“Ultrasensitive and Ultraselective Liquid Biopsy: Nanophotonics-Driven Digital Resolution Biomolecule Sensing Combined With Target Molecule Recycling”
Brian T. Cunningham, PhD
Intel Alumni Endowed Chair
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Illinois Cancer Center
Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
Holonyak Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Location: Clark, S360 & Zoom
Zoom Webinar Details
Webinar URL: https://stanford.zoom.us/s/97343915176
Dial US: +1 650 724 9799 or +1 833 302 1536
Webinar ID: 973 4391 5176
Passcode: 194411
ABSTRACT
By combining biosensor microscopy that provides high contrast for detecting individual biomolecules with novel biochemistry methods that can effectively turn each target molecule into many digitally-counted sensing events, it is possible to achieve attomolar-scale limits of detection for cancer-specific nucleic acid target molecules (miRNA and ctDNA) while simultaneously obtaining thousands-to-one selectivity against single base variants. The presentation will describe the use of photonic metamaterials and associated detection instruments to amplify optical absorption and fluorescence emission. The biodetection technology platforms are used to perform assays using nucleic acid strand displacement reactions and CRISPR/Cas chemistry to sense target biomarkers from complex media. The “amplify-then-digitize” approach represents a new and powerful paradigm for molecular diagnostics, compared to the “digitize-then-amplify” approach utilized in methods such as droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). Overall, we seek simple, rapid, room temperature, single-step assay methods that can be operate with small, inexpensive, and robust detection systems for applications in point of care diagnostics, laboratory-based diagnostics, and life science research applications.
ABOUT
Prof. Cunningham has been a faculty member in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the department Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 2004, following a 15-year career in Industry. Prof. Cunningham’s technical focus is the utilization of photonics for biosensing in applications that include life science research, diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and pharmaceutical screening. He has over 90 issued US patents and over 195 peer reviewed journal publications. He is a Fellow of NAS, IEEE, OSA, RSC, AAAS, and AIMBE. He serves as the Director of the Center for Genomic Diagnostics at the Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, and as a Program Leader for the Cancer Center at Illinois on the topic of Cancer Measurement Technology and Data Science. In 2023, his technical contributions were recognized by Optica by the Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award.
Hosted by: Utkan Demirci, Ph.D.
Sponsored by: The Canary Center & the Department of Radiology
Stanford University – School of Medicine