, is going public later this year after a $175 million merger with Mana Capital Acquisition Corporation in Delaware, pending U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approval. They are best known for creating the first AI-integrated epigenetic engine to test the risk of coronary heart disease. Robert Philibert, a UI professor of psychiatry, works closely on all three companies and is a business partner to Ms. Dawes at Behavioral Diagnostics and Relevant Methylomics The field is booming not just locally but worldwide. A global forecast on the epigenetics market projects the industry will surpass $3.9 billion by 2027, more than doubling the current market value of the field in 2022.

Entrepreneur’s mindset

Ms. Dawes’ epigenetics research earned her recognition at the Iowa JPEC Innovation and Entrepreneurship Honors event Sept. 9 where she won Student Startup of the Year for her work in transforming lab science into a business. Her interest in using research to make a profitable product stemmed from graduate school classes where she often wondered how good ideas could get translated into a clinic. “Everyone [in my seminar class] was asking questions just about the science, but I was asking questions like, ‘Do we really think this is feasible to implement into a clinic? Who’s going to pay for that? Will the burden to pay be on the patient?’” It was around this time a close friend of Kelsey was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Due to the rare form of AML, it took nearly a month to receive his diagnosis. “He was diagnosed in my first year in grad school and by this time, I was already in my lab for about three or four years,” she said. “I knew literature papers existed that talked about having epigenetic biomarkers that can not only detect rare types of cancer and be able to give a definitive diagnosis quickly, but you can also use them to select the proper treatment and prognosis.” The papers never left academia and the ideas were not tested. Ms. Dawes’ friend died and while a quicker diagnosis may not have saved his life, the technology was sitting in research, she said. “Even though scientists are experts in their area, a lot of us don’t know how to think like an entrepreneur,” she said. “That’s a whole different mindset in order to get your science out.”

Data-driven nutrition guidance

Relevant Methylomics’ research strays away from complex cardiovascular diseases and instead focuses on preventative actions geared toward nutrition. She hopes her work can help people develop a more trusting relationship with nutrition and their bodies. “Right now, the nutrition space is kind of this pseudoscience field, so I’m really hoping Relevant can bring scientific credibility to nutrition because we all know that it’s important,” she explained. “We just can’t really measure it well.” Once Relevant finalizes its algorithm and earns approval for its patent, users should be able to receive a saliva-based test from the comfort of their own home. Once they send back their sample, they will be able to view and track their results. Ms. Dawes expects this will be convenient and effective for all involved, since most people only go to the doctor when there is an annual checkup or urgent problem. This product could help doctors and patients be more preventative in their thinking, she said. She hopes that more scientists reject the stigma surrounding using science-based discovery to make money, arguing it’s essential in saving lives. “Industry is not the enemy,” she said. “Industry is the pathway forward."

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