Samuel Chen

I am a fourth-year undergraduate studying mechanical engineering at the University of Washington - Seattle. My work in the lab focuses on engineering innovative biospecimen processing devices to improve the accessibility and accuracy of diagnostic assays. As a mechanical engineer, I create CAD designs, fabricate prototypes and conduct experiments to evaluate the devices I create. I am currently working on the Urine Biomarker Concentrator project to improve the sensitivity of TB diagnosis in low-resource settings. Some of my past projects include designing a microfluidic device for triple-negative breast cancer tumor tissue characterization and magnetic tube racks for efficient separation of polymer-coated magnetic nanoparticle. My research interests include bio-MEMS and biomedical instrumentation. Outside of the lab, I enjoy hiking, kayaking and spending time with family and friends.

Education and Training

Experience/Positions

2021 - Present

Co-Founder - Truly Technologies, LLC

• Commercialization of Urine Biomarker Concentrator developed in the Lai Lab

2018 - Present

Lai Lab - Undergraduate Research Assistant, Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington

• Designed and fabricated an osmotic biospecimen processor to enable low-cost, power-free, and rapid for laboratory and point-of-care settings

• Integrated tumor tissue digestion, protein digestion and peptide purification procedures into a microfluidic system to improve the triple-negative breast cancer biomarker characterization

• Designed and fabricated magnetic test tube racks to maximize the antibody capture efficiency of smart polymer reagents

• Presented at the 2020 UW Undergraduate Research Symposium, 2021 Biomaterials International Conference, and the 2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium

2021 – 2022

Mechanical Engineer – EquinOx, Engineering Innovation in Health, University of Washington

• Designed and prototyped novel pulse oximeter with a melanin sensor and skin tone correction algorithm to enable accurate and non-invasive oxygen saturation measurement across all skin tones

• Evaluated stakeholder needs, explored market opportunities, and reviewed potential regulatory pathways

2021

Diagnostics Market Access Intern, PATH

• Compiled ongoing updates on testing methodologies, molecular targets, regulatory status, and procurement pathways to COVID-19 diagnostics data dashboards with over fifteen thousand unique visits per year

• Evaluated existing COVID-19 diagnostic manufacturing capacity, conducted regulatory analysis to identify optimal channels to market and developed strategies to increase supply for future epidemics

2021 - 2022

Allbritton Lab - Undergraduate Research Assistant, Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington

• Designed and assembled an integrated micro-dispenser system for high precision single-cell printing

• Optimized cell printing parameters to enable high-throughput thin-layer chromatographic analysis on a microfluidic device

2021

University of Washington NSF I-Corps/WE-REACH Program

• Developed entrepreneurial knowledge on Lean startup model, competitive analysis, customer discovery, product development, intellectual property protection and medical device regulation

Awards/Honors

2022

Undergraduate Research Symposium Population Health Recognition Award

Mary Gates Research Scholarship, Mary Gates Endowment for Students, University of Washington

2021

Best Idea for Addressing Health Access and Disparities Prize, Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge, University of Washington Foster School Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship

Finalist, Lemelson-MIT Collegiate Inventors Student Prize

2020

Design by Biomedical Undergraduate Teams (DEBUT) 2nd Prize, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering/VentureWell