We are happy to host scientists external to TMU to learn about their research and engage in conversation. See below for past and upcoming talks we have hosted.
Upcoming
Steve Shih, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Concordia University
Tuesday 6 December 12:10-1:00 pm DCC 350
Synthetic biology describes the process of engineering a cell for new or improved functionality. The biggest challenge with synthetic biology is the standardization and reproducibility – where much of the work in synthetic biology research is not automated. Droplet microfluidics has emerged to provide solutions to expedite the ‘design-build-test’ synthetic biology workflow – leading to automating multiple aspects of the cycle. In my talk, I will describe the use of a droplet-based microfluidic platforms – for three main applications related to (1) designing new constructs to assembling DNA and bringing it into a host organism, (2) gene editing to rapidly edit mammalian cells and how we can carry out manipulations at the single cell level with near instant generation of clonal, isogenic cell lines (and comparing to gold-standard techniques), and (3) the use of screening tolerant enzymes that are useful for biofuel production and agricultural fungicides. These are the new possibilities for applications in synthetic biology that are enabled by droplet-type microfluidics. I will also review some of our efforts in creating automation systems and designs of droplet-based microfluidic devices.
miniaturization in Bioanalysis Laboratory 