Research

We are a group of multidisciplinary team of engineers and scientists who specialize in combining the principles of engineering, biology, and medicine to develop solutions for healthcare problems. Our team is dedicated to improving healthcare through research and innovation. At our core, we believe that technology has the power to transform healthcare and improve patient outcomes. That’s why we focus on developing cutting-edge solutions that are efficient, effective, and accessible to all.

We are passionate about exploring new and innovative approaches to solving complex challenges. Our research focuses on several key areas, including

  • non-invasive saliva analysis
  • blood-borne pathogen analysis
  • air airborne pathogen analysis
  • agriculture monitoring
  • device development (micro/nano MEMS, novel sensors, and instrumentation), and
  • algorithms and data analysis.

By combining these technologies with our deep understanding of engineering, biology, and medicine, we are able to develop solutions that are truly groundbreaking. We use a wide range of technologies to develop our solutions, including

  • advanced micro/nanofabrication,
  • advanced molecular technologies,
  • embedded systems,
  • artificial intelligence and machine learning, and
  • 3D printing.

I. Solid-State Nanopores: Physics, Fabrication, and Applications

Nanopores and nanochannels offer unique platforms to explore new physical and chemical phenomena appearing for molecules confined in or transported through these structures. New transport behavior and biosensing functionalities can be developed by taking advantage of these unique phenomena occurring at these scales.

Particularly, solid-state nanopores have been extensively studied in the past decade due to their mechanical robustness, tunable size, thermal robustness, and integration potential. The solid-state nanopore family includes membrane materials such as SiNx, graphene, glass nanopores (nanopipette), and polymer nanopores. We study solid-state nanopores with the aim to understand device physics, explore viable fabrication and integration methods, and develop single-molecule sensing applications.


II. Point-of-care nucleic acid testing (NAT)

Nucleic acid testing (NAT) is currently the most sensitive method available for identifying infectious pathogens. Nevertheless, NAT-based diagnoses developed to date mostly require sophisticated infrastructures, reagents, and skilled technicians. While readily available in reference laboratories, NATs such as PCR remain inaccessible in resource-limited settings. Although extensive efforts have been undertaken toward point-of-care (POC) molecular diagnosis, a fully validated “sample-in-answer-out”  NAT system has not developed due to significant challenges of portability, sample preparation, and throughput. In response to this urgent need, we aim to develop low-cost field-deployable NAT devices and systems, especially for infectious diseases in resource-limiting areas. These NAT devices could be loaded with easily-obtainable raw samples such as finger-prick blood, making diagnostic testing faster and easier for identifying pathogens like Malaria, Zika, HIV and SARS-COV-2.


III. Microfluidics and Applications

We develop technologies to precisely control and manipulate fluids that are geometrically constrained to a small scale (from μL to fL). It involves multidisciplinary fields across engineering, physics, chemistry, and nanotechnology. It has practical applications in the design of systems that process low volumes of fluids to achieve multiplexing, automation, and high-throughput screening.


We are grateful for the support from the following sponsors

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and the following Penn State Institutes/Centers/Departments

Electrical Engineering | Materials Research Institute | Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences | College of Engineering | Clinical and Translational Science Institute | Center for Biodevices