Topic: New opportunities to study population genetics and detect diseases by employing microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip devices
Date and time: July 12, 10:30
Venue: Auditorium, Y Building
Host: Liu Jia and Yang Haitao
Abstract:
In this talk, I will highlight the transformative impact of microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip devices in biophysics and biotechnology research through two exemplary applications. First, I will discuss a microfluidic device designed to investigate population genetics of microbial communities. This device creates controlled microenvironments where microbial populations proliferate in confined channels, organizing into genetically homogeneous lanes due to cell reproduction dynamics. Combining theory and experiments, we demonstrate that genetic diversity rapidly diminishes along these lanes, validated by observing Escherichia coli populations organizing into genetically identical groups within a few generations. Secondly, I will present an optomicrofluidic sensing platform for rapid detection of antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in diluted human plasma. Utilizing localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) with gold nanospikes fabricated via electrodeposition within a microfluidic setup, coupled with an optical probe, this platform achieves detection limits as low as 0.5 pM (0.08 ng/mL) within 30 minutes. This innovative diagnostic tool holds promise to enhance COVID-19 diagnosis alongside conventional serological assays.
Biography:
Amy Shen is the Provost and Professor at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology University (OIST) in Japan, leading the Micro/Bio/Nanofluidics Unit since 2014. She was a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington prior to moving to Japan. Amy’s research is focused on microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip devices at the bio/nano interface, with applications in biotechnology. She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and Society of Rheology. Amy has won numerous awards including the NSF CAREER Award and the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award. Amy was also a Fulbright Scholar in 2013. She is an associate editor for Soft Matter and serves on the editorial advisory board for ACS Sensors, Journal of Rheology, and Physics of Fluids. She also gave the 2019 Bergveld lecture at the University of Twente, Netherlands.