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Ian Miller and Jason Weis selected for the Petit Research Scholars Program

Congratulations to Ian for being selected a Petit Mentor, and Jason a Petit Undergraduate Scholar for 2016!

From the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, “The Petit Undergraduate Research Scholars program is a competitive scholarship program that serves to develop the next generation of leading bioengineering and bioscience researchers by providing a comprehensive research experience for a full year. Open to all Atlanta area university students, the program allows undergraduates to conduct independent research in the state-of-the-art laboratories of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience.”

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LSI awarded Immunoengineering seed grant

LSI is among five new teams of Georgia Tech and Emory researchers that have been selected for foundational support through the Immunoengineering Seed Grant program, which is led by the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA). In collaboration with Dr. John Altman at Emory, LSI will develop massively parallel technologies to measure and monitor the immune response.

Read more here.

LSI awarded Immunoengineering seed grant
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Mathematical framework for activity-based biomarkers

Our work examining the use of activity-based biomarkers for early cancer detection has been published in PNAS.

Summary | The discovery of cancer at an early stage improves treatment outcomes, yet cancer detection thresholds based on blood biomarkers shed by small tumors lack predictivity. We develop a mathematical framework to explore the use of activity-based biomarkers for early cancer detection. In contrast to blood biomarkers, activity-based biomarkers rely on the catalytic activity of enzymes to amplify cancer-derived signals. Using a class of activity-based biomarkers called synthetic biomarkers, we comprehensively explore how detection sensitivities depend on probe design, enzymatic activity, and organ physiology, and how they may be precisely tuned to reveal the presence of small tumors in humans.

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: Mathematical framework for activity-based cancer biomarkers

Georgia Tech Petit Institute: Amplifying the signals of cancer

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LSI welcomes BME graduate student Quoc Mac

LSI welcomes BME graduate student Quoc Mac

Quoc grew up halfway around the world in Saigon, Vietnam. Due to his love for computer games, he studied Computer Science at the University of Science for two years before his family immigrated to the US and settled in North Carolina. Quoc then transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he graduated with highest honors and highest distinction with a B.S. in Chemistry. There he worked in Dr. Qi Zhang’s lab and studied the dynamics of hammerhead ribozymes using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), showing that a lowly populated state is essential for their catalytic activity. For his research, Quoc was awarded the HHMI Future Scientists and Clinicians Fellowship, the Jason Altom Memorial Award for Undergraduate Research, and the Chancellor’s Venable Medal for Excellence in Chemistry. Currently, Quoc is a graduate student in BME where his research is focused on the broader applications of synthetic biomarkers for cancer and disease diagnosis. Quoc likes to spend his free time playing video games, watching sports, and traveling. He is a die-hard fan of the Tar Heels and the Red Devils.

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Genetically engineered probiotics detect cancer from urine

From Science Daily, “Engineers have devised a way to detect cancer that has spread to the liver, by enlisting help from probiotics — beneficial bacteria similar to those found in yogurt. Using a harmless strain of E. coli that colonizes the liver, the researchers programmed the bacteria to produce a luminescent signal that can be detected with a simple urine test.”

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MIT News: Diagnosing cancer with help from bacteria
Popular Science: Mutant bacteria will test you for disease and color your pee accordingly
Newsweek: MIT Professor creates cancer-detecting yogurt
livescience: Urine test could detect cancer one day, as new method shows promise
U.S. News & World Report: Helpful bacteria may help detect cancers that have spread to liver
Science Daily: Diagnosing cancer with luminescent bacteria: Engineered probiotics detect tumors in liver
Boston Globe: Yogurt laced with bacteria may serve as a test for cancer in the liver
BBC News: Bacteria sensors ‘detect diabetes and cancer’
Los Angeles Times: Talented bacteria detect cancer, diabetes
The Scientist: Next Generation: Souped-up Probiotics Pinpoint Cancer
Science: Engineered bacteria detect cancer and diabetes in urine

Read our study here.