Using AI to fight cancer

Whilst other students are writing essays after lectures, Iuliia Kuzminova is working on her first business venture. The student, who is on the English-taught Bachelor’s programme in International Business and Economics at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, is working with her co-founder, Sajjad Khawari, to develop a start-up aimed at improving early cancer detection.

For Iuliia, who is originally from Sacha, Magdeburg was her first choice of university. She was looking for a university offering English-taught programmes, with a good reputation and a city of a manageable size. “The university offered exactly what I was looking for. I also really like the campus, especially the University Library.”

What she values most about her degree is the flexibility. “At the same time, the university offers numerous opportunities for anyone interested in entrepreneurship. Start-up programmes, mentors and a wide range of support services make it easier to develop your own ideas and take the first steps towards setting up a business,” says the student.

Iuliia knew from an early age that she wanted to set up her own business. She was particularly inspired by her mother, who has built a successful career in the banking sector. “She showed me from an early age what self-confidence, independence and leadership mean,” she says. In Germany, she also discovered a start-up ecosystem that supports students in turning ideas into real projects.

Her business idea is in conjunction with a personal experience. “A few years ago, my sister was diagnosed with cancer. Although she is now in good health again, she didn’t seek medical help until quite late on. That made me wonder whether there was a low-threshold solution for early cancer detection.” So, together with her co-founder, she developed the start-up Cancer EarlySignalLab. Their initial idea was for users to take a blood sample at home using a micro-sampling method, which is then analysed for biomarkers. AI is designed to analyse the data over time to identify changes at an early stage, even before clinical thresholds are reached.

She is drawing on her degree to put this into practice. “The combination of business administration, economics, finance and management provides me with the tools I need to carry out market analyses, calculate costs, develop business models and make strategic decisions based on data.”

The founder also receives support from the university’s Transfer and Start-Up Center (TUGZ). From August, she will also be part of the EXIST Women programme, where she will work with mentors and start-up coaches. Workshops and one-to-one advice are already helping her to further develop both her business idea and her corporate strategy.

The company also intends to remain in Magdeburg in the long term. “This is where I’m studying, this is where I’ve built up my network, and this is where we’ve found support for our idea. That’s why it was only natural for us to set up our start-up in Magdeburg.”

The team has already achieved its first successes: Cancer EarlySignalLab was selected as one of the top eleven teams in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow – Tech for Life competition. Next, the start-up will present its idea to a jury in Frankfurt.

At the same time, they are working on further developing the technical concept, establishing contacts with researchers and medical experts, and validating the approach scientifically. The start-up is also continuously applying for further funding programmes and start-up initiatives.

“In the long term, we want to develop a market-ready product. To do this, we need a strong team that, together with researchers and clinical partners, will further develop the technology and test its effectiveness. Ultimately, the aim is to make the solution accessible to as many people as possible,” Iuliia concluded.