Recent advances in molecular engineering and advanced imaging techniques have significantly enhanced our ability to analyze complex biological systems, providing unparalleled throughput and resolution. When integrated with sophisticated engineering devices and data science, these techniques offer innovative biosensing methods, paving the way for the advancement of next-generation precision health. However, conventional biosensing strategies often involve isolating, fixing, and lysing cells, which results in the loss of hierarchical organization, dynamic features, and important phenotypic responses, including drug resistance, invasiveness, and inflammatory reactions. To address this unmet need in precision medicine, we are developing dynamic single-cell biosensors, microfluidic disease models, and AI-guided workflows for rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing, on-demand microbiota profiling, and treatment optimization with patient-derived tumor organoids. In this presentation, I will delve into the application of these technologies in the realm of precision management for diseases. This includes the rapid diagnosis of infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria and the clinical management of bladder cancer.
Dr. Pak Kin Wong is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Surgery at Pennsylvania State University. Prior to joining Penn State, Dr. Wong held faculty positions in the Departments of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. His research focuses on novel biosensing techniques for precision medicine. Dr. Wong has authored over 130 peer-reviewed journal articles in the field of biomedical engineering and holds seven patents. He is among the top 2% of most-cited researchers globally according to the Stanford/Elsevier list (c-score from Scopus). He is an Editor for IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology, Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, Scientific Reports, and SLAS Technology. Dr. Wong serves on the steering committee of IEEE NANOMED and has chaired or co-chaired IEEE NANOMED 2013, IEEE NEMS 2017, IEEE NANOMED 2018, and IEEE NANOMED 2023. Among his numerous honors, Dr. Wong received the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director's New Innovator Award in 2010, the Arizona Engineering Faculty Fellow Award in 2011, the AAFSAA Outstanding Faculty Award in 2013, the Distinguished Alumni Award from CUHK in 2017, and the SLAS Technology Ten – A Top 10 Breakthrough in Innovation in 2018. He is a Fellow of AIMBE, ASME, RSC, and SLAS, and an elected academician of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.