877. Why Engineers Will Play a Critical Role in the Next Revolution in Medicine

■ 연사: H. Tom Soh, Prof. of Electrical Engineering and Radiology at Stanford Univ.

■ 일시: 2019년 9월 5일(목), 17:00 ~ 18:00

■ 장소: 서울대학교 제1공학관(301동) 102호

Abstract:
Since the invention of the optical microscopes in the 1600s, the fields of medicine and engineering enjoyed a symbiotic relationship. The need to measure, visualize and understand complex biological phenomena has provided motivations for engineers to invent new technologies. In turn, technological advancements have led to many breakthroughs in biology and medicine. In the post-genomic era, the pace of this virtuous cycle between medicine and engineering is accelerating - and it is rapidly advancing our understanding of disease mechanisms and expanding treatment options. In the first part of the talk, I provide some historical perspective by describing specific examples of these exciting advancements at the interface of medicine and engineering. Over the next decades, I believe the next revolution in medicine will occur by not only treating diseases more effectively (“Precision Medicine”) but by keeping people healthy before they get sick in the first place (“Precision Health”). In order for this revolution to occur, I believe that biosensor technology will pay a critical role because it will provide critical information to predict and prevent diseases. In the second half of the talk, I will provide an overview of recent advancements in the field of biosensor technology and introduce our lab’s work in “real-time biosensors” for continuously measuring specific biomolecules in the body – in real time.

Biography:
Dr. H. Tom Soh is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Radiology at Stanford University. His laboratory develops synthetic biomaterials and biosensor devices. He earned his B.S. (1992), with a double major in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science with Distinction from Cornell University and his M.S. (1995) and Ph.D. (1999) in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. Between 1999 and 2003, he served as a technical manager of MEMS device research group at Bell Laboratories and Agere Systems. Between 2003 and 2015, he was the Ruth Garland Professor at UC-Santa Barbara (UCSB) in the department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials. His lab moved to Stanford in 2015. He is a recipient of numerous awards including MIT Technology Review’s “TR 100” Award, ONR Young Investigator Award, Beckman Young Investigator Award, ALA Innovator Award, NIH Director’s TR01 Award, NIH Edward Nagy Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, and Alexander van Humboldt Fellowship. Dr. Soh is a Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator, fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).