Dr. Arvind Balijepalli
Biophysical and Biomedical Measurements Group, Physical Measurement Laboratory,
National Institute of Standards and Technology

Abstract

The detection and characterization of biomolecules at low copy number in multi-component solutions have the potential to unlock numerous applications in precision healthcare and in uncovering fundamental biophysics. I will discuss ongoing work in our group that seeks to realize chip-based measurements of biomarkers and biomolecule interactions at spatial scales ranging from molecular ensembles to the single molecule limit. The presentation will focus on developing novel electronic transducers that allow high sensitivity measurements and the development of DNA nanostructures, which when interfaced with electronics, allow the detection of small ensembles of biomarkers. I will also discuss our efforts at improving the resolution of single molecule nanopore measurements in detecting polymers and small molecule neurotransmitters. A key focus of our work is to develop technologies that are sensitive, selective, rapid, and portable to enable measurements at the point of care. 

Bio

Dr. Balijepalli is a Project Leader in the Physical Measurement Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He received his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, College Park in Mechanical Engineering. He joined NIST after completing a joint National Research Council postdoctoral fellowship between NIST and the National Institutes of Health. At NIST, he develops electronic chip-scale sensing techniques to enable measurements of fundamental biophysical phenomenon at multiple scales ranging from the biomolecular interactions of proteins, nucleic acids and small molecules to measurements of cells and tissue mimics.