Rooted in women's health
Our Beginning
Founded by Dave Colaizzi and Dr. David Peters, Signature Diagnostics was initially created to begin commercializing and advancing Peters’ research in genomics at Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI). At the time, Peters’ work centered around women’s reproductive health and developing safer ways to detect genetic conditions in pregnancies. This side of Peters’ research was brought on shortly after prenatal testing touched his life personally.
In 2001, Peters and his wife were expecting their first child. After meeting with their genetic counselor, they learned that the pregnancy was considered high-risk and were offered one of two diagnostic tests, known as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling.
These are invasive procedures that are performed to determine genetic information about the baby, and are used to identify the presence, for example, of Down syndrome. Peters was astonished to learn that these procedures are associated with a significant risk of miscarriage, even when the pregnancy is otherwise entirely normal. This was particularly surprising to Peters, given that these options were considered standard practice for prenatal testing in high-risk pregnancies.
After this experience, Peters pivoted his lab research and focused on the development of low-risk alternatives to these invasive tests that can be performed using a maternal blood sample.
This method of prenatal diagnostics became known as noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS), which uses maternal plasma to perform a liquid biopsy, Peters’ discovery revolutionized prenatal care, allowing expectant mothers a prenatal screening option that would determine the need for further diagnostic testing during pregnancy.
Peters continued to dedicate much of his time at MWRI researching other aspects of women’s reproductive health and eventually expanded into the organ health space, investigating ways to improve how we can detect complex diseases and conditions in low-risk ways. Detecting complex diseases early could allow for preventative health plans and more effective treatment options. Empowered by the concept of proactive healthcare and improved patient outcomes, this mindset became a key part of Signature’s company vision.
Developing SignatureDx
Upon their introduction through a mutual friend in 2019, Colaizzi learned about Peters’ background in genetics and his research on developing noninvasive methods to detect and analyze diseases. At the time, Colaizzi’s focus was on the field of pharmacogenomics (PGx) which included operating a testing lab called Genelex. After Genelex was acquired by a genetic company called Invitae, Colaizzi and Peters began collaborating on a business plan for commercializing Peters’ work.
During development in late 2019, Colaizzi was introduced to Dr. Tianjiao Chu, a biostatistician and close colleague of Peters, who soon became the Chief Analytical Officer of Signature. The three colleagues now make up part of the company’s leadership team, with Colaizzi serving as Chief Executive Officer and Peters as Chief Science Officer.
Colaizzi and Peters distinguished the company’s research from its daily lab operations by opening SDxLabs. The lab worked to obtain certification from the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) in March of 2021, and by July, the lab met all CLIA requirements to become operational. During this time, COVID-19 surges remained a major public health concern and accessible testing sites were in high demand. By implementing testing for COVID-19 as one of the lab’s initial offerings, SDxLabs was able to meet the increasing need for COVID tests in the community while establishing an infrastructure for the lab, both commercially and for research purposes. Today, SDxLabs provides clinically relevant women’s healthservices such as noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) as well as pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing services for clinical drug trials.
As the lab’s capabilities and service offerings continue to expand, the heart of Signature remains translating our research into novel noninvasive diagnostic and screening tools that offer meaningful insights into complex medical conditions.
Our mission
Develop novel methods for the noninvasive prediction, detection, and understanding of complex medical conditions.
Our vision
Deliver noninvasive screening solutions to create a diagnostic standard of care that enables individualized medicine and effective patient outcomes.
We live and work by our core values
Build meaningful connections and collaborations
We believe in the impact of connection. By building relationships with each other, patients, partners, researchers, and the community, we all accomplish more.
Act with intention and common purpose
We use each day as an opportunity to demonstrate transparency and mindfulness in our work, both individually and as an organization.
Lead and learn from one another
We learn through exploring questions and sharing ideas. Our combined experience and expertise lead us toward our goals.
Embrace smart work and big ideas
We are not afraid to lean into hard problems. Ambition and initiative propel our projects forward.
Advance into the unknown
We are explorers by nature, both in and outside of research. Our team boldly works not only to answer existing questions, but also to learn what questions to ask in the first place.