Phase I IUCRC at Notre Dame: Center for Bioanalytic Metrology

University Of Notre Dame, Notre Dame IN

Investigators

Abstract

The Center for Bioanalytic Metrology (CBM), a partnership between the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University, and Purdue University, advances U.S. competitiveness by working with industry to solve current, emerging, and industry-relevant challenges in measurement science and technology. The center has two over-arching objectives: (1) deliver best-in-class molecular measurement tools and expertise that enable the development of powerful new pre-competitive technologies and capabilities across the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, food/nutrition/agriculture, energy and analytical instrumentation sectors; and (2) serve as a proving ground for applications of new instrumentation to cutting-edge chemical and biochemical problems. Measurement science, and associated instrumentation, is a key contributor to the U.S. economy, enabling advances in everything from drug discovery to materials manufacturing. By bringing together companies in these high-technology sectors with major analytical instrument makers, the CBM bridges the gap between the initial demonstration of new ideas generated through collaboration between academia and industry and the delivery of practical pre-competitive knowledge that can drive technology development. Just as important, the CBM provides U.S. industry with compelling opportunities to invigorate human resources through access to a diversity of center-trained students and opportunities for continuing education of existing staff. The CBM is devoted to advancing bioanalytical measurement science and applying these advances to address challenges in small molecule pharmaceuticals or agrochemicals development and delivery, in the analysis of foods, in biologically derived petrochemicals and/or biofuels, and in biological materials analysis. The CBM serves the industrial partners with research solutions in: (a) ultrahigh sensitivity assays for trace-level biomarkers and impurities; (b) discrimination between large biomolecules and their multi-molecule complexes; (c) reduced volume/materials analysis and experimentation at high throughput and productivity; (d) analysis of rare/extremely dilute cells/molecules/exosomes, etc.; (e) massively parallel approaches to chemical cytometry, genetic profiling, and panel screening; (f) online and near-line in situ measurements; (g) point-of-use analysis, companion diagnostics, and inexpensive testing in the field; (h) AI-driven instrumentation, feedback optimization, and "driverless" instruments; and (i) enhanced imaging of cells, organisms, and chemical processes. Notre Dame contributes distinctive expertise in proteomics and metabolomics, point-of-use diagnostics, multimodal chemical imaging, separations and analyses of complex biofluids, molecular-level characterization of microbial behavior, enhanced vibrational spectroscopies, ion-beam derived materials characterization, and application of nanomaterials and devices to chemical analysis. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.