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Low Resource and Microfluidic Diagnostics

Low Resource and Microfluidic Diagnostics

Accurate diagnosis of disease is the first step in effective treatment and is a key contributor to many of the health disparities that exist in developing countries. Biomedical Engineers at Vanderbilt are working to develop low-cost, reliable, rapid point-of-care platforms to implement in clinical and research settings. Microfluidics has helped to revolutionize these efforts by miniaturizing platforms to minimize sample volumes and allowing for increased multiplexing and more complexity.   Work at Vanderbilt ranges from developing microfluidics assays for the detection of biomarkers in blood to designing platforms for capturing bacteria in blood as a treatment in sepsis. The use of complex microfabricated structures including valves and mixers has enabled the recreation of tissue structures in organs-on-a-chip to identify therapeutic targets and the use of multi-omics for the rapid identification of the mechanism of action of drugs and chemical and biological agents.  Vanderbilt excels in this area in part due to the state-of-Low Resource and Microfluidic Diagnosticsthe-art facilities at the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (VINSE). VINSE houses a wide array of nanofabrication tools and offers technical support to build novel materials and devices.  Vanderbilt is also home to the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education (VIIBRE).  VIIBRE mission is to invent the experimental and computational tools and develop the skills that are required to conduct research in systems biology. Using BioMEMS and advanced instrumentation, novel platforms are being developed that can make physiological measurements that were previously impossible.  Importantly, Vanderbilt engineers are having a tangible impact: our technologies have been licensed by multiple companies that are developing instruments and providing diagnostic services.

 

BME Faculty in Low Resource and Microfluidic Diagnostics:

Franz Baudenbacher, Ph.D.— https://engineering.vanderbilt.edu/bio/franz-baudenbacher

Audrey Bowden, Associate Professor - https://lab.vanderbilt.edu/bowdenlab/

Todd Giorgio, Ph.D. -- https://my.vanderbilt.edu/toddgiorgio/

Frederick (Rick) Haselton, Ph.D.— https://my.vanderbilt.edu/haseltonlab/

Anita Mahadevan-Jansen Ph.D.— www.vanderbilt.edu/vbc

Cynthia Reinhart-King, Ph.D.— http://cellmechanics.org/

John Wikswo, Ph.D. -- https://www.vanderbilt.edu/viibre/wikswo.php