Tag Archives: biomems

Lessons I learned from commercializing my postdoctoral research project — Part 2

By Lily | Published: March 26, 2011

This is the second installment written by Dr. Tanya Kanigan about her experiences co-founding BioTrove, a startup based on the nanovolume array technology she and others invented at MIT (click here for part 1). BioTrove was acquired by Life Technologies in December 2009, and Tanya is now establishing her own consulting practice, Proof of Market, to [...]

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Startup Spotlight: On-Q-ity’s microfluidic cancer diagnostics

By Lily | Published: September 13, 2010

One of the most lethal events in cancer is the process of metastasis — when cells from an initial tumor spread throughout the body to generate new tumors. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are cancer cells that invade the bloodstream to circulate through the body; not surprisingly, they have been linked to metastasis. Knowing the status [...]

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Michael Vahey wins Senturia Prize for microfluidic / isodielectric cell screening method

By Lily | Published: April 27, 2010

I’m happy to announce that Michael Vahey, a former colleague from the Voldman lab at MIT, has won this year’s Senturia Prize for his Ph.D. thesis work on a novel microfluidic technique for separating and characterizing cells according to their electrical properties. This method offers a new tool for biologists looking to screen millions of [...]

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Crash course in biomicrofluidics: CIMIT Summer 2008 video series

By Lily | Published: February 16, 2010

If you’re looking to get an overview of medical applications of microfluidics, check out the videos from CIMIT‘s 2008 summer education series on the “Frontiers of Microfluidics and Microsystems in Biomedical Sciences and Clinical Medicine.”  The series includes eight lectures by leading researchers on topics ranging from heart muscle to bacterial detection to CD4 counting. [...]

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Micro/Nanotech Seminar Series @MIT kicks off Spring 2010

By Lily | Published: February 15, 2010

The spring 2010 schedule is up for MIT’s Micro/Nano-technology Seminar Series (MNSS) and the lineup looks terrific: February 18, 2010: Prof. Jongyoon Han, MIT Sorting Ions and Molecules using Nanofilters: Application of Ion Concentration Polarization (ICP) March 4, 2010: Prof. Rustem Ismagilov, University of Chicago Space, complex networks, and microfluidic tools April 15, 2010: Prof. [...]

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New blog here at fluidicmems.com

By Lily | Published: February 15, 2010

I started blogging at lilykim.com knowing I wanted to explore the intersection of medicine, technology, and business, but without knowing exactly what the blog would be about. Over time I found myself writing more and more about my microfluidics / MEMS roots. I wanted to know more about the latest research, but I also wanted [...]

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Wikipedia list of academic microfluidics research

By Lily | Published: January 23, 2010

It turns out that Wikipedia has an extensive list of academic microfluidics/bioMEMS research groups worldwide. Although the list is long, there are probably many groups missing. I know this because when I first found the page, only one group from MIT was mentioned (there are at least nine). I’ve since remedied that situation — my [...]

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Recent clinical trials of microfluidic devices

By Lily | Published: January 19, 2010

After I heard about a clinical trial for a microfluidic device that detects circulating cancer cells, I started wondering how many other microfluidic devices are in clinical trials.  A quick search turned up only seven studies (and two of those were withdrawn). Interestingly, five of the seven trials have some connection to the University of [...]

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Microfluidics for studying cancer metastasis

By Lily | Published: January 17, 2010

What causes cancer cells to become metastatic, moving beyond their local environment to infiltrate other parts of the body? Some researchers have called metastasis “the most dangerous event in cancer,” and many believe that a better understanding of metastasis could lead to new cancer treatments. Microfluidics researchers have long been investigating metastasis, because metastasis is [...]

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Natural technology evolution vs. failed innovation

By Lily | Published: January 13, 2010

I loved David Rotman’s recent Technology Review article “Shoveling Water” on why the commercialization of microfluidics has been so slow. (I wrote about it here.) Later I realized it reminded me of an article I read earlier this year by Michael Mandel of Business Week on “The Failed Promise of Innovation in the US.”  Mandel [...]

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