Clinical Diagnostics & Research 2022

Professor Xiaowu (Shirley) Tang joined the Department of Chemistry & Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) at the University of Waterloo (UW) in 2006. Currently, she is the Associate Dean of Science, Research, and a member of the Board of Directors for WIN. During ... 2014-2017, she served as the Director of Nanotechnology Engineering (NE) program, Canada's only undergraduate NE program. Prior to joining UW, she received her Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and pursued postdoctoral work at Stanford University. She also had 3 years of industrial experience in Silicon Valley, California, and is a co-founder of LeNano Diagnostics, Inc, a company incorporated in 2016. The Tang group is internationally recognized for its pioneer work on hybrid nanobio- materials and devices, with contributions particularly to the material, surface, and physical chemistries dealing with carbon nanostructures. Of significance is the development of biomarker sensing platforms for early diagnosis and management of chronic diseases. A low-cost point-of-care testing platform based on carbon nanotube biosensors is currently under transition to commercialization. Another noteworthy aspect of Tang's research is the creation of a class of hybrid scaffold materials for tissue engineering, which integrates functional nanostructures and biopolymers to offer extraordinary mechanical, electrical, and rheological properties. The new materials, combined with 3D-printing and microfabrication, could provide disruptive technologies for the fabrication of tissues/organs, which can find important applications in drug screening and regenerative medicine. Her work has led to publications on prestigious journals, such as Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Biotechnology, Journal of American Chemical Society, Advanced Materials, and Nano Letters, as well as patent applications, multiple industrial partnerships, media reports, and invited lectures. Prof. Tang received the Leader's Opportunity Award from Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) in 2008 and the Stars in Global Health Award from Grand Challenges Canada in 2012, Award for Outstanding Mid-Career Achievements in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, NanoOntario, in 2018.

Dr. Paul Yip is Division Head of Clinical Biochemistry at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto, and is Associate Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. Prior to his current position, he was at University Health ... Network (UHN) in Toronto as a Clinical Biochemist for 12 years. Dr. Yip is a diplomate of the American Board of Clinical Chemistry (DABCC) and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Clinical Biochemistry (FCACB). He has served in various leadership positions including Chair of the Chemistry Scientific Committee of the Institute of Quality Management in Healthcare (IQMH), and is past Chair of the Upstate New York Section of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC). Dr. Yip's professional interests are in the areas of test utilization, laboratory quality management and point-of-care testing. He is passionate about education at all levels of learning, and also the recipient of the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists (CSCC) Award for Education Excellence in 2018. Dr. Yip has authored over 140 journal articles, book chapters, and abstracts.

Brian McNally received his doctorate in Cell & Molecular Biology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he focused on the transcriptional mechanisms governing polycystic kidney disease, renal cancer and development. His post-doctoral fellowship concentrated on ... the regulatory relationship between the proteasome and Toll-like receptor signaling at the University of Maryland Medical School in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology. Brian has fifteen years of practical experience at the laboratory bench, and his work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international conferences. In 2008, he transitioned to industry to commercialize new biomedical products including assays, reagents and software. Brian has been with Canon BioMedical since its inception last year. He is passionate about partnering with life scientists to develop the next wave of biomedical solutions.

Suzie Alarcon CGMBS, MB(ASCP)CM is the manager of the Next Generation Sequencing Core at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and Team Leader of Team LJI - winner of the XPRIZE Rapid COVID Testing competition. Suzie has 18 years of experience working in molecular biology ... in taste, nutrition metabolomics, prenatal clinical diagnostics, epigenetics, and immunology. Her current work focuses on driving research endeavors of collaborators across the US and applies her varied experience to advise on technical development and optimization of NGS upstream workflows. She received her BS in Biology from Ursinus College, PA, US and her clinical training at Sequenom, CA, US.