Mike Pishko
Professor Mike Pishko recently joined Penn State University and is a faculty member in the Chemical Engineering Department. His research interests include biomedical sensors, chemical sensors, high-throughput drug screening, biomaterials, and drug delivery. Mike's laboratory is located in Fenske Laboratory, which has a wide array of material synthesis and characterization equipment. His group begins with synthesis of host materials, such as poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels that can sustain living cells. Mammalian cells are encapsulated in the gel matrix and exposed to different drugs and chemical reagents. Viewing their fluorescent signatures by a microscope monitors the health of the cells. In addition, Dr. Pishko's group has the capability to micropattern test arrays on silicon, glass, or plastic substrates and apply a range of combinatorial experiments. Based on the microscopic analysis, the optimum drug type and dosage can be determined.
Left: Arrays of hydrogel microstructures (100 μm x 100 μm x 125 μm) integrated with microfluidic channels for sample and media delivery. Right: Microstructures containing liver cells (blue) and fibroblasts (green) in adjacent microfluidic channels.
Dr. Pishko's goal is to develop integrated biological sensing systems for medical, defense, pharmaceutical and food safety applications. In pharmaceutical applications, Dr. Pishko is developing high content cell based screening tools that may be used by pharmaceutical companies for high-throughput toxicity, pharmacokinetic, drug metabolism, and target validation studies. These systems will hopefully enable pharmaceutical companies to increase the success rate of drug candidates they bring to clinic trials, a process that costs hundreds of millions of dollars per drug. Recently, Professor Pishko is collaborating with Professor Craig Grimes in the Electrical Engineering Department and Dr. Charles Palmer of the Hershey Neonatology Department. The group will focus on the development of miniaturized sensors for infants. Sensors will monitor glucose, pH, several organic compounds, and bacteria. If successful, the sensor technology will be applied to monitor blood and the respiration of preterm infants.
