Dr. David Chia's major research interest is in the development of bio-markers for the early detection of cancers. Chia and his colleagues are involved in two National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored studies designed to evaluate the efficacy of screening a population of normal individuals for a variety of tumor-associated markers in reducing mortality from prostate, lung, colon and ovarian cancers. The researchers measure the prostate-specific antigen, PSA, and another cancer antigen, Ca-125, levels in a large normal population as part of a national study, but are interested in several other tumor markers as well.

Chia is also a member of the Early Detection Research Network (EDRN), a scientific consortium sponsored by NCI, which will develop and validate molecular markers for earlier cancer detection and risk assessment and ready the tests for clinical use. Chia's laboratory serves as the bio-marker validation laboratory and is involved in technology development, quality control, refinement and high-throughput testing. The researchers have constructed tissue micro-array for prostate and breast cancers and are currently in the process of making a lung array.