Events Calendar

AME Seminar

Speaker: Cristina Davis, UC Davis

Talk Title: Advances in exhaled breath metabolomics analysis and diagnostics

Abstract: There is an entire field of research dedicated to the chemical analysis of exhaled breath, and the enticing promise of non-invasive medical diagnostics and monitoring. Biomarker detection and identification in breath rests on appropriate sampling and analysis protocols, which are now well established. There is compelling evidence breath chemicals change over time in response to illness and overall health and exposures. Exhaled breath is comprised of both breath gas vapors (CO2, NO, volatile organic compounds) and small diameter breath aerosols (with proteins, peptides, drugs and large metabolites frequently observed in blood). We have advanced controlled breath sampling systems for exhaled breath vapors (EBV) and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) which samples both the gas and aerosol breath fractions. We have also developed mass spectrometry-based analysis methodologies and directly compare metabolite coverage in EBC to guide sampling and methodology choices. We have used this approach to measure large molecules in EBC that are physiologically relevant (e.g. drugs and inflammatory biomarkers), and we have developed devices appropriate to use in clinical settings

Biography: Dr. Cristina Davis is a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Davis (Davis, CA). Her research group focuses on creating miniature analytical sensor systems for mobile chemical detection platforms and human performance monitoring. Final system integration of her devices yields analyzers that are specifically tailored for various high impact application areas including biomedical monitoring and surveillance for precision medicine.

Prof. Davis earned her BS degree (1994) at Duke University with a double major in mathematics and biology. She went on to complete her MS (1996) and PhD (1999) in biomedical engineering at the University of Virginia focusing on novel biosensor research. She then worked on silicon-chip based biosensors during a postdoctoral fellowship at The Johns Hopkins University. She then worked in industry in Switzerland and then to become a Principal Member of the Technical Staff and the founding Group Leader of Bioengineering at The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (Cambridge, MA) Having spent almost a half-decade in the national labs and industry, she returned to academia in November 2005.

She served as a Member of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) for the United States Air Force (2014-2018), and is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and National Academy of Inventors (NAI). She has been a Co-Founder and Scientific Advisor to three start-ups based on her research.

More Info: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/

Webcast: https://usc.zoom.us/j/98775609685?pwd=a2lSd01oY0o2KzA4VWphbGxjWk5Qdz09

Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - 202

WebCast Link: https://usc.zoom.us/j/98775609685?pwd=a2lSd01oY0o2KzA4VWphbGxjWk5Qdz09

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Tessa Yao

Event Link: https://ame.usc.edu/seminars/