Nader Pourmand is an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Dr. Pourmand received his M.Sc. in Cell and Molecular Biology and his Ph.D. in Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology from the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, in 1999. In addition to publishing over 40 scientific articles, Dr. Pourmand has presented a number of posters and abstracts in national and international conferences. His focus is technology development and its applications to advancing biomedical research. He has played a pivotal role in the invention of a number of technologies that sensitively analyze label-free DNA in a portable format for a wide variety of applications. Technologies that Dr. Pourmand has co-invented and developed include: Multiplexed Pyrosequencing, a real-time sequence detection technique that does not require labeling or size separation of DNA molecules; Charge Perturbation Detection, an electronic-based method for real-time DNA sequencing; Bioluminescence Regenerative Cycle, a method for nucleic acid quantification that is sensitive to attomole quantities (approximately 100 DNA molecules, 1000 bp in length); Nanopipette-based methods for detecting DNA or protein; Improved forensic DNA fingerprinting, a technique that overcomes some disadvantages of traditional gel-based methods; Branch Migration Assay, a microarray-based method for DNA length measurement and fingerprinting; Real-time Influenza Detector, a rapid, informative diagnostic system for H5N1 influenza viruses; and the Magnetic Sifter for Biomedical Detection, a sample preparation method employing a micromachined magnetic sifter. The unifying goal of these technologies is to improve available scientific techniques with improved sensitivity, cost, and speed, thereby enabling numerous new applications and bringing previously unanswerable research questions within reach.
Sensitive, high-throughput proteome analysis for basic research and clinical applications is not easily performed with current technologies. Indeed, such analyses require additional development of efficient and precise techniques to assay very large numbers of distinct protein species, of limited amounts, in complex biological samples, via a simple and cost-efficient methodologies. Clinical research and clinical applications demand faster, more reliable, and more cost-effective techniques and technologies than those currently available. Label-free/electronic-based detection technology represents a breakthrough development that addresses these demands. Dr. Pourmand has been involved in the invention and development of technologies for the detection of amino acids and nucleic acids, including nanopipette-based biomolecule detection, magnetic-based array technology and an impedance biosensor array platform. With continued development, these technologies will enable sensitive, high-capacity protein detection for addressing the current needs of both research and clinical applications.
The development of electronic readout platforms, its associated chemistry, and its applications in protein detection will be discussed. Recent advances towards improving these technologies in the form of a hand-held device will be described. The ongoing developments of these methods demonstrate the feasibility of these technologies for use in point-of-care settings.
