Media Releases

Aaron Wheeler wins Analytical Chemistry 2011 Young Innovator Award

July 19, 2011

IBBME Core Professor honoured for inspired research in microfluidics

TORONTO, ON  — Aaron Wheel­er has won the Ana­lyt­i­cal Chem­istry 2011 Young Inno­va­tor Award. This award hon­ours excep­tion­al tech­ni­cal advance­ment and inno­va­tion in the field of micro- or nanoflu­idics ear­ly in the investigator’s career.

Wheeler’s inno­v­a­tive research explores the rela­tion­ship between tra­di­tion­al enclosed microchan­nels and dig­i­tal microflu­idics, in which dis­crete droplets are manip­u­lat­ed on open devices using elec­tro­sta­t­ic forces. These process­es are then used for high-through­put bio­an­a­lyt­i­cal appli­ca­tions. Recent­ly, Wheel­er has worked with an endocri­nol­o­gist to quan­ti­fy hor­mones in small tis­sue sam­ples, with poten­tial ther­a­peu­tic appli­ca­tions for infer­til­i­ty and can­cer ther­a­py. In anoth­er appli­ca­tion of his meth­ods, he has worked with New­born Screen­ing Ontario to eval­u­ate blood sam­ples; his hybrid microflu­idic and microchan­nel meth­ods enable the automa­tion and stream­lin­ing of the process of quan­ti­fy­ing inborn genet­ic dis­ease. It is projects like these that demon­strate Wheeler’s unique vision that brings togeth­er two par­a­digms of microflu­idics.

“It’s a great hon­our to be rec­og­nized,” stat­ed Wheel­er. “It’s a well-known award in the microflu­idics com­mu­ni­ty, and pre­vi­ous recip­i­ents are in the top of the field.” It’s not the first time Wheel­er has been hon­oured; in 2009 he received a Sloan Fel­low­ship and the Eli Lil­ly & Com­pa­ny Young Inves­ti­ga­tor Award in Ana­lyt­i­cal Chem­istry.

Wheel­er is an Assis­tant Pro­fes­sor with appoint­ments in Chem­istry, IBBME, and the Bant­i­ng and Best Depart­ment of Med­ical Research, and is Cana­da Research Chair in Bio­an­a­lyt­i­cal Chem­istry. The award is spon­sored by Ana­lyt­i­cal Chem­istry and the Chem­i­cal and Bio­log­i­cal Microsys­tems Soci­ety and will be pre­sent­ed at uTAS (Micro­TAS) 2011 in Seat­tle, Octo­ber 2–6, 2011.

Per­ma­nent link to sto­ry: http://ibbme.utoronto.ca/news/IBBME_in_the_News/Aaron_Wheeler_wins_Analytical_Chemistry_2011_Young_Innovator_Award.htm

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Sachiko Muraka­mi, Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Offi­cer
Insti­tute of Bio­ma­te­ri­als and Bio­med­ical Engi­neer­ing (IBBME)
Uni­ver­si­ty of Toron­to
Toron­to, Ontario  M5S 3G9
416.946.8019
comm.ibbme@utoronto.ca