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Lab on a Chip awards prestigious prizes at MicroTAS 2016

The µTAS 2016 Conference was held during 9-13th October in Dublin, Ireland. Sam Keltie and Maria Southall, Executive and Deputy Editors of Lab on a Chip, attended this conference and announced the prestigious Lab on a Chip awards which include the Pioneers of Miniaturization Lectureship (in partnership with Corning Inc), the Widmer Young Researcher Poster Prize, the Art in Science competition (in partnership with NIST) and the µTAS video competition (in partnership with Dolomite Microfluidics). The competition was tough but we are pleased to announce this year’s Prize Winners below.


“Pioneers of Miniaturization” Lectureship

Congratulations to all of our Prize Winners: Dr Daniel Irimia (top left), Vaibhav Jain (top right), Enrica Rollo (bottom right) and Adam Churchman (bottom right).

Dr Daniel Irimia (Massachusets General Hospital) was announced as the winner of the 11th “Pioneers of Miniaturization” Lectureship, sponsored by Lab on a Chip and Corning Inc and supported by the Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society (CBMS). The “Pioneers of Miniaturization” Lectureship rewards early to mid-career scientists who have made extraordinary or outstanding contributions to the understanding or development of miniaturised systems. Dr Daniel Irimia received a certificate and a monetary award from Po Ki Yuen (Corning Inc), and delivered a short lecture titled “The amazing neutrophil: unexpected insights from tiny devices” at the conference.

Art in Science Competition

Lab on a Chip and Darwin Reyes from the National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST) presented the Art in Science award to Vaibhav Jain, Purdue University. The award aims to highlight the aesthetic value in scientific illustrations while still conveying scientific merit. You can see his winning photograph “The Rising Sun” along with the runner ups on our Art in Science blog post.

µTAS Video Competition

Lab on a Chip and Dolomite Microfluidics announced Enrica Rollo (EPFL) as the winner of the 2016 µTAS Video Competition supported by the Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society (CBMS). µTAS participants were invited to submit short videos with a scientific or educational focus.The winners baked a micropillar chocolate cake! The full video can be viewed on our YouTube channel along with the runner up video “Keep calm and keep’em separated” by Burcu Gumuscu (University of Twente). Mark Gilligan of Dolomite presented the winner with a voucher for Dolomite equipment.

Widmer Young Researcher Poster Prize

The Widmer Young Researcher Poster Prize was awarded to Adam Churchman, PhD student at Leeds University. His poster highlighted his research on the formation of oil layer inside microbubbles through single step microfluidics.

Also of interest: Browse through our collection of archived µTAS Abstracts online!

Congratulations to all the winners at the conference! We look forward to seeing you at µTAS 2017 in Savannah, Georgia.

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Discovery science meets technology – Emerging Investigators

We are both proud and very pleased to introduce the 2016 edition of our Emerging Investigators issue, which celebrates the most promising and brightest amongst early career miniaturisation scientists around the world.

Guest editors Charles M. Schroeder, Sarah Köster and Yanyi Huang introduce the issue in their Editorial.

Emerging Investigators 2016: discovery science meets technology
DOI: 10.1039/C6LC90076C

Read the full collection online today: http://rsc.li/loc-emginv-16

Free* Access: AC electric field induced droplet deformation in a microfluidic T-junction
Communication
Heng-Dong Xi, Wei Guo, Michael Leniart, Zhuang Zhi Chong and Say Hwa Tan
Lab Chip, 2016,16, 2982-2986 DOI: 10.1039/C6LC00448B

Open Access: Arrayed water-in-oil droplet bilayers for membrance transport analysis
R. Watanabe, N. Soga, M. Hara and H. Noji
Lab Chip, 2016,16, 3043-3048
DOI: 10.1039/C6LC00155F

Free* Access: Cell-on-hydrogel platform made of agar and alginate for rapid, low-cost, multidimensional test of antimicrobial susceptibility
Han Sun, Zhengzhi Liu, Chong Hu and Kangning Ren
Lab Chip, 2016,16, 3130-3138
DOI: 10.1039/C6LC00417B

Free Access*: One-step immunoassay of C-reactive protein using droplet microfluidics
Matthew Y. H. Tang and Ho Cheung Shum
Lab Chip, 2016, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C6LC01121G

*Access is free until 11 November 2016 via a registered RSC account.

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Art in Science Competition Winner Announced at MicroTAS 2016

Lab on a Chip and the National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST) were pleased to present the Art in Science award at the µTAS 2016 Conference on 13 October 2016. The award highlights the aesthetic value in scientific illustrations while still conveying scientific merit. Many fantastic submissions were received this year with the winner selected by Sam Keltie, Lab on a Chip Executive Editor, Darwin Reyes, NIST and Dino Di Carlo, Lab on a Chip Editorial Board member.

And the winner is…

Vaibhav Jain, Purdue University

The Rising Sun

Dark field micrograph of sweat advancing in a paper channel dyed with Cobalt chloride dihydrate (Bluish), changing it to cobalt chloride hexahydrate (Reddish orange)

And the runners up are…

Gokce Ozkazanc, Bilkent University

Composition of Particles in a Droplet”

Visualization of Particle Composition inside a Water Droplet

Susanna Lladó Maldonado, TU Braunschweig

Wellness microresort for cells

Mixing performance in a microbubble column-bioreactor

A big thank you to all the contributors this year!

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Introducing our new Lab on a Chip Advisory Board members

We are delighted to welcome our new Advisory Board members!

Yoshinobu Baba – Nagoya University

Yoshinobu is a Professor in the Department of Advanced Medical Science Graduate School of Medicine at Nagoya University. His major area of interest is nanobiosicence and nanobiotechnology for omics, systems biology, cancer diagnosis, cancer therapy regenerative medicine, and molecular in vivo imaging.

Jean-Christophe Baret – University of Bordeaux, France

Jean-Christophe is a Professor at the University of Bordeaux. His research group focuses on the fundamental study of interfaces in liquid systems through the dynamics of droplets, bubbles and emulsions.

Anja Boisen – Technical University of Denmark, Denmark

Anja is a Professor in the Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology at the Technical University of Denmark.  Her research group focuses on development and application of micro and nano mechanical sensors and microfabricated solutions for oral drug delivery. The group also explores integration of micro and nano sensors onto centrifugal microfluidic platforms.

Qun Fang – Zhejiang University

Qun is a Qiushi Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Zhejiang University, and the Director of Institute of Microanalytical Systems at Zhejiang University. His research interests include microfluidic analysis, capillary electrophoresis, flow injection analysis, and miniaturization of analytical instruments, especially the development of automated and high-throughput droplet-based microfluidic analysis and screening techniques.

Martin A. M Gijs – EPFL, Switzerland

Martin is Professor in the School of Engineering at EPFL and Head of the Laboratory of Microsystems. His present interests are in developing technologies for novel magnetic devices, new microfabrication technologies for microsystems fabrication in general and the development and use of microsystems technologies for microfluidic and biomedical applications in particular.

Noo Li Jeon – Seoul National University, South Korea

Noo Li is a Professor at the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Seoul National University. His research group use cell culture and microfluidic techniques to investigate biological processes.

Gwo-Bin Lee – National Tsing Hua University

Gwo-Bin is a Professor at the National Tsing Hua University. His research interests are on nano-biotechnology, micro/nanofluidics and their biomedical applications. He is currently developing integrated micro/nano systems incorporated with nano/biotechnology for a variety of applications, including fast diagnosis of infectious diseases, screening of biomarkers for cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and optofluidics.

Hang Lu – Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

Hang is a Professor at the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research group work at the interface of engineering and biology. They engineer BioMEMS and microfluidic devices to address questions across a variety of disciplines.

Adrian Neild – Monash University, Australia

Adrian is an Associate Professor and Director of Research in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at Monash University. His research interest are focused on non-linear ultrasound including acoustic radiation forces and acoustic streaming as well as viscosity, microfluidic systems, micron-scale particle and biological cell handling, air-coupled ultrasound, transducer design, non-destructive testing, and finite-element analysis.

Nicole Pamme – University of Hull, UK

Nicole is a Professor in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Hull. Following her PhD, where she worked on single particle analysis in microfluidic chips, Nicole spent a year in Japan, working as an independent research fellow in the International Centre for Young Scientists (ICYS) at the National Institute for Materials Science. She has been at the University of Hull since 2005 and is currently Director of Research.

Sámuel Sánchez – Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia, Spain

Sámuel leads the lab-in-a-tube and nanorobotic biosensors research group at the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia. His research focuses on the design of miniaturized devices that bridge multidisciplinary fields from material science, chemistry and biology. His research group studies a broad range of phenomena occurring at the interface between materials and biology, from fundamental studies to applications.

Anderson Shum – University of Hong Kong, China

Anderson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the University of Hong Kong. His research area covers microscaled fluid dynamics, biomedical applications of microfluidics, eye-on-a-chip, and all-aqueous microfluidics; and his  main area of expertise include droplet microfluidics, emulsion-templated materials and microscaled interfacial phenomena.

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Introducing our new Lab on a Chip Editorial Board members!

Please join us in welcoming Dino Di Carlo, Piotr Garstecki and Shoji Takeuchi to the Lab on  a Chip Editorial Board!

Dino Di Carlo, University of California at Los Angeles

Dino is Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Bioengineering and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California at Los Angeles. He also Directs the Cancer Nanotechnology Program of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. His research group are currently focusing on exploiting unique physics, microenvironment control, and the potential for automation associated with miniaturized systems for applications in basic biology, medical diagnostics, and cellular engineering.

Piotr Garstecki, Polish Academy of Sciences

Piotr is a Professor at the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences. He currently leads the Research Group of Microfluidics and Complex Fluids. The group conducts research on fundamental aspects of the physics of soft matter systems and develops microfluidic tools for chemistry and biology.


Shoji Takeuchi, University of Tokyo

Shoji is a Professor in the Center for International Research on Integrative Biomedical Systems (CIBiS), Institute of Industrial Science (IIS), University of Tokyo. Since 2008, he has been a director of Collaborative Research Center for Bio/Nano Hybrid Process at IIS. His current research interests include 3D tissue fabrication, implantable devices, artificial cells/lipid bilayer systems, and biohybrid MEMS.

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New Lab on a Chip Associate Editor: Petra S. Dittrich

At Lab on a Chip we are very pleased to announce our newest Associate Editor – Petra Dittrich!

Petra is Associate Professor for Bioanalytics at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering. Her research in the field of lab-on-chip-technologies focuses on the miniaturization of high-sensitivity devices for chemical and biological analyses, and microfluidic-aided organization of materials.

Petra’s research group develop miniaturized devices (lab-on-chip technology or microfluidics) for applications in the life sciences. Their interdisciplinary approach combines chemical, physical, biological and engineering aspects of microfluidics-based technology. You can find out more about her research on her homepage: http://www.dittrich.ethz.ch/

Petra is now handling papers so submit your paper to her today!

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Top 10 Reviewers for Lab on a Chip

In celebration of Peer Review Week, with the theme of Recognition for Review – we would like to highlight the top 10 reviewers for Lab on a Chip in 2016, as selected by the editor for their significant contribution to the journal.

Name Institution
Dr David Erickson Cornell University
Dr Edmond Young University of Toronto
Dr David Sinton University of Toronto
Dr Daniel Irimia Harvard University
Dr Kevin Dorfman University of Minnesota
Dr Piotr Garstecki Polish Academy of Sciences
Professor Jaap Den Toonder Delft University
Dr Petra Dittrich ETH Zürich
Dr Michael C Breadmore University of Tasmania
Dr David Juncker McGill University

We would like to say a massive thank you to these reviewers as well as the Lab on a Chip board and all of our community for their continued support of the journal, as authors, reviewers and readers.

Review to win!
As a little added bonus to celebrate Peer Review Week, for the next four weeks our reviewers will be in with a chance of winning a fantastic prize! Simply submit a review for any of our journals between 19 September and 16 October 2016 and you will be automatically eligible for a chance to win one of our fantastic prizes.

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Recent Advances in 3D Printing

Guest edited by Jennifer Lewis (Harvard University) and Howard Stone (Princeton University) this collection of papers showcases recent advances in the rapidly evolving field of 3D printing, with an emphasis on themes that impact lab-on-a-chip applications.

Free* Access: The upcoming 3D-printing revolution in microfluidics
Critical Review
Nirveek Bhattacharjee, Arturo Urrios, Shawn Kang and Albert Folch
Lab Chip, 2016,16, 1720-1742 DOI: 10.1039/C6LC00163G

Free* Access: High density 3D printed microfluidic valves, pumps and multiplexers
HOT Article
Hua Gong, Adam Trticle. Woolley and Gregory P. Nordin
Lab Chip, 2016,16, 2450-2458 DOI: 10.1039/C6LC00565A

Free* Access: Bioprinted Thrombosis-on-a-Chip
HOT Article
Rahmi Oklu et al.
Lab Chip, 2016, Accepted Manuscript, C6LC00380J

Open Access: 3D- printed microfluidic devices: enablers and barriers
Michael C. Breadmore., et al
Lab Chip, 2016,16, 1993-2013
DOI: 10.1039/C6LC00284F

This collection also features a video demonstration:

3D printing of liquid metals as fugitive inks for fabrication of 3D microfluidic channels
Dishit P. Parekh, Collin Ladd, Lazar Panich, Khalil Moussa and Michael D. Dickey
Lab Chip, 2016,16, 1812-1820 DOI: 10.1039/C6LC00198J

Browse our 3D Printing collection – we hope you enjoy the articles

*Access is free until 10th October via a registered RSC account.

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Pioneers of Miniaturization Lectureship 2016

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Daniel Irimia is the winner of the 2016 “Pioneers of Miniaturization” Lectureship.

The 11th “Pioneers of Miniaturization” Lectureship, sponsored by Lab on a Chip and Corning Incorporated, and supported by the Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society (CBMS), is for early to mid-career scientists who have made extraordinary or outstanding contributions to the understanding or development of miniaturised systems.

This “Pioneers of Miniaturization” Lectureship will be presented to Daniel at the µTAS 2016 Conference in Dublin, Ireland, 9-13 October 2016. Daniel will receive a certificate, a monetary award and will give a short lecture during the conference.

Many congratulations to Dr. Daniel Irimia on this achievement from the Lab on a Chip team

About the winner

Dr. Daniel Irimia is a bioengineer trained as a physician and passionate about understanding the clinical consequences of neutrophil activities during disease. He received his Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of Illinois, Chicago in 2002 before becoming a Research Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Daniel is currently an Associate Professor in Surgery and Bioengineering and Deputy Director of the BioMEMS Resource Center at the Center for Engineering in Medicine, USA. His research is focused on designing sophisticated tools to measure relevant neutrophil behavior with the highest precision. He leads a team of scientists and doctors that employ microfluidic devices and novel measurements of neutrophil functions to monitor burn patients, optimize treatments, and uncover neutrophil-targeting interventions that could prevent infections and sepsis in burn patients.

As the organizer of the Cell World Races, aimed at encouraging scientists and clinician-researchers to utilize microfluidic tools in their research for higher level of precision and detail, Daniel increases the awareness for the technological changes taking place in the field of cell motility. This has been featured on the front page of Wall Street Journal (March 2014) and in 2012 Daniel was one of the winners of the Wellcome Image Awards for the depiction of “Cancer cells in motion.”

For more details on Dr. Daniel Irimia’s research please visit his homepage.

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What is the best way to study brain?

Before the 1700’s, when dissection techniques were not yet available, the cause of mood changes were thought to be the replacement of liquids and vapors in the body. The biology of the brain has been better understood since the discovery of research and test tools. However, occupying only about 1/50 of the body mass, the brain is perhaps the most complicated organ to study. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s list of over 400 neurological disorders can be seen as a sound proof of this exciting- and frustrating- fact.

Figure 1. The effects of biomechanical forces on the brain

Biomechanical forces on neurons play a fundamental role in neuronal physiology, which, in turn, affect brain development and disorders. During the growth of neurons, the tension created by the biomechanical forces are suggested to influence the cells’ motor activities, gene expression, neurotransmitter release, together with neurite growth and network connections (Figure 1). Research on the biomechanical forces can definitely help us to understand how the brain works, but many questions related to these forces remain unanswered. Quantitative measurements of the cell activity seem to be the only possible path to find satisfying answers to those questions.

A comprehensive list of experimental techniques involving both conventional and alternative micro&nanotechnology approaches have been recently brought to the attention of scientific community by Di Carlo and his coauthors. In their recent critical review, both advantages and disadvantages of conventional toolsnamely motor-driven pressure, patch membrane pressure, osmotic pressure, fluid shear stresses, and deformation of flexible elastomers—, microtechnology toolsincluding atomic force microscopy, micropatterning, and some other potential techniques—, and nanotechnology toolssuch as ferromagnetic and piezoelectric nanoparticles— are discussed.

The literature reports provided in the paper suggest that micro and nanotechnology tools offer better spatiotemporal resolution and throughput when compared to conventional techniques. The cellular functions and the possible technologies for the characterization of those functions are further described (Figure 2). For instance, behind-the-scene biological mechanisms for recovery in traumatic brain injuries can be determined by applying the biomechanical forces at the right place and right time to ultimately mitigate the injuries.

Figure 2. The influence of biomechanical forces on the neuron functions and available technologies for their investigation.

This article, published on 26 April 2016, is included in the Lab on a Chip Recent HOT Articles themed collection.

To download the full article for free* click the link below:

Micro- and nano-technologies to probe the mechano-biology of the brain
Andy Tay, Felix E. Schweizer, and Dino Di Carlo
Lab Chip, 2016,16, 1962-1977
DOI: 10.1039/C6LC00349D, Critical Review

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About the webwriter

Burcu Gumuscu is a PhD researcher in BIOS Lab on a Chip Group at University of Twente in The Netherlands. Her research interests include development of microfluidic devices for second generation sequencing, organ-on-chip development, and desalination of water on the micron-scale.

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*Access is free until 15/08/2016 through a registered RSC account.

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