Breast Cancer Biomarker
Assistant Professor of Chemistry teams up with UHart students on development of disposable test strips.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Colleen Krause, working with UHart students and colleagues from a neighboring university, has developed a disposable test strip that detects Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2, a breast cancer biomarker.
The test strip is a simple, inexpensive way to catch breast cancer early and would revolutionize personalized diagnosis. It is hoped that with early detection, physicians can tailor treatment approaches on the spot.
Last year, Krause’s research was published by top biosensor journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics. Students Susanita Carvajal ’19 and Samantha Fera ’19 were co-authors on the manuscript.
“My students and I are working on engineering a portable output device for an electrochemical readout that is similar to the glucose meters you can buy in a local pharmacy,” Krause explains. The research team includes Adonica Simpson ’19, Aleksander Marczuk ’19, Estelleta Hackshaw ’20, and Mikaila French ’20.
The students are engaged in interdisciplinary research that incorporates engineering, synthetic chemistry, electrochemistry, and biochemistry. “They work throughout the year to gather meaningful, publishable results that can be presented at local scientific conferences, and they gain essential skills in becoming independent problem solvers. This will propel them into their prospective careers,” Krause says.
Using inkjet printers to build a new biosensor for less invasive breast cancer detection
NIBIB–funded researchers have created a novel, low-cost biosensor to detect HER-2, a breast cancer biomarker in the blood, allowing for a far less invasive diagnostic test than the current practice, a needle biopsy. Scientists at the Universities of Hartford and Connecticut, and funded in part by NIBIB, combined microfluidic technology with diagnostics, including electrochemical sensors and biomarkers, into a powerful package that can give results in about 15 minutes.
Colleen Krause, Assistant Professor of ChemistryThey work throughout the year to gather meaningful, publishable results that can be presented at local scientific conferences, and they gain essential skills in becoming independent problem solvers. This will propel them into their prospective careers.