The MIT Deshpande Center IdeaStream symposium gathers together the leading minds in innovation and entrepreneurship for an invitation-only event each spring. Top-name venture capitalists, successful entrepreneurs, and MIT researchers consider this a must-attend event. Watch Dr. Kwong’s seminar on synthetic biomarkers below:
Summary: Noncommunicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease and cancer, are growing worldwide but are challenging to diagnose because biomarkers that can accurately detect in patients are scarce. We designed nanoparticles to reveal the presence of disease by producing a biomarker in urine that can be detected using paper strips similar to a home pregnancy test. This platform does not require expensive instruments, and may allow low-cost diagnosis of diseases in resource-limited settings.
Dr. Kwong was selected for the 2013 Career Award at the Scientific Interface (CASI) from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Thank you BWF and the selection committee!
Summary: Thrombin is a serine protease that plays a critical role in the formation of obstructive blood clots, or thrombosis, that is a life-threatening condition associated with numerous diseases such as atherosclerosis and stroke. To detect thrombosis in living animals, we design nanoparticles to sense the activity of thrombin by producing a signal in urine for detection using standard clinical methods. We show that signals in urine differentiate between healthy and thrombotic states and correlate closely with the aggregate burden of blood clots formed in the lungs. Our results demonstrate that synthetic biomarkers can be engineered to sense vascular diseases from urine and may allow applications in point-of-care diagnostics.
Nanoparticles that sense thrombin activity as synthetic urinary biomarkers of thrombosis, ACS Nano
Congratulations to my former trainee and newly minted Harvard MD Gaya Murugappan for receiving cum laude honors for her MD thesis! Best of luck at Stanford!
I will be presenting a poster at the HHMI Science Meeting at Janelia Farm on my work on synthetic biomarkers. Should be a week of terrific talks!
Our patent application for our work on synthetic biomarkers has been issued! US patent No: 8,673,267
