Events Calendar

EE-EP Seminar - Sam Emaminejad

Speaker: Sam Emaminejad, Stanford University

Talk Title: Detection and Actuation at Micro- and Nanoscales: Emerging Biomarker Sensors for Personalized Medicine

Abstract: Personalized medicine is transforming the field of clinical diagnosis. Unlike traditional diagnostic methods that have been reactive and dependent on patient’s apparent symptoms, personalized medicine relies on biomarkers to provide predictive and preemptive care with customized and more effective drug and therapy selection. Informative biomarkers include genes, proteins, and cells whose abundance in human samples are indicative of patient health. Detection of such micro- and nanoscale biomarkers requires biosensors that are equipped with actuation and sensing capabilities at length scales comparable to the size of these bioparticles. To this end, we exploit advanced micro- and nanofabrication techniques and combine high throughput microfluidic and electronic technologies to develop low-cost integrated biosensors geared toward point-of-care diagnostic applications.
In this talk, I will discuss parameters such as multiplexing, sensitivity, and specificity that govern the performance of biosensors. In relation to these parameters, I will present three platforms in which we have demonstrated actuation and sensing of bioparticles on both the micro- and nanoscales, using novel electronic solutions that enable point-of-care diagnosis. The first platform is a multiplexed protein detection system that is realized through enhancing dielectrophoresis force by two orders of magnitude to overcome protein-protein interactions. Next, we will demonstrate a novel contactless impedance sensing scheme to perform low-cost cytometry in whole blood. In the third platform, we will present a sample preparation system for delivery of proteins, with controlled orientation, purified from a complex biological sample to the surface of a quantum tunneling-based biosensor. I will conclude my talk with a discussion of future research directions which prelude my long term vision of developing wearable diagnostic devices for real-time biomarker monitoring.


Biography: Sam Emaminejad received his BASc (2009) and MS (2011) degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and Stanford University, respectively. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, where he is working toward his thesis at the Stanford Genome Technology Center and Stanford School of Medicine. His research is focused on exploiting micro- and nanotechnologies to develop low-cost and integrated biosensing and bioeletronics platforms for personalized medicine applications. Sam has previously worked as an ASIC and Analog Designer in semiconductor companies such as STMicroelectronics and Analog Devices. Sam was awarded Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) scholarship and was the recipient of Best Paper Award at the IEEE Sensors conference in 2013.

Host: EE-Electrophysics

Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Marilyn Poplawski