David Walt

We are delighted to welcome David R. Walt to give this talk, David is Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Bioinspired Engineering at Harvard Medical School.

The event will be on Zoom, to join use this link and Passcode: !bNAy2

Synopsis

Microwell arrays have been the basis for both genomic and proteomic analysis platform.  We have developed multiple ultrasensitive single molecule detection technologies that convert bulk measurements into digital measurements. One technology developed in our laboratory is single molecule arrays (Simoa) that convert the gold standard immunoassay ELISA technology into an ultrasensitive protein detection method, which enables proteins to be measured that have never been previously detected in clinical samples. We have used the technology to discover biomarker and biomarker panels for a variety of clinical indications including oncology, neurodegenerative disease, and infectious disease. Measuring proteins at these levels, however, does not necessarily make for better clinical outcomes unless one accounts for individual human variation.  The resulting information can be used for precision medicine that can be applied to early disease detection, therapeutic efficacy, and recurrence monitoring.

Biography

David R. Walt is the Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Bioinspired Engineering at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is a Core Faculty Member of the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, Associate Member at the Broad Institute, and is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor. Dr. Walt is co-Director of the Mass General Brigham Center for COVID Innovation. Dr. Walt is the Scientific Founder of Illumina Inc., Quanterix Corp., and has co-founded multiple other life sciences startups including Ultivue, Inc., Arbor Biotechnologies, Sherlock Biosciences, Vizgen, Inc., and Torus Biosciences . He has received numerous national and international awards and honors for his fundamental and applied work in the field of optical microwell arrays and single molecules. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, and is inducted in the US National Inventors Hall of Fame.