Professor Andy Ellington has received a $1.6 million grant through the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative to develop a paper-based test for drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). The goal is to develop a system for rapidly diagnosing drug-resistant TB in areas that lack the appropriate infrastructure, such as parts of Afghanistan and Africa. Unique to Ellington’s approach is his attempt to build a diagnostic system using synthetic DNA embedded in paper. The DNA will work much like an integrated circuit in electronics, but in this case the signal it will amplify will be the presence of the TB bacteria in saliva.
Ellington received his PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from Harvard University and joined the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry as an Associate Professor in 1998.
Ellington Lab
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From the Chemistry Department
Ellington receives $1.6 million grant to develop test for drug-resistant tuberculosis
