Abstract :
The shortcomings of the centralized medical diagnostic testing model prevalent across the world were exposed by the COVID19 pandemic. However, the problem of limited access to state-of-the-art medical diagnostic technologies in low and middle income countries is not new. This problem is well demonstrated in the global south’s struggle against the tuberculosis pandemic for over a century. A large fraction of the world’s low-income population does not have access to affordable and accurate medical diagnostic testing. In this talk, I will present several technologies that we are currently developing in The Laboratory for Ubiquitous Medical Diagnostic Technologies that promise to increase access to accurate medical diagnostics to the world’s most vulnerable populations, and perhaps even usher a new era of home-based molecular diagnostics. An important tool we employ is paper-based microfluidics. Paper (or porous materials, in general) enables transport of minute quantities of fluids by wicking and obviates the need for using pumps to move fluids. Our work focuses on developing new paper geometries and assemblies that enable minimally trained users to conduct complex molecular diagnostic workflows. Design of such novel devices is often guided by mathematical modelling of the transport-reaction phenomena that ensue when molecular assays meet paper microfluidics. In addition to technology development, we interact closely with stakeholders in the medical diagnostics space in India to understand and overcome the bottlenecks that prevent the commercialization of promising diagnostic technologies.
Biography :
Bhushan Toley is an Assistant Professor in the Chemical Engineering department and Associate Faculty at the Center for Biosystems Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. His research interests are in the broad area of development of point-of-care medical diagnostic technologies, with a specific focus on paper-based microfluidics. He received his bachelor’s (2006) and PhD (2012) degrees in Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology Mumbai and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, respectively. From 2012-2016, he conducted postdoctoral research in the Bioengineering Department at the University of Washington (Seattle) under the guidance of Prof. Paul Yager. He joined IISc in 2016. He is a recipient of the Grand Challenges Exploration and the Grand Challenges Exploration-India Awards from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) Young Engineer Award, and the Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award from the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India.