Dr. Sara Mahshid

Mahshid research proposes novel paradigms in point-of-care diagnosis by synergistically combining nanostructured sensors with fluidic sample delivery systems to develop devices with clinically relevant accuracy and rapidity with immense translational applications. The lab innovations span multiple areas from infectious disease, antimicrobial resistance to cancer diagnosis and therapeutics. In particular and in the context of infectious disease, Mahshid lab has developed SALIVERA analogous to a qPCR, and NFluidEX analogous to a glucometer, that enabled rapid portable automated monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patient saliva and antibodies in patient blood, respectively. In the context of cancer, Mahshid lab has developed MoSERS, an on-chip approach for molecular profiling of extracellular vesicles (a new cancer biomarker) in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of glioblastoma patients. The proposed hybrid devices are capable of working with small sample volumes and precise dosing of reagents, enabling the transition to a portable diagnostic tool.