Meet our Speakers: Research in COVID-19 Pandemic

Brigitte Baptiste

Chancellor at EAN University & Ex-Director at Alexander von Humboldt Biological 
Resources Research Institute

(Spanish Session)

Ana Pinto-Alexander

Global Director of Health Interiors & Principal at HKS Inc. Architects

(English Session)

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Title of Presentation: "Design Strategies Adopted by the Health Industry to Strengthen Infection Control in Interior Environments"

Ana Maria Ulloa Gomez

Ph.D Student in Materials Engineering at Purdue University

(English Session)

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Title of Presentation: "Biosensing Methods for SARS-CoV-2"

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Abstract: COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which was first reported in the city of Wuhan, China, in December 2019. In a short period, the disease had spread to over 95% of the countries around the world. Current biosensing methods in academia and industry are primarily based on optical and electrochemical transductions. There are various advantages associated with biosensing, yet before these platforms can reach the ideal performance (e.g., high sensitivity, accuracy, selectivity, specificity, reproducibility, and to be manufacturable on a large scale) several challenges must be addressed. Commonly, these biosensing methods target by direct detection of the virus’s surface, viral RNA/DNA detection, or antibody detection. The presented work gives a general overview of the current detection mechanisms of the above stated SARS-CoV-2 targets, their pros, and cons as well as Purdue’s efforts to overcome their limitations.

Sareh Karami

Assistant Professor at Mississippi State University

(English Session)

Andres Parra

Ph.D. Candidate in Gifted, Creative, and Talented Studies at Purdue University College of Education

(English Session)