High sensitivity tech offers a potential COVID-19 testing solution
Many of the latest developments in the global coronavirus pandemic revolve around testing—for active infection and immunity. Diagnostic and antibody tests for COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 are flooding the market, as leaders and the public hope they might support safer strategies for re-opening.
Ping Wang, an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine. (Image: Penn Medicine)
Ping Wang, an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, investigates diagnostics and diagnostic technology at Penn. Her clinical work focuses on making sure diagnostic results are delivered accurately and in a timely manner for patients at the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research interests align with that, focusing on developing novel diagnostic tools—something particularly useful when facing a novel virus like SARS-CoV-2.
In response to the pandemic, Wang is developing a rapid antigen test to diagnose COVID-19 in the community, using highly sensitive and portable technology.
“The assay we’re developing to detect SARS-CoV-2 is called a microbubbling digital assay—a novel technology we developed that can detect a very low amount of biomarkers in human samples, using images of tiny microbubbles on a smartphone camera as a ‘cue,’” explains Wang. “When the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, we saw that this assay would be a perfect fit for detecting the COVID-19 virus antigens during acute infection phase, when or before patients were symptomatic. It takes a lot of analytical sensitivity to detect such low levels of antigens, and our technology can offer much higher analytical sensitivity than most routine technology.”
Novel plant-based approach to a better, cheaper GLP-1 delivery system
Research led by Penn Dental’s Henry Daniell investigates the use of a lettuce-based, plant-encapsulated delivery platform as a new oral delivery of two GLP-1 drugs previously approved by the FDA in injectable form.
No brain, no gain: Neuronal activity enhances benefits of exercise
Research led by Penn neuroscientist J. Nicholas Betley and collaborators finds that hypothalamic neurons are essential for translating physical exertion into endurance, potentially opening the door to exercise-mimicking therapies.
In honor of Valentine's Day, and as a way of fostering community in her Shakespeare in Love course, Becky Friedman took her students to the University Club for lunch one class period. They talked about the movie "Shakespeare in Love," as part of a broader conversation on how Shakespeare's works are adapted.
In Becky Friedman’s English course Shakespeare in Love, undergraduate students analyze language, genre, and adaptation in the Bard’s plays through the lens of love.
Beating the heat: Designing cooling for bodies in motion
Dorit Aviv, director of Weitzman’s Thermal Architecture Lab, studies how humans, technology, and design intersect, paving the way for the development of novel approaches to cooling people efficiently.
