Chemistry Seminar Series: Anna Fomitcheva Khartchenko

Thursday, February 9, 2023 1:30 pm - 1:30 pm EST (GMT -05:00)

Microfluidics-based immunoassays for enhancing diagnostic workflows

Dr. Anna Fomitcheva Khartchenko
Post-doctoral Researcher
University of California Berkeley, California, USA

Thursday, February 9, 2023
1:30 p.m.

In-person: C2- 361 (Reading Room) and Online via MS Teams 

Abstract: Antigen-antibody (Ab-Ag) systems are widely used in bioassays due to their availability, simplicity of use and specificity. My main research goal has been to use the properties of Ab-Ag binding to increase the amount of information obtained from a single test. In this seminar, I will present different ways in which the Ab-Ag interaction can be used for diagnostic tests. I will describe a method that can provide a higher degree of quantitation in a typically semi-quantitative immunohistochemistry assay while easily integrating into current pathology workflows. Then, I will discuss a strategy to further quantify biomarkers expressed in breast cancer tissues, evaluating the heterogeneity of these tumors and classifying the local sub-types of tumor using bioinformatic tools. Finally, I will show how using microfluidic systems compatible with standardized microtiter plates could increase the range of antibody detection.


Dr. Fomitcheva Khartchenko received her BSc in Biotechnology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain), where she worked in the laboratory of Prof. Merkoci. In 2014, Dr. Fomitcheva Khartchenko joined ETH to perform her MSc and PhD in the frame of a collaboration with IBM Research Europe under the supervision of Prof. deMello and Dr. Kaigala. Currently, she is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Department of Bioengineering at UC Berkeley, hosted by Prof. Herr.