Amy Shen, Professor and Provost, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST)

Amy Shen Biographical Sketch

Amy Shen is the Provost and a Professor at OIST in Japan, where she has led the Micro/Bio/Nanofluidics Unit since 2014. Before joining OIST, she was a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Washington, USA. Her research focuses on microfluidics, rheology, and lab-on-a-chip technologies at the bio/nano interface, with broad applications in biotechnology. Amy is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Society of Rheology. She has received numerous accolades, including the NSF CAREER Award, the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award, and was a Fulbright Scholar in 2013. She serves as an Associate Editor for Soft Matter and is on the editorial advisory boards of ACS Sensors, Journal of Rheology, and Physics of Fluids. Notably, she delivered the 2019 Bergveld Lecture at the University of Twente in the Netherlands and the 2025 FlOW lecture at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.

Andrew Godwin, Professor and Division Director, Deputy Director, KU Cancer Center, University of Kansas Medical Center

Andrew Godwin Biographical Sketch

Andrew K. Godwin, PhD is the Chancellors Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Sciences endowed Professor and the Director of Molecular Oncology in the Department of Pathology at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC). He is a leader in the field of translational research and precision medicine. A native of Lawrence, Kansas, Dr. Godwin graduated with highest distinction from the University of Kansas (KU) with a bachelor’s degree in Cellular Biology. He obtained his PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania while carrying out his thesis research at Fox Chase Cancer Center (FCCC) in Philadelphia. While at FCCC he had the pleasure of learning from “giants” in their respective fields of cancer-focused science. He was appointed leader of the FCCC’s Cancer Center Support Grant Ovarian Cancer Program in 2008 and served as co-leader of the Women's Cancer Program from 2009 to 2010. He was the founding director of both the Clinical Molecular Genetics/Pathology Laboratory and the Biosample Repository at FCCC since their inception in 1995 and 1999 respectively, and until leaving FCCC.

Dr. Godwin was recruited to KUMC as the director of Molecular Oncology and as the Associate Director for Translational Research within the KU Cancer Center in October 2010 after 26 productive years at FCCC. His engaged participation in the cancer center led to being appointed the Deputy Director in 2013 and his unwavering efforts helped to gain NCI designation in 2012/2017 and comprehensive designation in 2022. He founded the Clinical Molecular Oncology Laboratory, a CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited molecular diagnostics laboratory in 2012. He was appointed the Division Director for Genomic Diagnostic for the KU Health System in 2020. He also founded the Center for Genetics Services and Health Equity, to address health disparities in medical underserved populations regionally and nationally.

Dr. Godwin holds secondary appointments as a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, and the Department of Microbiology, Molecular Genetics, and Immunology. He also leads the ovarian cancer research-working group, is a member of the Investigator Initiated Trial Steering Committee, serves as the founding Scientific Director for the Biomarker Discovery Laboratory, the Director of the KU Cancer Center’s Biospecimen Shared Resource, and the KU Medical Center’s Biospecimen Repository Core Facility. He was named the Vice Chair for the Breast Translational Medicine subcommittee of the Southwest Oncology Group in 2018 and was appointed to the National Cancer Institute’s NCTN Core Correlative Sciences Committee in 2021.

He was named a Kansas Bioscience Authority Eminent Scholar in 2010 and the University of Kansas School of Medicine Chancellor’s Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Sciences Endowed Professor in 2012. In 2014, Dr. Godwin received the KUMC School of Medicine’s Achievement Award for the mentoring of post-doctorate students. Of his awards, he is most proud of being acknowledged for his years of mentoring. He has mentored over 150 trainees, including high school students, undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral associates/fellows, medical students/fellows, visiting scientists, and junior faculty during his academic career. He was awarded the KU Medical Center’s Faculty Investigator Research Award in 2015, the University of Kansas Cancer Center Director’s William Jewell Team Science Award in 2017, the KUCC Director’s Basic Science Award and the Chancellor’s Club Award for Research in 2018, and the Dolph C. Simons, Sr. Higuchi Award in the Biomedical Sciences in 2020 – the state higher education system’s most prestigious recognition for scholarly excellence. Most recently, Godwin was presented with the 2021 KU School of Medicine Excellences in Mentoring (Faculty) award and the 2021 Cancer Center Director’s Award in Mentoring and was named the 2022 Lead Scholar in Biomedical Sciences by the Ewha Womans University in South Korea. Most recently he presented the 2024 Outstanding Mentorship in Pathology Award by the University School of Medicine and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in recognition of dedication to the mentorship and education of future pathologists.

Dr. Godwin is internationally recognized for his molecular biology/genetic studies of sarcoma (gastrointestinal stromal tumors and Ewing sarcoma), breast and ovarian cancer, and his efforts to help bridge the gap between basic and clinical science to improve patient care. As a result of his efforts, Dr. Godwin has been continuously since his first faculty appointment at the Fox Chase (in 1993) and has secured extramural funding totaling >$250M. He has published over 550 peer-reviewed manuscripts and scholarly review articles (h index = 143; >95,000 citations) and is the author of 4 patent applications.

Chwee Teck Lim, NUSS Chair Professor, National University of Singapore

Chwee Teck Lim Biographical Sketch

Professor Chwee Teck LIM is the NUSS Chair Professor and Director of the Institute for Health Innovation and Technology at the National University of Singapore. He has coauthored over 500 journal publications and cofounded six startups with one public listed in 2018. Prof Lim is an elected Fellow of nine academies and organizations including the Royal Society UK, US National Academy of Inventors, IUPESM, AIMBE, IAMBE, Singapore National Academy of Science and Academy of Engineering Singapore. He has garnered numerous research awards including Nature Lifetime Achievement Award for Mentoring in Science, Highly Cited Researcher, Asia’s Most Influential Scientist Award, Wall Street Journal Asian Innovation Award (Gold) and the President's Technology Award.

Daniel Citterio, Professor, Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University

Daniel Citterio Biographical Sketch

Daniel Citterio received his Doctoral degree in Natural Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich (Switzerland) in 1998. From 1998-2002, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Keio University with Prof. Koji Suzuki. Upon return to Switzerland, he worked as a researcher at ETH, before joining Ciba Specialty Chemicals Inc.. In 2006, he moved back to Keio University, where he became a tenured Associate Professor in 2009 and Professor in 2014. In 2016, he has been admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). He serves as a co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, as well as on the Editorial Advisory Board of ACS Sensors. In 2022, he has been awarded the Chemical Society of Japan Award for Creative Work. His research is focusing on the development of chemical sensors and biosensors. More recently, his research team is strongly engaged in the development of microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (µPADs) for low-cost point-of-need applications.

Danilo Tagle, Director, Office of Special Initiatives, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences at the NIH (NCATS)

Danilo Tagle Biographical Sketch

Dan Tagle is Director of the Office of Special Initiatives at NCATS where he many coordinates efforts towards development of disruptive technologies in translational research. He obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Wayne State University School of Medicine. He was an NIH National Research Service Award postdoctoral fellow in Human Genetics at the University of Michigan. He has served on numerous committees, advisory boards, and editorial boards. He has authored many scientific publications and has garnered numerous awards, including more recently the Roscoe O. Brady Award for Innovation and Accomplishment, and the Henry J. Heimlich Award for Innovative Medicine.

Hirofumi Shintaku, Professor, Institute for Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University

Hirofumi Shintaku Biographical Sketch

Hirofumi Shintaku is Professor at the Institute for Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, and RIKEN Hakubi Team Leader. He has received numerous awards, including the Young Engineers Award from the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers, the highest honor for young mechanical engineers. His current research focuses on technology development for single-cell biology leveraging electrokinetics in micro and nanoscale and integrating phenotyping and single-cell omics.

Jing Chen, Founder & CEO, Hicomp Microtech

Jing Chen Biographical Sketch

Dr. Jing Chen has amassed 28 years of expertise in Microfluidics, MEMS, and Manufacturing Engineering. He earned his PhD from Tsinghua University, furthered his research at the University of Michigan, and served as a tenured professor at Peking University for 16 years. In 2014, Dr. Chen founded HiComp, which specializes in microfluidic and lab-on-chip products for various industries. He has authored over 180 papers, 70 patents, and 6 books, making significant contributions to the field.

Levent Yobas, Professor, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Levent Yobas Biographical Sketch

Dr Levent Yobas received his BSc degree in electrical engineering from Hacettepe University, Turkey, MSc and PhD degrees both in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University, USA. From 2002-2010, he was with the Institute of Microelectronics (IME) under the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR) of Singapore. He held adjunct faculty positions with Bioengineering Division at National University of Singapore (NUS) and the School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). He joined the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology as Assistant Professor in 2010 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2015 and Professor in 2022. His research is mainly focused on silicon-based micro/nanofabrication technologies for life sciences, particularly lab-on-a-chip microfluidics for drug discovery and point-of-care diagnostic applications.

Noah Malmstadt, Professor, Mork Family Dept. of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Southern California

Noah Malmstadt Biographical Sketch

Noah Malmstadt is Professor at the University of Southern California. He received a BS in Chemical Engineering from Caltech and a PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Washington. Following postdoctoral work at UCLA, he joined the Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at USC in 2007. Malmstadt is the recipient of a 2012 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator award. His research focuses on microfluidic strategies to facilitate material fabrication and biophysical analysis. He has pioneered the integration of ionic liquids as solvents in droplet microreactors and the application of microfluidic systems to synthesizing biomimetic cell membranes. Microfluidic analytical techniques he has developed include methods for measuring the permeability of cell membranes to druglike molecules and techniques for measuring ionic currents through membrane proteins.