DeKalb, IL – NIU has been awarded a $380,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance research that has the potential to revolutionize diagnostics.
Irina Nesterova, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Associate Professor Irina Nesterova, Ph.D., in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry aims to create affordable, accurate and easy-to-use diagnostic devices that can be used by individuals at home and in point-of-care environments, such as a patient’s bedside and settings where resources are limited.
“Everyone knows how useful at-home COVID-19 diagnostic tests are,” Dr. Nesterova said. “They’re extremely helpful and lifesaving, and the bottom line is we need more devices like this to be able to manage different health-related situations. What a COVID device is doing is telling us whether certain virus-associated molecules are present in a human sample. This is very valuable information, but what is also important is how much of a molecular biomarker is present.”
Nesterova’s research involves the development of advanced diagnostic devices for quantitative analysis of molecular biomarkers. Molecular biomarkers are molecules that are present in the body and indicate an organism’s health state.
Specifically, the funding will enable NIU researchers to create devices that not only detect the presence of molecular biomarkers, but also measure their quantity. The information is invaluable for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
“Think about the significance of at-home monitoring of glucose level for diabetes management,” Dr. Nesterova said. “There are plenty of other situations when accessible quantitative information on biomarkers is crucial. We can think about monitoring the build-up of immune response during vaccine development, evaluating progress in immunotherapeutic treatments and observing changes in antibody levels during infections.”
The device will provide a yes/no result by generating bubbles when a molecular biomarker reaches a certain threshold. This simple readout method, accessible to people of all ages, will require no specialized training or scientific equipment, making it ideal for at-home use and settings, such as underserved and remote communities.
The platform could be adapted to detect biomarkers for a variety of infectious diseases and immune responses, said Professor Victor Ryzhov, Ph.D., chair of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department.
“The topic has far-reaching consequences for developing low-cost diagnostics kits for various diseases, especially in poor countries and/or remote areas of the world,” he said.
The research is part of a three-year timeline, during which Nesterova and her team will work toward a market-ready solution. Nesterova’s team, which currently include six graduate students and six undergraduate students, is excited about the upcoming work, as well as ongoing projects in other areas of molecular diagnostics.
Graduate student Elzbieta Iwaniuk, an international student originally from Poznan, Poland, has been working on the project since its inception four years ago. She plans to graduate with a doctoral degree in chemistry in the spring of 2025.
Her interests in bioanalytical research in chemistry overlapped with Dr. Nesterova’s research.
“We started that specific project from scratch, so to be able to establish the basis of a detection method that we work on now was an amazing opportunity,” Iwaniuk said. “Working with Dr. Nesterova allowed me to grow as a research scientist and I am very grateful for that opportunity.”
A fifth-year Ph.D. candidate, Iwaniuk recently gave birth to her son, Leonardo.
“It’s been a challenge balancing the demands of the Ph.D. program and becoming a new mother, but I’ve felt incredibly supported by our department and Dr. Nesterova through this journey,” she said.
Media Contact: Jami Kunzer
About NIU
Northern Illinois University is a student-centered, nationally recognized public research university, with expertise that benefits its region and spans the globe in a wide variety of fields, including the sciences, humanities, arts, business, engineering, education, health and law. The Wall Street Journal and CollegeNET recognize NIU as a leading institution for social mobility, or helping its students climb the socioeconomic ladder. Through its main campus in DeKalb, Illinois, and education centers for students and working professionals in Chicago, Naperville and Rockford, NIU offers more than 100 areas of study while serving a diverse and international student body.
