“Our CADMIM membership is pivotal in building a network with world leading experts in microfluidics. CADMIM enabled us to conduct research projects at the transition from basic research to industrial application expanding our capabilities far beyond internal expertise. Combined with the focus on manufacturability the center offers a unique set of expertise and opportunities.”
– Dr. Frank Narz, Director R&D Scientific Applications, QIAGEN GmbH

“CADMIM offers a unique blend of university research from leading researchers in the field supported by leading providers of microfluidic manufacture and development. For the industrial members of CADMIM, who are interested in new product opportunities, this means novel IP is quickly reduced to practice for real world applications.”
– Dr. Leanna Levine, Founder, President and CEO, ALine, Inc.

“With tight research budgets, CADMIM offers an opportunity to leverage industrial investments. We’ve been able to guide world-class research in microfluidics toward challenges in technology development that are barriers to transition. Working in partnership with other members of the industrial advisory board has also brought valuable insight to our programs.”
– Dr. Laura Rea, Program Manager, Soft Matter Materials Branch, Air Force Research Laboratory

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Successful Fall IAB Meeting
Great to see everyone at the University of Illinois, Chicago and reconnect with those who participated online. Also, many thanks to all the students and post-docs who prepared the presentations and posters. More photos from this event here: Meeting Photos – Sept. 2024

CADMIM START Summer Internship Program 2024
June 17 – August 9, 2024 the UC Irvine site of CADMIM hosted undergraduate students for 8 weeks through a Skills Training in Advanced Research & Technology (START) supplement from the National Science Foundation. 12 interns performed research in the laboratories of Abe Lee (CADMIM Director), and CADMIM Core faculty Jered Haun, Michelle Digman, Elliot Hui, and Wendy Liu. In addition to research, the interns also participated in career development activities. The program ended with a showcase where all interns presented their research in posters and at the podium. 

Interns: Jaime Ornelas, Tolin Safadi, Faith Knapp, Paige Tracy, and Bryaus Ott from Santiago Canyon College and Love Bradley, Giovanni Tam, Brandon Dao, Tamara Kyaw, Kallyn Kumagawa, Joshua Khaw, and Houston Nguyen from UCI. 

For more information about the START supplemental funding opportunity: NSF START

Cellecho Biotech Wins at Pitch, Launch, Grow
2 start-up companies led by CADMIM alumni competed in “Pitch, Launch, Grow,” hosted by University Lab Partners (ULP) August 13, 2024. This is Orange County’s annual pitch competition for life science start-ups! All competitors were pre-vetted by industry judges and competed in three different tracks: life science, medical technologies, and pediatrics. Winners receive a 1-year ULP lab space (one 6-ft lab bench) valued at $29,400. ULP is Orange County’s wet-lab incubator for life science and medtech companies. Congrats to Cellecho Biotechnologies for taking home a prize in the life sciences track!

Shout out to both competing start-ups:

• Cellecho Biotechnologies, Inc. (Founders: Dr. Mohammad Aghaamoo and Dr. Abe Lee, CADMIM Director): Cellecho website
• Makani Science (Founders: Dr. Michael Chu and Dr. Michelle Khine) Makani website

More info about this event: Event website, ULP website. Photos courtesy of University Lab Partners (Michael Baker).

Ian Papautsky Receives DoD/CDMRP Grant
The Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (DoD/CDMRP) fosters novel approaches to biomedical research in response to the expressed needs of its stakeholders – the American public, the military, and Congress. Dr. Ian Papautsky, CADMIM Co-Director and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Illinois, Chicago, is the PI of a new DoD/CDMRP grant titled “Preclinical Models of Brain Metastases in Lung Cancer for Drug Efficacy and Resistance Studies.” Total funds $160K for the period of 1 year (8/15/24-8/14/25). Congratulations!

Michelle Digman = BME Dept. Chair at UCI
Congratulations to Dr. Michelle Digman for being appointed Chair of the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering at the UCI Samueli School of Engineering! The appointment begins July 1, 2024. Not only is Dr. Digman Core faculty at CADMIM, but she also serves as the Stacey Nicholas Endowed Chair for Diversity in Engineering Education, adviser to the Samueli School’s Office of Outreach, Access and Inclusion, and BME associate dean for graduate affairs. Congratulations again! See article here: UCI Article

David Eddington = Dean of the UIC Graduate College
Congratulations to Dr. David Eddington. He has been named dean of the University of Illinois Chicago Graduate College, effective July 1, 2024. Dr. Eddington was the director of graduate studies for the biomedical engineering department for 10 years, from 2011 to 2021. He has also served on the university bargaining team for the graduate employee organization (GEO) and Graduate College’s executive committee. See article here: UIC article

 

CADMIM Hosts Lunch & Learn with VTT, MedPhab, and ALine
On July 16, 2024 CADMIM hosted “How to Scale Up (Not Screw Up) Mass Production of Integrated Biosensors and Lab-on-a-Chip devices,” a lunch & learn at UC Irvine featuring guest speakers from CADMIM Industrial Advisory Board members VTT Technical Research Center of Finland and ALine, Inc. This session was attended by CADMIM faculty, post-docs, students, and summer interns as well as local medtech industry and the greater UCI community. 

For more information about VTT: https://www.vttresearch.com/en
For more information about ALine: https://www.alineinc.com/

Elliot Hui Captures R21 Grant from NIH
Elliot Hui, CADMIM Core faculty at UC Irvine received an R21 grant from the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences for a project titled “Autonomous Platform for Pulsatile Soluble Stimulation.” This 2-year project aims to understand how hormones are regulated, crucial for advancing the treatment of endocrine diseases. Many hormones are released in pulses, rather than continuously, but reproducing this pulsatile environment in the lab is challenging. This project will develop a microfluidic platform that can mimic the natural pulsatile secretion of hormones, allowing scientists to study their regulation and develop new therapies.

UCI Grad Student Interns at Irvine Start-up via NSF INTERN Program
In June 2024, Mr. Jason Saathoff, PhD Candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Jered Haun, CADMIM Core Faculty at UC Irvine, started an internship at Amberstone Biosciences, Inc. in Irvine, CA, supported by the NSF INTERN program. Amberstone is an early-stage company focused on the development of next-gen tumor activated immunotherapeutics. For more information on the NSF INTERN program: www.nsf.gov/INTERN

CADMIM Graduates
Congratulations to Amirreza Ghaznavi (Jie Xu’s lab, UI Chicago) and Hauna Lagouros (Jered Haun’s lab, UC Irvine)! Both graduated with PhDs and contributed to various projects at CADMIM. Also congratulations to Chung Thai (Elliot Hui’s lab, UC Irvine) who graduated with his Master’s Degree!.  

 

4 Undergraduate Students Receive REU Awards
Two Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) supplements were awarded to the University of California, Irvine. Michelle Chau (Lee Lab) is working on a project titled “Physiological Artificial Antigen Presenting Cells.” Bryan Orozco (Digman Lab) is working on a project titled “Rac1-Mediated Remodeling: A Metabolic Expression of MCF10A and MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells.” 

Two additional REU supplements were awarded to University of Illinois Chicago. Kelly Panariti (Papautsky Lab), is working on a project titled “Investigating Impact of Local Anesthetics on Circulating Tumor Cells in Pancreatic Cancer Patients.” Farah Suleiman (Peng Lab) is working on a project titled “Modeling Atomic Force Microscopy Indentation of Cells Using the Finite Elemental Method.” Congratulations to all!

Journal Publications from CADMIM Research Groups

• Giuseppe Lauricella, Mohammad Moein Naderi, Jian Zhou, Ian Papautsky, Zhangli Peng, “Dynamics of ellipsoidal particles in inertial shear flow between two parallel walls,” Journal of Fluid Mechanics, v. 984, April 10, 2024. Article about paper
• Amirreza Ghaznavi, Jie Xu, Christine U. Lee, and Seth A. Hara, “3D-Printed Hollow Microneedles Array with Luer Lock Connection for Facile and Painless Intradermal Injection: A Proof of Concept,” Advanced Materials Technologies, June 14, 2024. Access paper: Publication
• Elena Boselli, Zhizhen Wu, Erin N. Haynes, Ian Papautsky, “Screen-Printed Sensors Modified with Nafion and Mesoporous Carbon for Electrochemical Detection of Lead in Blood,” Journal of the Electrochemical Society, February 13, 2024. Access paper: Publication

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