Pietro Strobbia
University of Cincinnati, OH·Chemistry
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed a gap in testing for infectious disease. Lab tests based on PCR (polymerase chain reaction) are accurate but hard to deploy widely.
- Fields
Chemistry
Biomedical Engineering
- Topics
surface-enhanced Raman scattering
plasmonics
biosensors
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Apr 2028
What they work on
- Identify which functional DNA sequence features control the performance of catalytic surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors, using inverse design and machine learning.
- Build an automated sensor design algorithm that produces SERS sensor designs with predictable figures of merit for any target genetic sequence.
- Develop freeze-dried sensing tablets containing all components of the reagentless one-pot SERS assay, so testing needs only the addition of a sample.
- Validate a multiplexed SERS assay for SARS-CoV-2 on saliva samples with inactivated viruses from different variants, measuring accuracy for viral load and variant identification.
More about the research
Rapid lateral flow strips, like home antigen tests, are cheap and portable but less sensitive and accurate. This project aims to build tests that are both accurate and easy to use at the point of need, wherever testing is required. The long-term goal is a platform that can detect several genetic markers of disease at once in liquid biopsies, such as saliva.
Why it matters
Inexpensive, sensitive point-of-need tests could help health workers and communities detect infections such as COVID-19 outside central laboratories, identify which variant is present and estimate viral load. A sensor platform that can be quickly redesigned for new genetic targets could strengthen surveillance of emerging infectious diseases.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Tuan Vo-Dinh
Duke University, NC·Biomedical Engineering
Develop CARTP, a signal-amplifying add-on to inverse Molecular Sentinel SERS nanoprobes, and test its specificity, sensitivity and multiplexing for three Alzheimer's-related microRNAs using synthetic targets.
Jeremy Driskell
Illinois State University, IL·Chemistry
Determine how nanobody charge, controlled by pH, affects adsorption onto gold nanoparticles, and build a predictive model for making stable, robust nanobody-gold conjugates.
Rupa Haldavnekar
University of Oklahoma, OK·Biomedical Engineering
Develop a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) sensing approach, a light-based method that reads molecular fingerprints, to detect subtle blood-based changes signaling early ovarian tumor formation.
The school
University of Cincinnati: 18 labs on PI Pages, $740M a year on research, 275 research doctorates a year.
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