Join
us
to
learn
about
Professor
Megan
Yi-Ping
Ho’s
research
into
using
DNA
nanosensors
and
microfluidics
to
identify
and
validate
new
molecular
biomarkers.
The
Department
of
Chemical
Engineering
is
pleased
to
have
Professor
Yi-Ping
Ho
share
information
about
her
efforts
to
help
interrupt
disease
transmission
and
enable
precise
predictions
of
treatment
response
or
disease
progression.
All graduate ChE students will receive an Outlook calendar event with webinar access details.
Everyone is welcome – If you are not a graduate ChE student, contact the Manager of Graduate Studies for the access information you need to join the webinar.
Abstract
Biomarkers are molecular or cellular characteristics measured as an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenic processes or pharmacological responses to a therapeutic intervention. Detection and identification of key biomarkers are therefore of great importance in understanding the development of chronic human diseases, monitoring disease recurrence and determining the efficacy of therapeutic agents. For example, rapid and precise detection of pathogenic bacteria is critical for effective antibiotic treatment at an early stage of bacterial infections, thus preventing the spreading of bacterial disease.
However, the performance of currently prevalent detection techniques hinges heavily on complex sample pre-processing or signal post-amplification, thus limiting their possibilities for early diagnostics.
In this talk, Professor Yi-Ping Ho will summarize her lab’s efforts to identify and validate new molecular biomarkers by the combination of DNA nanosensors and microfluidics.
The initial development has paved the way to the diagnosis of several major infectious diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV. This presentation will also highlight her lab’s recent initiatives in exploring the molecular activities at the single organelle and single cell level. Their effort is envisioned to not only help interrupt disease transmission, but also enable precise predictions of treatment response or disease progression.
Biographical Sketch
Megan Yi-Ping Ho is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. She received her BS and MS in Power Mechanical Engineering from National Tsing-Hua University, Taiwan. She received her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University in USA.
After her postdoctoral training with Duke University in USA, she received the Young Elite Researcher Award from the Danish Research Council for Independent Research and started her independent career in the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre and the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Aarhus University in Denmark.
She is also a co-founder of two startup companies situated in Demark, Zymonostics and vPCiR, focusing on enzyme-based diagnostics. She has received 15 academic honours and awards. She has published 56 peer-reviewed journal articles, 4 book chapters, 75 conference abstracts and holds 2 granted patents. The results that she presented have been recognized internationally by the American Society of Gene Therapy and Controlled Release Society.
Her research team is focused on developing nanosensors and microfluidics as diagnostic tools to expand the capacity of disease detection and treatment evaluation.