A ‘Cancer Lab’ on Chip: Transforms Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Tandon Alumni Lunch and Learn Series

(30 mins)

Taking advantages of state-of-art micro/nanotechnologies, we can address numerous important problems in fundamental biology as well as clinical applications in cancer diagnosis and treatment. We developed novel microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems for analysis of immune cells as well as rare circulating tumor cells for cancer diagnosis. This seminar will discuss interdisciplinary approaches that leverage engineering advances in microfluidics and organ-on-a-chip systems for new and better solutions for emerging problems in cancer. Specific examples include microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems for isolation and analysis of rare circulating tumor cells and immune cells, as well as novel organotypic, patient-specific leukemia-on-a-Chip models for new cancer immunotherapy screening. Our microfluidics-based nanoplasmonic biosensor provides a better solution to quantitatively characterize the immunophenotypes of patients and would therefore allow for a more precise diagnosis and stratification of cancer and immune diseases. These translational cancer technologies provide a new paradigm for the development of novel personalized therapies that would significantly contribute to the patient care of cancer patients.