Bio
My research expertise is in cancer biomarker detection, biosensors, and in vitro and in vivo diagnostics. As an undergraduate, I created nano-electronic devices for sensitive chemical and biological sensing and gained valuable experience in the synthesis and bio-functionalization of nanotubes and nanoparticles. As a PhD student, I co-developed and patented a microfluidic device ("the blood chip") to enable on-chip cancer diagnosis from a fingerprick of blood, and initiated a clinical trial to test the device on glioblastoma patients. My early years of postdoctoral training involved applying novel micro- and nanotechnologies to cancer diagnosis in vivo. During this time, I developed an intravascular wire ("the MagWIRE") for high-throughput magnetic enrichment of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and other rare biomarkers in vivo, which has been successfully tested in a porcine model. The goal of the project was to increase CTC capture by isolating these rare cells in vivo from the entire blood volume to enable earlier recurrence detection, more comprehensive profiling of cancers for drug resistance mutations, and improved ability to culture CTCs for drug susceptibility assays. In recent years, I have been involved in research on synthetic biomarkers and detection of volatile organic compounds for diagnosis and monitoring of cancer. Currently, I am a clinical resident in the Nuclear Medicine/Diagnostic Radiology combined pathway. My career goal is to work at the interface of medicine and technology as a physician, academic scientist, and professor at a major research university. I would like to run a productive research program in biomedical engineering, mentor junior scientists, and translate technologies and discoveries from the lab to the clinic. My research goals are to develop new synthetic cancer reporters as well as novel wearable and implantable nanotechnologies for earlier cancer detection and continuous monitoring.
