Revolutionizing Healthcare with Innovative Microfluidic Biosensors: Meet Dr. Sarah Du

Dr. Sarah Du has been a faculty member with the College of Engineering and Computer Science at FAU since 2014. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering and the co-director of the Center for SMART Health at FAU. She directs the Living Devices and Biosensors Lab. 

After graduating with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology, Dr. Du continued her postdoc training in materials science and engineering at MIT. Dr. Du’s graduate study was focused on microfluidics and its applications in on-chip manipulation of fluids and particles. During her postdoc training, she had an opportunity to work on highly interdisciplinary projects in cell biomechanics, using a microfluidics approach. These experiences inspired her to explore further how microfluidics can be designed as useful platforms to interface with biological systems and to replicate the microenvironment of cells while quantitating how they exert and respond to physical forces and biochemical stimuli. Her work also involves the design of microfluidic devices as point-of-care tools for disease diagnosis and monitoring.

Dr. Du’s current research interests focus on the development of biosensors for in vitro blood testing, cell aging, prediction of pain crisis in sickle cell disease, as well as developing models of organ and tissue function, with a focus on blood and placental diseases. Her lab has developed a series of novel microfluidic platforms and tools, which have provided new opportunities to study red blood cell biomechanics, fatigue, and blood diseases such as sickle cell disease and malaria.

The integration of Artificial Intelligence into smart health technologies and how they can advance patient-centered research in healthcare are of particular interest to Dr. Du, and her lab has conducted various long-term collaborations here at FAU.  To her, interdisciplinary research initiatives are critically important to her work, and she is conducting projects with the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Science and Business at the University. She additionally serves as a reviewer and editorial board member for multiple journals such as Scientific Reports, MDPI Biotech, Electrophoresis, and as chair for the Society for Experimental Mechanics conference.

Dr. Du highlights the importance of collaborations between engineers, scientists, researchers, healthcare professionals, regulatory experts, and industry partners to support smart health education and training. She is also excited to provide hands-on research experience to undergraduate and graduate students interested in smart health research.