The Center for Research Innovation recently collaborated with the Centre for Business Innovation (CfBI) to host the tenth Microfluidics Consortium, MF-10, on June 25 – 26 at Northeastern. MF-10 provided an opportune forum for industry affiliates, university researchers, and technology influencers to exchange ideas and discuss the expanding growth and challenges being faced within the world of microfluidics. Hailing from several countries, blue chip companies, and diverse research communities, these experts bridged their comprehensive backgrounds, posed problems, and sparked solutions.
Setting the Scene
The assembly included 20+ astute faculty innovators and industry speakers, sharing up-to-date news and evolving approaches within biomedical engineering, diagnostics, and manufacturing. MF-10 was open to both CfBI associated members and non-members, which provided a worthwhile setting to amalgamate and learn from key thinkers and leaders in the field. Several Northeastern faculty spoke of the extensive exploration and significant developments occurring in their labs, including devices that have been created to resolve challenges and provide solutions related to pharmaceutical sciences and chemical, industrial, and mechanical engineering.
Speaker Snapshot
Edgar Goluch, Northeastern professor and founder of QSM Diagnostics, outlined QSM’s proprietary sensing technology.
Powered by microfluidics, QSM’s devices enable a one-step method for faster and more reliable detection of target molecules in any biological fluid — with zero sample preparation.
Pioneering Products on Display
The two-day event was divided into eight comprehensive sessions, permitting hands-on presentations, shared visions, and interactive discussions. Aligning with the CRI’s imperative to pair front-running academic research with real-world needs, MF-10 incorporated tabletop demonstrations into the agenda. Tabling members included:
Dolomite | EV Group | Institut Pierre-Gilles de Gennes | SuSoS | z-microsystems
Product of Partnership
Peter Hewkin, Centre for Business Innovation founder and CEO, launched the consortium with the intention “to grow the market for microfluidics enabled products and services,” and he organizes events in the US and UK for key industry stakeholders to engage and share discoveries bi-annually. Following Boston, CfBI will participate at MicroTAS, UC Berkeley, and IPGG Paris. To learn more about CfBI and upcoming consortia, click here.
Key contributors from the CRI were Mark Saulich, Nikole Lynch, Brice Tennant, and Joel Bresler. Mark, Nikole, and Brice constituted the strategic and executive force behind the event, and Joel set the tone with a rousing opening and closed with insightful remarks emphasizing the value of forward-thinking research that evolves into accomplished, commercially viable innovation.
Appreciation is also shown to Northeastern’s Akram Alshawabkeh, Associate Dean for Research, College of Engineering and Jeff Seo, Assistant Vice Provost for Research Compliance, for warmly welcoming MF-10 attendees and outlining Northeastern’s open-armed embrace of partnerships in the microfluidics space. Summarizing the event, Mark Saulich exclaims:
We were thrilled to have such a strong industry presence at MF-10. We look forward to continuing those relationships and exploring opportunities for collaboration.
Pathways to Partnernship
Microfluidics Consortium 10 is the latest installment in the Pathways to Partnership series by the Center for Research Innovation.
Pathways to Partnership events aim to cultivate connections between Northeastern research laboratories and R&D professionals thereby stimulating partnering opportunities that lead to customized solutions.
Discover more Pathways
IoT+5G @ Northeastern – Northeastern IoT and 5G experts discuss current projects, promising results, and partnering opportunities in wireless networks, energy harvesting, big data, sensors, cognitive radio, and resilience.
Finding Drugs, Foiling Disease – Powering Northeastern’s drug discovery agenda, panelists represent expertise in cancer therapies, cardiovascular diseases, drug tolerance, regenerative medicine, CNS diseases, drug delivery, antibiotics, computational modeling, mass spectrometry, and drug addiction.
By Kim Shea
Feature image by OIST (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology). Some rights reserved