CBM2 External Advisory Committee Members (Phase 1)
Prof. Richard Superfine, Chair of EAB (University of North Carolina; Taylor-Williams Distinguished Professor in Physics and Astronomy)
Physics of biology is focusing on how forces are generated and sensed in living systems, from single molecules to tissues. Prof. Superfine’s work pursues an understanding of how cells sense forces, especially in relation to cancer, of how the physics of mucus clearance allows the lung to stay sterile and how the physics of molecules and networks creates effective clots. He leads an NIH center that is highly collaborative, drawing on the fantastic intellectual talents of researchers at UNC and from across the country. They develop new instrumentation and methods, and new diagnostic technologies that they hope will help patients very soon through a new spin-out company, Rheomics, Inc. Prof. Superfine, who is the PI for an existing P41 Center, will not only be able to review the technology areas of the Center, but will also be engaged in reviewing the organizational structure of the Center given his experiences in running a successful P41 Center.
Dr. J. William Efcavitch (Molecular Assemblies, Inc.)
Dr. Efcavitch has been involved in a number of biotechnology companies including Applied Biosystems and Helicos BioSciences. His research is focused on phosphoramidite chemistry for DNA applications. Dr. Efcavitch will be intimately involved in helping us manage the molecular biology entailed in TR&D2, and also assisting with the commercialization and translation of our discoveries.
Prof. Bruno Frazier (Georgia Tech University; GTU)
Bruno is a Professor of Bioengineering and microelectronics/microsystems at GTU. Bruno’s research interests are in the areas of micromachining and MEMS, integrated biodetection systems (optical, electrokinetic). Prof. Frazier currently manages the Micro Instrumentation Laboratory, which is an integrated set of research and instructional laboratories dedicated to the development of micro scale instrumentation systems. Prof. Frazier will be able to guide us on system integration across many different length scales, and also formulating workshops in the microfluidics and nanofluidics areas.
Prof. Bruce Gale (University of Utah; UoU)
Bruce is a Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Adjunct Professor in Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering at UoU. Bruce is the Director the Nanofabrication Facility at the UoU and his research interests are in the area of microfluidics, MEMS, micropumps and microvalves, microscale DNA anlaysis, DNA and protein microarrays, highly parallel fluid handling and nanotechnology. Prof. Gale’s extensive expertise in DNA analysis using microfluidics and his experiences in fluid mechanics and the effects of scaling on the fluidics will provide invaluable insights into our transport and nanoscale electrophoresis on single molecules.
Prof. Stefanie Jeffrey (John and Marva Warnock Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine)
Her research currently involves extracting, profiling, and growing circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood and disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) from bone marrow to shed light on different tumor cell populations involved in the metastatic process and to help guide selection of appropriate therapies in individual cancer patients. To facilitate this, Dr. Jeffrey and colleagues from the Schools of Medicine, Engineering, and Genome Technology Center invented the MagSweeper, an automated immunomagnetic separation device that isolates live rare cells with high purity and minimal impact on gene expression for high dimensional single cell molecular analyses or tumor cell growth in culture. Her group is funded to continue this work through use or development of additional technologies, including both continuous-flow and droplet-based microfluidic devices, for antibody-based or label-free tumor cell capture, characterization, and growth. Tumor types being investigated include those from patients with primary or metastatic breast cancer or patients with colon cancer that has metastasized to the liver. Dr. Jeffrey's group also studies the role of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in evaluating efficacy of surgical resection of metastases from colorectal cancer. Her lab collaborates closely with Prof Amy Herr's group at UC Berkeley Bioengineering to determine protein signaling pathway activity in single tumor cells. Because of Prof. Jeffrey’s experiences in liquid biopsy from a medical and cancer biology perspective, she will direct us on understanding the clinical translation of our technologies.
Prof. Paul Bohn (University of Notre Dame; UND)
Paul is the Arthur J. Schmitt Professor in Molecular Nanoscience at UND. The Bohn group uses the tools of molecular nanotechnology to define the state-of-the-art in chemical analysis of mass-limited samples (ranging from ~106 molecules down to a single molecule). His research currently focuses on problems in three thematic areas: low-dimensional analytical electronics and photonics, analytical nanofluidics, and correlated imaging, and uses the tools of nanofabrication, high sensitivity molecular spectroscopy, and electrochemistry to achieve their research goals. Paul has received many awards, such as a Fellow with the Royal Society of Chemistry. Prof. Bohn will be able to guide our work in doing spLDRs in nanoconfined space due to his extensive expertise in performing biochemical and chemical reactions in nanochambers.