Detection and manipulation of cells and biomolecules are important to many industrial, biological and biomedical studies. However, currently existing tools are limited in throughput, resolution, and/or sensitivity to dissect cell subpopulations and detect molecular targets in complex environments. My interdisciplinary approaches based on microfluidic and biosensing technologies have offered unique solutions to address these limitations. In this talk, I will first present innovative label-free microfluidic techniques for the manipulation and separation of cells. Then I will describe the development of droplet-based microfluidic devices for high-throughput single-cell analysis (e.g., based on metabolite production and enzyme secretion). Next, I will discuss the use of nanocomposite materials in electrochemical sensor technologies. Their applications in the detection of nucleic acids, protein biomarkers and small molecules will be demonstrated in the last part of my talk.

Biography

Dr Ming Li is currently a Senior Lecturer and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow (EL1, 2023-2027) in the School of Engineering at Macquarie University (MQ), Australia. She was a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Bioengineering and Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA (2014-2017), and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Houston, USA (2013-2014). She completed her PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wollongong in July 2013. Her research interests include microfluidic biotechnology, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and biosensors. She has 65 peer reviewed journal articles published in high-impact journals, such as Cell, Nature Protocols, Biotechnology Advances, Biosensors and Bioelectronics, Small, and Lab on a Chip. Her publications have received over 2600 citations and an h-index of 30 (Google Scholar).

In-person: UNSW Sydney, Room 202,  Ainsworth Building (J17)

Zoom Link to join online: https://unsw.zoom.us/j/87951011655