Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Human and Plant Diseases

Sensitive and rapid disease diagnostics that can be performed near the patient becomes increasingly important for more effective disease management and control. After COVID, point-of-care (POC) and at-home tests are more desired than ever before to prepare for the next pandemic. This talk will highlight our recent efforts in advancing POC diagnostic technologies for human health and the new era of digital agriculture. Progresses in three key areas will be summarized and presented: 1) transforming smartphones into next-generation optical imaging and sensing devices, 2) fundamental mechanism study of CRISPR reactions and its miniaturization for in-field nucleic acid testing, and 3) novel plant sensors for early detection of plant diseases and continuous monitoring of plant physiology. Together, these technologies could find future implementations in the broad spectrum of one health (human, plant, animal, and the environment), enhancing our capability for early disease surveillance, tracking, prevention, and treatment across species and societal barriers.