2023 Physics and Chemistry of Microfluidics Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar

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Project Summary The Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar (GRC/GRS) on the Physics and Chemistry of Microfluidics will be held from June 3rd to June 9th, 2023 at Il Ciocco in Lucca, Italy. Asst. Prof. Ashleigh Theberge of the University of Washington and Prof. Charles Henry of Colorado State University will act as co- Chairs for the conference with vice-Chairs Asst. Prof. Katherine Elvira (University of Victoria) and Asst. Prof. Polly Fordyce (Stanford); graduate student Louise Hansen (University of California, Berkeley) and postdoc Dr. Ulri Lee (MIT, alumna of the Theberge lab at the University of Washington) will act as co-Chairs for the associated trainee seminar. The conference will include sessions on New Materials and Biosensing, Clinical Applications of Microfluidics, Single Cell Analysis, Open Microfluidics, Fundamentals of Flow, Point-of-Care Diagnostics and Capillary Microfluidics, Cell Microenvironment, Organs-on-a-Chip, and Droplet and Multiphase Microfluidics. Travel support for a subset of attendees will be awarded, giving special consideration to junior investigators (i.e., students, postdoctoral fellows, junior researchers, and early career speakers) and underrepresented groups. This Physics and Chemistry of Microfluidics GRC/GRS is significant: the discussion- oriented forum provides a unique opportunity for scientists and engineers to collaborate with focus on the role of microfluidics in biomedical science. The health-relevance of this application lies in the fact that microfluidic and nanofluidic technologies are providing key tools to study topics ranging from underlying health and disease processes to point-of-care diagnostics, including playing an important role in reaching underserved populations. The detailed and quantitative knowledge acquired by microfluidic systems is critical for understanding the molecular basis of disease and developing new therapies and diagnostic strategies. Proposed sessions will cover a variety of health-related topics at levels ranging from fundamental to applied. Further, microfluidics and microengineering are powerful technologies that can be used to facilitate and dramatically improve basic and applied biomedical research, topical areas that comprise the major focus of the conference. Microfluidics and nanotechnology are highly multidisciplinary fields. Based on our previous successful GRCs (biennially since 2001, skipping 2021 due to the pandemic), participants will have diverse backgrounds (bioengineering, chemistry, biology, physics, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, medicine, and materials science). Participants will represent academia, government, and industry with the majority of participants from the academic sector. A main goal of this conference is to encourage interaction among participants from dissimilar backgrounds and levels of training to facilitate the maturation of microfluidic technologies and elucidate complex biological problems.