Atlanta Institutions Take Lead Role in Fast-Tracking COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests
A trio of Atlanta health care and research institutions will play a leading role in helping to evaluate potential COVID-19 tests as part of a new federal initiative designed to rapidly transform promising technology into widely accessible diagnostic tools to detect the virus.
The Atlanta center wasselected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to evaluate COVID-19 detection tests utilizing a portion of a $1.5 billion investment from federal stimulus funding under a newly launched Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative. This initiative will infuse funding into early, innovative technologies to speed development of rapid and widely accessible COVID-19 testing with a mandate that tests be deployed to Americans this fall.
“TheNational Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) is urging all scientists and inventors with a rapid testing technology to compete in a national COVID-19 testing challenge for a share of up to $500 million over all phases of development that will assist the public’s safe return to normal activities,” said Wilbur Lam, M.D., Ph.D., pediatric hematologist and oncologist at Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s and principal investigator of ACME POCT.
As one of only five NIH-funded point-of-care technology centers in the nation within the Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network (POCTRN), ACME POCT will receive a $10 million to $20 million supplement to work closely with relevant technology developers and the medical diagnostics industry across the country to meet the deadline. The technologies will be put through a highly competitive, rapid three-phase selection process to identify the best candidates for at-home or point-of-care tests for COVID-19. The goal is to make millions of accurate and easy-to-use tests per week available to all Americans by the end of summer 2020 and in time for the flu season.
The Center will operate on the frontlines assessing, validating and conducting clinical trials as well as advising in manufacturing and scale-up of relevant COVID-19 tests. They expect hundreds of technology developers and companies to apply for the RADx program and will be involved in clinical validation and shepherding successful projects to meet this national need, making Children’s, Emory and Georgia Tech frontline warriors in this effort.
ACME POCT fosters the development and commercialization of microsystems (microchip-enabled, biosensor-based, microfluidic) diagnostic tests that can be used outside the traditional hospital setting, in places such as the home, community or doctor’s office. Lam and his team will evaluate the tests for the NIBIB as they urgently solicit proposals.
Lam is the principal investigator of ACME POCT and also serves as associate professor of the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. Greg Martin, M.D., is co-principal investigator along with Oliver Brand, Ph.D., executive director of Georgia Tech’s Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology and a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Together the team makes up the only point-of-care center in the nation dedicated to developing microsystems with sensors, smart phones and wearable technologies. Dr. Martin is also a professor with the Emory University School of Medicine and Chair of Critical Care for Grady Health System.
Arijit Raychowdhury has been selected for the 2020 Qualcomm Faculty Award (QFA) for his contributions to low-power system-on-a-chip (SoC) design, including his group’s work on power-management and clocking circuits that have impacted Qualcomm’s internal research and development.
The QFA supports key professors and their research, with the goal of strengthening Qualcomm’s engagement with faculty who also play a key role in Qualcomm’s recruiting of top graduate students.
Coping with COVID19 – Campus PPE Donations Program
IEN was pleased to be able to provide supplies to Georgia front-line workers via the EHS-led campaign to collect PPE supplies across campus. EHS collected the below donations from our cleanrooms and labs.
1 case of Tyvek Coveralls
266 Standard coveralls
5 Cases Chemical-resistant Gloves & 13 cases of Standard Gloves, varied sizes
1 case Chemical-resistant Aprons
1 Case Face Shields
4 Cases of Safety Glasses & 4 Cases of Safety Glasses (over glasses style)
2 cases of Face Masks
8 cases of Bouffant Hair Coverings
8 cases of Shoe Covers
3 cases of 5mL Syringes
5 cases of Isopropanol (4L Bottles)
In addition, the MCF contributed its stock of gloves to the campaign.
We would also like to thank ClassOne Equipment for adding the below items to the campus donation program via IEN.
1 Small Box of Wipes (280/box)
6 Boxes of 50 Count Medium Gloves
5 boxes of 50 Count Box Extra Large Gloves
8 boxes of 100 Count Extra Large Gloves
You can read about the campus PPE donation program, as well as other ways Georgia Tech is contributing to this national emergency at: https://helpingstories.gatech.edu/
SENIC Technical Webinar Series: Events Calendar and Registration Link
The Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor (SENIC), housed at the Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology at Georgia Tech, is hosting a series of online technical seminars open to the academic and industrial community with an interest in cleanroom fabrication and processing for materials, biological, and electronics research.
Participants requested to register so that we will be able to understand the technological background and needs of the audience, as well as to send timely webinar reminders.
We invite you to join us at any of the lectures listed below by registering at the link at the bottom of the email.
April 29: "Soft Lithography Methods of Fabrication"
(Dr. Paul Joseph)
May 7: "Elionix ELS-G100 100 kV Electron Beam Lithography System – Enabling Nanotechnology (Mr. Devin Brown)
May 14: “Photolithography at GT-IEN: An Overview of Processes and Equipment" (Dr. Hang Chen)
May 21: "Laser Micromachining at GT-IEN" (Mr. Richard Shafer)
May 28: "Etching at GT-IEN: A Review of Processes and Equipment" (Dr. Mikkel Thomas)
We hope you and yours are well. Below you will find answers to some of the common questions related to facility use during this unique time.
The MCF has brought all instruments to a standby or idled state. The instruments can remain in this condition indefinitely as they are not at full operating power/voltage. However, the tools can be brought back to their full operational state for measurements quickly - if not immediately - with no special needs for recalibration.
The MCF is maintaining a rotation to have 1 staff member at the facility each weekday for ~3 - 4 hours to check lab operations and carry out a limited amount of sample measurement and/or data analysis.
Researchers are encouraged to contact the MCF staff through Walter Henderson if they have a pressing analytical need that is in one of the exempt critical research areas.
The MCF has already been consulted about several approaches to address the COVID-19 response, and has agreed to help one group with some electron microscopy imaging.
If you have further questions, or have a project that satisfies the exempt categories for campus access, please contact Dr. Walter Henderson: walter.henderson@ien.gatech.edu
VIRTUAL EVENT SERIES!
May 1-27, 2020 | 11:00 am - 12:00 pm (EDT)
Spring 2020 NANOFANS Webinar Series - “Nanotechnology in Infectious Diseases: Diagnostics/Therapeutics”
Spring 2020 NanoFANS (Focusing on Advanced Nanobio- Systems) program will be offered in a weekly webinar format during the month of May. The focus of this event will be “Nanotechnology in Infectious Diseases (Diagnostics/Therapeutics).”
In the current global pandemic situation, infectious diseases are the leading cause of mortality worldwide, with viruses such as, ebola, SARS-Cov, SARS-Cov-2 in particular, making global impact on healthcare and socio-economic development. The rapid development of drug resistance to currently available therapies and associated side effects leads to serious public health concern; hence, devising novel treatment strategies is of paramount importance. The application of nanotechnology in infectious diseases is fast-revolutionizing the biomedical field and the healthcare sector and has a potential to diagnose, treat and prevent diseases.
Event Speakers:
May 1: Aniruddh Sarkar, Professor of Biomedical Engineering; Georgia Institute of Technology “Microscale Tools for Biomarker Discovery and Electronic Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Infectious Diseases"
May 6: Philip Santangelo Professor of Biomedical Engineering; Georgia Institute of Technology “RNA-based Drugs for Treating Influenza and SARS-CoV-2”
May 13: Gabe Kwong Professor of Biomedical Engineering; Georgia Institute of Technology “Point-of-Care Diagnostics via DNA-Based Isothermal Amplification and Paper Test”
May 20: Susan Thomas - Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Georgia Institute of Technology "Engineered Biomaterials Reveal Viral Immunity Mechanisms and Augment Therapy”
May 27: M.G. Finn Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry; Georgia Institute of Technology “Virus-Like Particle Approaches to Coronavirus Diagnostics and Vaccines”
Please click the link: https://tinyurl.com/spring2020nanofansforum
to learn more about the webinar dates, read the talk abstracts & speaker bios, and register to attend.
Meeting URLs will be provided to all those registered prior to the event.
You are cordially invited!
Our mailing address is:
Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology
Georgia Institute for Technology
Marcus Nanotechnology Building
345 Ferst Drive | Atlanta GA | 30332
