Fulton School of Biological Health Systems Engineering Assistant Professor Tony Hu and rand his team at the Biodesign Institute are working on a new test to catch pancreatic cancer in its earliest stages.

If caught early enough, pancreatic cancer can be controlled, but the sneaky disease develops aggressively and doesn’t usually show any obvious signs in the early stages.

Because pancreatic cancer is usually caught in the late stages, an estimated 80 percent die within a year of diagnosis, according to the American Cancer Society.

But Hu’s team has discovered a new method to identify pancreatic cancer in its early development.