Team:NYU Abu Dhabi/Attributions

Volatect

Attributions


Thanks to the support of New York University Abu Dhabi and beyond that was Volatect able to come to life. The team was able to push the boundaries of science and engineering through the help and dedication of the core team of students in collaboration with faculty, researchers and field specialists.

Dr. Yong Rafael Song


Associate Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering

Dr. Song was our main Principal Investigator (PI). He helped narrow down the focus and provided us with the proper tools to test the microfluidics setups. Dr. Song’s early on instructions made the use of microfluidics a natural conclusion to our literature review on current integrated diagnostic technologies rather than just an axiomatic endeavor to improve last year’s results.

Dr. Alan Healy



Assistant Professor of Chemistry Since the early ideation phases, Dr.Healy helped the team explore many options regarding disease prevention and contagion. Through his insights we considered antibiotic resistance and respective devices under development.

Dr. Mazin Magzoub

Assistant Professor of Practice in Biology

Dr. Mazin provided us with useful feedback regarding the pathogen selection process and on the device features that would seem elegant and useful at the same time. Dr. Mazin’s help with the presentation was also essential to the proper delivery of Volatect’s working principles, scientific rigor, and engineered ingenuity.

Mr. Ibrahim Chehade

Associate Instructor

Mr. Chehade was actively involved in the ideation and lab work since the early phase of the research. Mr Chehade’s undergraduate teaching experience ensured a very constructive communication regarding physical requirements between the engineering and biology teams.

Dr. Andras Gyorgy

Dr. Gyorgy helped steered un towards airport disease security. He also provided useful feedback during the through literature review made by the team and PIs when choosing the target groups and pathogens. Dr.Gyorgy helped the engineering team find and obtain an effective light source of industrial fidelity to obtain fluorescence at the desired wavelength based on the Stokes Shift.

Mr. Ashley Isaac

Mr. Isaac helped the team with experimental protocols and various advice regarding the inner workings of the specific lab procedures.

Mr. Esteban Salvemini

Mr. Salvemini helped the engineering team follow stricter and empirically constructive research and development protocols. He helped the engineering team with the patent research and literature review, both tasks that ended up shaping the prototyping phases.

Dr. Adam Dolan, Biochemistry PhD from Cornell University

Dr. Dolan was able to provide insight into what were the key components that needed to be presented in the procedure, the possible obstacles we might face in guideRNA design and how to overcome them, and the limits of using Cas12 in a microchip.

INSTITUTIONS

 Johannes Kepler University
Institute for Integrated Circuits
Andreas Grimmer, Philipp Frank, Philipp Ebner, Sebastian Häfner, Andreas Richter and Robert Wille’s paper “Meander Designer: Automatically Generating Meander Channel Design” led us to the meander design tool developed by them.
After some minor technical obstacles with the tool, Robert Wille provided the engineering team with feedback and support. It was through their tool and the inspiration from Boston University’s 2017 project MARS that we were able to implement meanders in our innovative fully 3M® film produced chip. Although the design moved away from meanders due to other complexities, it was the help from Prof. Wille and their volume-based meander design tool that generated a scaled vector graphics file which in turn helped the engineering team pump small amounts to the scale of microliters. Having reliable meander designs which we later fully changed and implemented into the prototype helped us explore various geometry layouts and settle with the most optimal one.

TEAM MEMBERS CONTRIBUTIONS
The core of Volatect is the student led research and development team.

Roba Olana: Engineering, Computer Science.

- Project manager in the engineering team.
-Oversaw the communication between teams
-Lead the team’s progression to the finals and overall task coordination.
-Designed the on-board air pump to control the multiplexing in the chip.
-Laser Cut optimization
-Gathered feedback from airport representatives for Integrated Human Practices
-Helped in designing the structure of the Wiki and the API

Uljad Berdica: Engineering, Computer Science, Integrated Human Practices

- Project manager in the engineering team.
-Mathematical modelling and simulations in Ansys and Matlab to check the effect of various geometry layout and other design decision
-Fabrication and laser cut optimization for various materials
-Documentation
-Programming of stepper motors, various linear actuator
-Putting together a temperature regulating circuit fundamental to the device
-NYU SHanghai team collaboration

Yusuf Omotayo Jimoh: Engineering, Outreach

-Project manager in the engineering team.
-Actuation prototyping and assembly of hardware.
-Setting up of serial communication protocols that guaranteed the scalability of the device in compliance with Integrated Human Practices
-Interfacing of Arduino with analog sensors, digital actuators, and Raspberry Pi.
-Implementation of I2C communication protocols settings for Analog to Digital Converters communication with the arduino.
-Circuit diagrams and PCB design.
-Software implementation for device functioning (coding).
-Electronics (hardware) and code Documentation.

Romeno Wenogk Fernando: Computer Science

-Project Manager of the Computer Science team.
-Designed and programmed the API.
-Set up the GitHub and the Bootstrap studio workspace.
-Designed unique animations and layouts for the website.
-Supervised and uploaded the content to the website.

Yeji Kwon: Computer Science, Outreach, Human Practices.

-Ovesaw the Wiki Content upload.
-Organized the layout for a comprehensive navigation of Volatect’s research documentation.
-Involved in Game design, ideation and programming.
-Merchandise production.
-Youth debate organization.

Kristos Baffour: Outreach, Biology, Integrated Human Practices, Grants Committee and Ideation

-Biology associate project manager.
-Design of primers and experimental protocol.
-Organizing data and documentation.
-Worked on characterization of parts using MATLAB modelling.
-Performed pivotal tasks in compliance with deadlines.
-Evaluation of clinicians regarding the detection scope and resolution of Volatect’s device.
-Collaboration magazine and the french translation of various outreach materials.

Tuleen Sihabi: Biology, Human Practices, Integrated Human Practices

-Biology project manager.
-Research on existing protocols.
-Providing feedback and updates to the engineering team.
-Collaboration Magazine.
-iGEM SASTRA collaboration.
-Conversation with pathologist, visiting visa screening center, contact with airports.
-Engineering literature review.

Ingie Baho: Engineering

-Documentation.
-Microfluidics prototyping and vector file design.
-mechanical parts prototyping.
-Ideation.

Mariam ElSahhar: Engineering, Computer Science, Outreach, Human Practices

-Collaborations with iGEM teams in Egypt.
-Design of the sample collecting device.
-Engineering documentation organization.
-Game development.
-Microfluidics Design.
-Workshop activities: curriculum and scheduling.

Yujeong Oh: Biology, Outreach

-Research on CRISPR protocols and pathogens.
-Research on pathogen classification and their presence in saliva.
-Communication with event organizers to book exhibition spaces for Volatect’s products.
-RPA protocols and lab work.
-Literature Review.
-Design of workshop activities.

Tatiana Houhou: Biology, Outreach

-Reached out to airports and institutions in Lebanon.
-Documentation of Biology experiments on Benchling.
-Worked on DNA sequencing and genetic sequence analyzing.
-Ideation.
-Lab work and data collection.
-Literature Review on pathogens and genomes.

Haneen: Computer Science, Branding, Outreach

-Designed the color scheme for Volatect.
-Worked on branding image and design guidelines.
-Outreach to teams in Egypt.
-Wiki uploads and supervision.

Sion: Biology, Outreach, Integrated Human Practices, Human Practices

-Helped the team navigate the rules and requirements of iGEM.
-Organized the meeting and helped the team get started.
-Worked in Biology Protocols research, CRISPR and RPA protocols.
-Reproduced last year’s LAMP protocols.
-Provided invaluable feedback in fluorescence induction and use of quenchers.
-Literature Review for microfluidics and radial symmetry chips.
-Helped with finalizing the orders for the reagents.

Ray: Outreach, Media

-Edited Volatect’s iGEM video.
-Documented the process through weekly recordings.
-Team and PI photos.
-Animation for Science Sketches.
-Represented Volatect in a research conference in Taiwan.

Guillermo Schlamp: Biology, Engineering, Outreach, Branding

-Key in selecting Volatect’s as the group’s name.
-Feedback and updates on the use of CRISPR Cas.
-Worked closely with both Engineering and Biology teams to ensure maximum cohesion.
-Literature Review for fluorescence detection.

Grace Gu: Biology, Outreach

-Reached out to iGEM teams in China.
-Studied specific protocols which turned out to be extremely useful during prototyping.
-Scaled the volumes in the protocols and provided the engineering team with proper design constraints regarding the volume of reagents.
-Literature Review on lyophilization, CRISPR storage and the role of primers during the last phase of detection.

Felicia: Biology, Grants team, Outreach

-Applied for grants and got positive response.
-Active in the Biology lab sessions.
-Design of Workshop activities and experiments.
-Literature Review on pathogens, genomes and detection protocols.

Maher Asfour: Engineering, Biology, Outreach

-Worked with the engineering team to explore the possibility of using electrodes to amplify fluorescence signal.
-Researched mechanisms for dispensing microliters of prepared sample into the chip without creating air bubbles.
-Worked on fluorescence detection and finalization of the prototype.
-Feedback on sample collection (saliva collection) and microfluidics.
-Literature Review on pathogenic genomes.
-BioBricks.