Friday, September 19, 2025 9/19/2025

Understand and Detect Sepsis: Pathogen Isolation, Biochemistry Assay, and Optofluidic Sensing

Award Number: R35GM142763
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2021
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2026

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Understand and Detect Sepsis: Pathogen Isolation, Biochemistry Assay, and Optofluidic Sensing - Project Summary Background: Sepsis is a life-threatening emergency, normally caused by the body’s response to a bacterial infection. Without early treatment, sepsis can lead to septic shock with approximately 50% mortality rate. Rapid and accurate diagnosis of sepsis is the key to decrease the mortality rate. However, there is no global standard for sepsis testing due to the inadequate sensitivity and specificity of the current technologies. The PI has the ambition to address the critical and far-reaching bottlenecks specifically of concern in sepsis testing: 1) a rapid and simple method to isolate and concentrate bacteria from whole blood sample, 2) a sensitive and one-step CRISPR microfluidic chip to detect the nucleic acid biomarkers of the pathogens, and 3) a multiplexing and miniaturized optofluidic waveguide platform to enhance the fluorescence based detection. Overview of the laboratory: The PI established his own lab at RIT in 2018. With the overwhelm start-up support by the home department, the PI is leading an active and interdisciplinary research group with 1 postdoc researcher, 4 Ph.D. students, 2 Master students, and a couple of undergraduate students. Within 2 years, the lab has published ~10 journal articles in the fields of bacteria/virus isolation, CRISPR biochemistry assay, and optofluidic sensing. Exploiting interdisciplinary approach, the lab is working on technologies to quickly identify antimicrobial resistant bacteria in whole blood sample. As more strains become resistant to available therapies, the risk for people developing life-threatening sepsis is increasing. The research topic we are working on will be the key for clinicians to provide quick clinical decisions and increase the chances of survivals. In addition, the technologies developed in our lab will also lay the foundation for the diagnosis and treatment of many different kinds of diseases such as cancer, viral infection, and neurological diseases. Goals for the next 5 years: Our first goal is to develop a fully automated nanodevice that can collect and concentrate bacteria from whole blood with a retrieval efficiency of 99% and a concentration factor of 10,000. We will begin with spiked sample and then proceed to clinical sample. Leveraging the unique properties of nanomaterials and nanostructures, the second goal is to develop a one-step and isothermal CRISPR chip for low concentration (1 CFU/mL) bacteria detection without front end target amplification. Towards the end of the fifth year, we will integrate the sample preparation chip and the CRISPR detection chip as a single and compact unit for the testing of clinical samples. The third goal is to develop a liquid-core, superhydrophobic nanostructure cladding waveguide platform for multiplexing bacteria detection. The high fluorescence collection efficiency will enable sensitive sepsis detection with microliter level sample consumption. Overall vision of the research program: The technologies we are developing will have a broad impact to the biomedical research communities to understand and engineering small molecules, cells, and tissues. The proposed work will also advance disease diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $366,741 )
2025	2025	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE	200 UNIVERSTY OFC BUILDING	RIVERSIDE	CA	92521	RIVERSIDE	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	6	7/24/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$366,741
														Subtotal = $366,741

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $466,731 )
2024	2024	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE	200 UNIVERSTY OFC BUILDING	RIVERSIDE	CA	92521	RIVERSIDE	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	001	5	7/16/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$366,741
2024	2024	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE	200 UNIVERSTY OFC BUILDING	RIVERSIDE	CA	92521	RIVERSIDE	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	002	5	9/10/2024	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$99,990
2024	2023	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE	200 UNIVERSTY OFC BUILDING	RIVERSIDE	CA	92521	RIVERSIDE	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	4	1/22/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $466,731

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $481,899 )
2023	2023	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE	200 UNIVERSTY OFC BUILDING	RIVERSIDE	CA	92521	RIVERSIDE	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	006	4	7/21/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$366,741
2023	2023	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE	200 UNIVERSTY OFC BUILDING	RIVERSIDE	CA	92521	RIVERSIDE	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	002	3	5/26/2023	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$114,977
2023	2022	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE	200 UNIVERSTY OFC BUILDING	RIVERSIDE	CA	92521	RIVERSIDE	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	001	3	1/13/2023	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$360,693
2023	2022	ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY	1 LOMB MEMORIAL DR	ROCHESTER	NY	14623	MONROE	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	004	2	6/21/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$5,738
2023	2022	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT RIVERSIDE	200 UNIVERSTY OFC BUILDING	RIVERSIDE	CA	92521	RIVERSIDE	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	005	3	6/21/2023	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$242,055
2023	2022	ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (INC)	1 LOMB MEMORIAL DR	ROCHESTER	NY	14623	MONROE	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	2	1/13/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$360,512
2023	2021	ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY	1 LOMB MEMORIAL DR	ROCHESTER	NY	14623	MONROE	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	003	1	6/21/2023	NEW	-$236,317
														Subtotal = $481,899

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $366,250 )
2022	2022	ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (INC)	1 LOMB MEMORIAL DR	ROCHESTER	NY	14623	MONROE	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	2	7/26/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$366,250
														Subtotal = $366,250

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $366,250 )
2021	2021	ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (INC)	1 LOMB MEMORIAL DR	ROCHESTER	NY	14623	MONROE	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	1	7/29/2021	NEW	$366,250
														Subtotal = $366,250

Grand Total All Awards = $2,047,871

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Understand and Detect Sepsis: Pathogen Isolation, Biochemistry Assay, and Optofluidic Sensing

Award Number: R35GM142763

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2021

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2026

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