Asher V
- Research Program Mentor
PhD candidate at Johns Hopkins University
Expertise
Biomedical Engineering in Biosensors, Point-of-Care Diagnostics, and Medical Devices
Bio
Hi! My name is Asher and I am a first year doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University, studying Bio-Mechanical Engineering. I am particularly interested in point-of-care molecular diagnostics, biosensors, and microfluidics all with the aim of creating more accessible and democritized health care. Prior to joining Hopkins, I received my masters in Electrical Engineering at New York University and dual bachelor degrees at Columbia University in Biophysics and Judaic Humanities (Jewish Theological Seminary). My previous research work has included projects on smart-polymers, diagnostic biosensors, computational cell biology, and open-source medical devices. When not in the lab, I run a small biotech startup focused on developing novel drug delivery devices for treatment of substance misuse. I enjoy bike riding, running, as well as theatre and singing. I look forward to helping students explore their passions and curiosities in research to develop innovative and creative solutions to some of the world's most challenging problems!Project ideas
The Real Life Theranos: Point-of-Care Diagnostics in Under 15 Minutes
Over 170 million cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed since the beginning of the pandemic. A particularly difficult challenge necessary for curbing the pandemic has been the rapid diagnosis of coronavirus in patients. In this project you will learn to compare the different methods used for coronavirus and how this can be applied to the field of molecular diagnostics. You will explore the steps invovled in creating fully integrated diagnostic devices and the cutting-edge research used to detect disease in under 15 minutes!
Open-Source Ultrasounds: At Home Biomedical Imaging
Ultrasounds are used as foundational tool in hospitals and clinics for noninvasive real time imaging and medical diagnosis. Ultrasounds give us a window into the human body, and unlike other methods of imaging are fairly inexpensive, accurate, and safe. What if instead of going to the doctor one could obtain their own ultrasound images by ultrasounds built themselves? In this project you will learn the basic principles of ultrasound imaging, the electronics invovled, and signal processing required to produce ultrasound images - all from hardware that can be bought on Amazon!