MEDTRONIC-SUPPORTED FELLOWSHIP PROJECT - 2011

PhD Fellow: Denitsa Milanova (Mechanical Engineering)
Faculty Advisors: Annelise Barron (Bioengineering) and Juan Santiago (Mechanical Engineering)

Denitsa is working on developing a novel assay for physico-chemical extraction and isotachophoresis-based purification and quantification of HIV-1 virus from whole blood. This project combines the fields of mechanical engineering, molecular biology, and infectious diseases. HIV/AIDS is one of the most costly diseases since HIV patients require treatment and need to monitor treatment throughout their lifetime. Development of a rapid, sensitive, and selective diagnostics would help reduce these costs, minimize the spread of the infection, and ensure a timely onset of antiretroviral therapy.