Summer is usually one of the quieter times of the year here at FAU, but researchers in the College of Engineering and Computer Science have been busy working on solutions to two of today’s most pressing health challenges. HIV and sickle cell disease each affect millions of people worldwide, a problem that is exacerbated by the difficulty of detecting and monitoring these diseases.

Currently, there is no reliable technology that can detect HIV during the early stages of the infection, or measure rebound in treated patients, in resource-constrained settings such as developing countries. Waseem Asghar, Ph.D., assistant professor in FAU’s Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, recognized the critical need to develop a fast, automated, and inexpensive test, in order to increase timely access to HIV care and improve treatment outcomes. He teamed up with Massimo Caputi, Ph.D., professor of biomedical science in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, and together they received a $377,971 grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a disposable microchip that can selectively capture HIV from whole blood/plasma. The technology will be highly sensitive, cost less than $1, and produce results in less than 45 minutes. It will give healthcare providers worldwide the ability to monitor HIV patients at point-of-care settings in countries with limited resources, so they will know how their treatment is progressing and whether or not a particular drug is working. It also has the potential to be applicable to other infectious diseases such as Dengue fever, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and malaria.

Sickle cell disease affects both children and adults, and causes problems such as anemia, pain, organ failure, and stroke in about 10 percent of children who have the disease. For patients and doctors trying to manage the condition, time is of the essence; however, current methods to detect and monitor the disease are time-consuming, causing delays in capturing important changes. Sarah E. Du, Ph.D., assistant professor in FAU’s Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering, and co-authors from FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science and the University of Miami, have developed a rapid and reliable method to continuously monitor sickle cell disease using a portable electrical sensor. It is their hope to provide patients with the same convenience and reliability of monitoring their disease as patients with diabetes who use glucose monitors.

FAU is committed to improving health and wellness through health equity, for both our local and global communities. I am very proud of the discoveries taking place in our College of Engineering and Computer Science, and I look forward to hearing about the many people worldwide who will benefit from these solutions.