Webinars & Live Demonstrations

Gamry is honored to have Ariel L. Furst, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, giving this talk.

Abstract

Electrochemistry is an exceptionally powerful tool to form chemical bonds and monitor chemical and biological interactions. By improving the chemistry used to assemble biomolecules on electrode surfaces, the selectivity and sensitivity of these devices has been significantly improved. Superior fabrication methods have led to direct electrochemical detection of the methyltransferase DNMT1, a cancer biomarker, from human tissue samples. Improvements have also been made to the patterning of non-adherent cells for microbial fuel cell applications. Additionally, electrochemistry combined with synthetic biology has enabled the detection of environmental pollutants at sub-ppb levels. By combining improved chemistries for biomolecule modification with unique signal amplification strategies, we have successfully detected targets from extremely complex solutions and improved current generation in microbial fuel cells.

Biography

Ariel L. Furst received a B.S. degree in Chemistry from the University of Chicago working with Prof. Stephen B. H. Kent on the chemical synthesis of proteins. She then completed her Ph.D. in the lab of Prof. Jacqueline K. Barton at the California Institute of Technology developing new cancer diagnostic strategies based on DNA charge transport. She was then an A. O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Prof. Matthew Francis at the University of California, Berkeley. She is now an assistant professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at MIT. She is passionate about STEM outreach and increasing participation of underrepresented groups in engineering.