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Samir Iqbal - Targeting Disease with Biochips

Researchers and healthcare providers constantly strive to discover and develop ways to reduce costs while increasing the quality of care. Electrical Engineering Assistant Professor Samir Iqbal is making important advances in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and he has a prestigious award to prove it.

Dr. Iqbal recently received a multi-year, early career (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation to develop new approaches for the electronic detection and isolation of certain proteins or “biomarkers.” His approach uses new ways of making silicon chips and integrating inexpensive nanofluidics to provide test results quicker than existing methods.

CAREER grants are the most prestigious awards by the NSF, supporting the early career development activities of faculty who exemplify outstanding research, excellent teaching and innovative integration of education and research. Dr. Iqbal will receive $400,000 over a five-year period to support his development of silicon biochips that can detect specific disease biomarkers through their electronic properties.

These biochips will do several self-contained functions, such as the isolation of specific, less abundant biomarkers and the electronic recognition of these biomarkers, all on the same biochip. These new methods of biomarker detection can significantly help in early cancer and Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, while reducing costs and the time of analysis.

The project has direct applications in other biosensor areas, including gene expression analysis, harmful pathogen detection and whole blood analysis. The technology will transform biomolecular sensing, providing better disease intervention strategies, improved statistical confidence and real-time detection.

“It is humbling to know that our ideas are better than many at top-tier schools” said Dr. Iqbal. “It is a result of collective efforts of excellent students working with me as well as my collaborators from biology, biomedical engineering, mathematics, biochemistry and electrical engineering. We are excited to step in the right direction and are equipped with the right mix of tools and expertise. Such bits and pieces of excellent research should take us to the goal of tier-I rather quickly.”