Dear Colleagues,

As Editor-in-Chief of Biosensors, I am very pleased to announce that the winner of the 2017 Travel Award, sponsored by Biosensors, is Ke Du, a Postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Chemistry, University of California at Berkeley, who will be supported with 800 Swiss Francs towards travel expenses to attend international conferences in 2017.

Dr. Du has developed and evaluated an automated microfluidic sample preparation multiplexer for Ebola virus detection. Combined with amplification-free counting of single molecules using an optofluidic chip, a limit of detection of 0.21 pfu/mL for clinical samples was achieved. To advance the technology closer to clinical trials, the research was extended to detect Ebola virus in whole blood samples, which, combined with a virus processor, allowed automatic processing of 80 samples on a single chip. The technique is compatible with a finger prick blood test and satisfies the requirements for POC detection of Ebola hemorrhagic fever virus (HFV) and other infectious diseases.

Less than three years after completing his PhD, Ke has already co-authored 23 publications, and has presented his work at many conferences via oral presentations and posters. He has also been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships.

Yours sincerely,
Dr. Jeff D. Newman
Editor-in-Chief, Biosensors