Electrical engineering student works on diagnostic device for cancer

The most important reason is that UC provides top-ranking research resources and course work for students. UC also provides graduate students with professional academic trainings and helps students reach success with ample resources.

The end goal of my research work is to develop a simple yet powerful tool for disease early diagnosis in the clinical settings based on exosome characterization. 

My research work is focused on developing a new method for rapid isolation and non-invasive characterization of exosomes. Exosomes are nanoscale membrane vesicles produced by almost all kinds of cells, and they carry a wide variety of functional proteins and nucleic acids which can reflect the status of their originating cells. Exosomes act as vehicles for molecular cargos in intercellular communication and thus have been considered as circulating biomarkers for early diagnosis and therapeutics in liquid biopsy. 

Despite these remarkable attributes, the rapid isolation and non-invasive detection of exosomes have been a challenging task due to their small size and complex nature. Therefore, we developed a novel insulator-based dielectrophotetic device comprised of an array of micropipettes to trap exosomes from conditioned cell culture media and various biofluids, such as plasma, serum and saliva. The device is capable of isolating exosomes from small sample volumes within 20 minutes under a relatively low direct current due to the force balance of three electrokinetic forces, including dielectrophoretic, electrophoretic, and electroosmotic forces, at the close proximity of micropipette tips. In addition, this device was then combined with embedded micro-electrodes to differentiate and characterize exosomes from different cellular origins. 

One of the most impactful experiences during my time at UC is immersing myself in a new culture. As an international student, I gained so much by studying and living in the U.S. I become more understanding of different people, better connected to the lives they live, and I also made so many great friends coming from other places of the world.

I have been the first author of four high-impact peer-reviewed journal articles and second and third author of three journals including the Lab on a Chip and Scientific Report. Currently, I have been working on two other manuscripts which are expected to be published by the end of this fall semester. Also, I have been the first author and presenter of seven international and national conferences including the Biomedical Engineering Society and Biophysical Society. I have also maintained excellent grades while balancing excellent performance in research and teaching. 

After graduation, I will work as an assistant professor at Carolina University. Through this experience, I plan to pass the experiences and knowledge I have obtained here to my future students. I also plan to continue to do my research on biosensing and to become an independent researcher. 

Featured image at top of Leyla Esfandiari, associate professor, and Ph.D. students, Leilei Shi, center, and Ann Wolf, right. Photo/Corrie Mayer/CEAS Marketing.