About the Seminar:

This talk will highlight the development of new platforms for self-collected/stabilized blood (homeRNA), saliva (CandyCollect), and air sampling. We have begun to envision and execute decentralized clinical studies where data from study participants can be collected at timescales and locations that are not possible with traditional in person clinical studies. Ongoing studies with homeRNA include investigating the immune response to wildfire smoke exposure, infectious disease, and during treatment of rheumatologic diseases.  Notably we have captured immune response signatures during the elusive presymptomatic phase of respiratory infection drawing on the ability to take samples with high temporal frequency (e.g., daily for ten days) afforded by at-home sampling. homeRNA has also enabled recruitment and retention of underrepresented, underserved, and underreported (U3) populations, overcoming barriers often experienced with conventional in-person research. Our CandyCollect device is a lollipop-inspired open microfluidic saliva sampling system. I will share results of our initial studies in children with Group A streptococcal pharyngitis (strep throat), indicating that CandyCollect is effective and is preferred by children and parents in comparison to traditional throat swabs. CandyCollect also shows promise for salivary biomarker studies. Taken together, remote self-sampling tools open up exciting new possibilities for clinical care and human subjects research.

About the Speaker: 

Ashleigh Theberge is Professor of Chemistry and Adjunct Professor of Urology at the University of Washington. She holds a BA from Williams College and a PhD from the University of Cambridge. Her group develops microscale culture and analysis methods to study cell-cell, cell-extracellular matrix, and host-microbe interactions. She also develops new methods for at-home sampling and sample preservation for longitudinal studies including blood, saliva, and air sampling. Selected awards include an NIH MIRA (2018, 2023) and awards from the Beckman (2018), Packard (2019), Sloan (2021), and Dreyfus (2022) foundations. She co-Chaired the GRC on the Physics and Chemistry of Microfluidics in 2023. In 2024 she received a Schmidt Science Polymath Award, and she has received multiple awards for inclusive mentoring.

(Full bio here: https://depts.washington.edu/bcmelab/people/)