Dr Abu Sina is currently an NHMRC Emerging Leader Fellow at the Center for Personalized Nanomedicine, Australian Institute for Bioengineering & Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Australia. Prior to this, he served as a Visiting Scientist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University, and as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Irving Cancer Research Center, Columbia University, NY, USA.
Dr. Sina has earned both national and international acclaim for his notable contributions to advancing translational-focused nano-diagnostic technologies with a focus on early cancer detection from liquid biopsies. He is one of the few leaders in the world who is driving the liquid biopsy-based multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test program. He has had several media appearances so far which include interviews on national (Channel 9, Channel 7, ABC News, Fox News, etc.) and international Television (CBC News, CTV News Canada, etc.) and Radio (4EB, 4BC, ABC Perth, ABC Sunshine coast, SBS) outlets.
Actively participating in scholarly discussions, Dr. Sina has served as a Keynote Speaker, Invited Speaker, and Session Chair at various national and international conferences and seminars. His commitment to excellence has resulted in several prestigious awards, including the Metrohm-EDRACI Young Electrochemist Award 2021, the Queensland Health and Medical Research Award 2019 from the Queensland State Government of Australia, and recognition as a Fellow of the International Association of Advanced Materials.
Central to his aspirations is a vision to develop point-of-care diagnostic technologies with the potential to revolutionize early disease detection, thereby enhancing overall quality of life.
Dr. Sina's research is centered on the development of nanotechnologies for applications in liquid biopsy, addressing clinical challenges in medical diagnostics and precision oncology. His expertise spans diverse areas of basic and translational research, encompassing chemistry, molecular biology, nano-biotechnology, liquid biopsy, biosensing, and microfluidics, among others. Notably, his work has pioneered the field of "interfacial biosensing," overcoming limitations associated with existing biosensing techniques.
A standout achievement in his innovative portfolio is the establishment of a DNA nano-signature-based cancer test, widely acknowledged as the 10-minute universal cancer test. This groundbreaking development has garnered extensive coverage in major global news outlets, including CNN, Forbes, The Guardian, CTV News, Smithsonian Magazine, and the New York Post. CNN and BioScope, an online magazine, have recognized his discovery of the 10-minute cancer test as one of the "Top Discoveries/Advances for 2018."
Throughout his research career, marked by 52 publications (12 as the First author and 16 as the corresponding author) and a patent (US Patent App. 17286379), Dr. Sina has accumulated 1865 citations, achieving an H-index of 21 and an i10-index of 33 (Source: Google Scholar). His research has been published in high-impact, discipline-ranked journals such as Nature Communications, Accounts of Chemical Research, ACS Nano, Science Advances, and Advanced Functional Materials.
Dedicated to early cancer detection and personalized treatment, Dr. Sina's research program has secured over $1.5 million in grant funding from government agencies and industries. His research outputs rank in the top 25% for citation with an FWCI score >2. The impact is evident through citations in 1,110 documents across 88 countries and in 23 different subject categories (Scopus, Oct 2023). Notably, he has been cited by authors from over 160 institutions, including Harvard Medical School and the University of California.
Journal Article: A mesoporous gold biosensor to investigate immune checkpoint protein heterogeneity in single lung cancer cells
Ahmed, Emtiaz, Masud, Mostafa Kamal, Komatineni, Prathyusha, Dey, Shuvashis, Lobb, Richard, Hossain, Md Shahriar A., Möller, Andreas, Yamauchi, Yusuke, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn and Trau, Matt (2024). A mesoporous gold biosensor to investigate immune checkpoint protein heterogeneity in single lung cancer cells. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 249 115984, 115984. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115984
Journal Article: Methylated Whole Genome Cell-Free DNA Sequencing before Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy for Large B-Cell Lymphoma Predicts Treatment Outcomes
Cherng, Hua-Jay J., Yang, Xiaojing, Yancey, Ryan, Gordillo, Christian A, Piorczynski, Ted B., Chan, Hei T., Ofori, Kenneth N., Bhagat, Govind, Califano, Andrea, Pro, Barbara, Booher, Keith, Amengual, Jennifer E., Reshef, Ran and Sina, Abu A. I. (2023). Methylated Whole Genome Cell-Free DNA Sequencing before Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy for Large B-Cell Lymphoma Predicts Treatment Outcomes. Blood, 142 (Supplement 1), 4371-4371. doi: 10.1182/blood-2023-178376
Conference Publication: Extracellular Small Vesicle Phosphorylated PD-L1 Liquid Biopsy Levels Correlate with Tumour Proportion Score (TPS) in NSCLC
O'Byrne, K., Shanmugasundaram, K.B., Ahmed, E., Kulasinghe, A., Monkman, J., Fletcher, J.A., Mainwaring, P.N., Masud, M.K., Park, H., Hossain, M.S.A., Yamauchi, Y., Sina, A.A.I., Wuethrich, A. and Trau, M. (2023). Extracellular Small Vesicle Phosphorylated PD-L1 Liquid Biopsy Levels Correlate with Tumour Proportion Score (TPS) in NSCLC. 2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer, Singapore, 9-12 September 2023. New York, NY United States: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.jtho.2023.09.432
Single molecule sensing on nanopillars: Reading complex molecular circuits
(2021–2023) ARC Discovery Projects
A potential pan-cancer diagnostic utilizing DNA methylation landscapes
(2020–2024) NHMRC Investigator Grants
(2019) UQ Early Career Researcher
A potential pan-cancer diagnostic utilizing DNA methylation landscapes
Doctor Philosophy
Clinical Epigenetics: Biomarkers for Human Health and Diseases
Doctor Philosophy
Novel Nanotechnology Platforms for Cancer Diagnostics
(2023) Doctor Philosophy
Multiplex microdevice for the detection of DNA Methylation
Methylation of DNA is a type of epigenetic signatures that defines the eukaryotic cell’s identity by regulating gene expression. Aberrant methylation in the genome can deregulate the gene expression pathways leading to diseases like cancer. Thus, DNA methylation has been regarded as one of the important biomarkers for cancer. Recent years have seen tremendous advancement in methylation based biomarker discovery providing abundant information about the genomic printing. However, cancer is a versatile disease that often needs multiple biomarker analysis for accurate detection. Current practice in detecting methylation biomarkers in clinic is largely affected by expensive sequencing technique. Recent advancements in electrochemical and optical biosensors have shown great promise in developing inexpensive multiplex platform. Despite of their significant improvement in sensitivity, these methods are restricted by major technological challenges including functionalization of sensor surface, long analysis procedure and invasive sampling. We have recently developed an interfacial biosensing technique to identify DNA methylation using gold-DNA affinity which obviates the need for sensor surface modification. In this study, we aim to develop a novel multiplex micro-device comprising an array of microelectrodes for directly detecting the genomic methylation biomarkers with the mechanism of interfacial adsorption between DNA and metal surfaces. These microelectrodes can significantly increase the assay sensitivity due to the high signal to noise ratio. We believe that this micro-fabricated multiplex platform will find broad applications as simple diagnostic tool in the clinic.
Wuethrich, Alain, Dey, Shuvashis, Koo, Kevin M, Sina, Abu A. I. and Trau, Matt (2021). Simultaneous BRAFV600E protein and DNA aberration detection in circulating melanoma cells using an integrated multimolecular sensor. Melanoma. (pp. 265-276) New York, NY, United States: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1205-7_20
2D nanomaterials for quantitative and qualitative analysis of DNA methylation
Hossain, Tanvir, Ahmed, Shamim, Syfuddin, H.M. and Sina, Abu (2019). 2D nanomaterials for quantitative and qualitative analysis of DNA methylation. Biomedical applications of graphene and 2D nanomaterials. (pp. 235-247) edited by Md Nurunnabi and Jason McCarthy. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-815889-0.00011-8
Interfacial biosensing: direct biosensing of biomolecules at the bare metal interface
Ibn Sina, A. A., Koo, K. M., Ahmed, M., Carrascosa, L. G. and Trau, M. (2018). Interfacial biosensing: direct biosensing of biomolecules at the bare metal interface. Encyclopedia of interfacial chemistry: surface science and electrochemistry. (pp. 269-277) Amsterdam: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-12-409547-2.14188-5
Ahmed, Emtiaz, Masud, Mostafa Kamal, Komatineni, Prathyusha, Dey, Shuvashis, Lobb, Richard, Hossain, Md Shahriar A., Möller, Andreas, Yamauchi, Yusuke, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn and Trau, Matt (2024). A mesoporous gold biosensor to investigate immune checkpoint protein heterogeneity in single lung cancer cells. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 249 115984, 115984. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115984
Cherng, Hua-Jay J., Yang, Xiaojing, Yancey, Ryan, Gordillo, Christian A, Piorczynski, Ted B., Chan, Hei T., Ofori, Kenneth N., Bhagat, Govind, Califano, Andrea, Pro, Barbara, Booher, Keith, Amengual, Jennifer E., Reshef, Ran and Sina, Abu A. I. (2023). Methylated Whole Genome Cell-Free DNA Sequencing before Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy for Large B-Cell Lymphoma Predicts Treatment Outcomes. Blood, 142 (Supplement 1), 4371-4371. doi: 10.1182/blood-2023-178376
Multiplex SERS-Lectin-Immunoassay for Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Screening
Khamis, Ramlah, Shanmugasundaram, Karthik B, Zhou, Quan, Lu, Jennifer, Zhang, Zhen, Hill, Michelle M., Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Trau, Matt and Wuethrich, Alain (2023). Multiplex SERS-Lectin-Immunoassay for Esophageal Adenocarcinoma Screening. ACS Applied Nano Materials, 6 (21), 20190-20197. doi: 10.1021/acsanm.3c03987
Ahmed, Emtiaz, Shanmugasundaram, Karthik Balaji, Li, Junrong, Behren, Andreas, Lobb, Richard, Möller, Andreas, Wuethrich, Alain, Dey, Shuvashis, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn and Trau, Matt (2023). A microfluidic liquid biopsy platform to monitor protein biomarker heterogeneity in single circulating therapy‐resistance cancer cell. Advanced Sensor Research, 2 (12). doi: 10.1002/adsr.202300059
Ahmed, Mostak, Wuethrich, Alain, Constantin, Nicolas, Shanmugasundaram, Karthik Balaji, Mainwaring, Paul, Kulasinghe, Arutha, O’Leary, Connor, O’Byrne, Ken, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Carrascosa, Laura G. and Trau, Matt (2023). Liquid biopsy snapshots of key phosphoproteomic pathways in lung cancer patients for diagnosis and therapy monitoring. Analytical Chemistry, 95 (22), 8522-8532. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c00519
Li, Junrong, Sina, Abu A. I., Antaw, Fiach, Fielding, David, Möller, Andreas, Lobb, Richard, Wuethrich, Alain and Trau, Matt (2023). Digital decoding of single extracellular vesicle phenotype differentiates early malignant and benign lung lesions. Advanced Science, 10 (1) 2204207, e2204207. doi: 10.1002/advs.202204207
Kebede, Tinfash, Melak, Tadele, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn and Fasil, Alebachew (2022). Assessment of Serum Uric Acid, Urea, and Glucose Levels and Associated Factors among Breast Cancer Patients Attending A Tertiary Hospital in Bahirdar, Ethiopia: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study. Ethiopian journal of health sciences, 32 (6), 1183-1192. doi: 10.4314/ejhs.v32i6.16
Hydrogel nanoarchitectonics: an evolving paradigm for ultrasensitive biosensing
Nishat, Zakia Sultana, Hossain, Tanvir, Islam, Md. Nazmul, Phan, Hoang‐Phuong, Wahab, Md A., Moni, Mohammad Ali, Salomon, Carlos, Amin, Mohammed A., Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Hossain, Md Shahriar A., Kaneti, Yusuf Valentino, Yamauchi, Yusuke and Masud, Mostafa Kamal (2022). Hydrogel nanoarchitectonics: an evolving paradigm for ultrasensitive biosensing. Small, 18 (26) 2107571, 2107571. doi: 10.1002/smll.202107571
Dey, Shuvashis, Ahmed, Emtiaz, Somvanshi, Pranjal Satishchandra, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Wuethrich, Alain and Trau, Matt (2022). An electrochemical and raman scattering dual detection biosensor for rapid screening and biomolecular profiling of cancer biomarkers. Chemosensors, 10 (3) 93. doi: 10.3390/chemosensors10030093
Constantin, Nicolas, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Korbie, Darren and Trau, Matt (2022). Opportunities for early cancer detection: the rise of ctDNA methylation-based pan-cancer screening technologies. Epigenomes, 6 (1) 6. doi: 10.3390/epigenomes6010006
Shanmugasundaram, Karthik Balaji, Li, Junrong, Sina, Abu Ibn, Wuethrich, Alain and Trau, Matt (2022). Toward precision oncology: SERS microfluidic systems for multiplex biomarker analysis in liquid biopsy. Materials Advances, 3 (3), 1459-1471. doi: 10.1039/d1ma00848j
Khalil, Ibrahim, Yehye, Wageeh A., Muhd Julkapli, Nurhidayatullaili, Ibn Sina, Abu Ali, Islam Chowdhury, Faisal, Khandaker, Mayeen Uddin, Hsiao, Vincent K.S. and Basirun, Wan Jefrey (2021). Simultaneous detection of dual food adulterants using graphene oxide and gold nanoparticle based surface enhanced Raman scattering duplex DNA biosensor. Vibrational Spectroscopy, 116 103293, 103293. doi: 10.1016/j.vibspec.2021.103293
Wang, Jing, Wuethrich, Alain, Lobb, Richard J., Antaw, Fiach, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Lane, Rebecca E., Zhou, Quan, Zieschank, Chloe, Bell, Caroline, Bonazzi, Vanessa F., Aoude, Lauren G., Everitt, Sarah, Yeo, Belinda, Barbour, Andrew P., Möller, Andreas and Trau, Matt (2021). Characterizing the heterogeneity of small extracellular vesicle populations in multiple cancer types via an ultrasensitive chip. ACS Sensors, 6 (9) acssensors.1c00358, 3182-3194. doi: 10.1021/acssensors.1c00358
In situ single cell proteomics reveals circulating tumor cell heterogeneity during treatment
Reza, K. Kamil, Dey, Shuvashis, Wuethrich, Alain, Wang, Jing, Behren, Andreas, Antaw, Fiach, Wang, Yuling, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn and Trau, Matt (2021). In situ single cell proteomics reveals circulating tumor cell heterogeneity during treatment. ACS Nano, 15 (7) acsnano.0c10008, 11231-11243. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.0c10008
Wahab, Md, Karim, Mohammad, Aijaz, Muhammad, Salahuddin, Bidita, Aziz, Shazed and Sina, Abu (2021). A study on the interfacial compatibility, microstructure and physico-chemical properties of polyimide/organically modified silica nanocomposite membrane. Polymers, 13 (8) 1328, 1-11. doi: 10.3390/polym13081328
Li, Junrong, Wuethrich, Alain, Sina, Abu A. I., Cheng, Han-Hao, Wang, Yuling, Behren, Andreas, Mainwaring, Paul N. and Trau, Matt (2021). A digital single-molecule nanopillar SERS platform for predicting and monitoring immune toxicities in immunotherapy. Nature Communications, 12 (1) 1087, 1-12. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-21431-w
Ali, Md Yousuf, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Khandker, Shahad Saif, Neesa, Lutfun, Tanvir, E. M., Kabir, Alamgir, Khalil, Md Ibrahim and Gan, Siew Hua (2020). Nutritional composition and bioactive compounds in tomatoes and their impact on human health and disease: a review. Foods, 10 (1) 45, 45. doi: 10.3390/foods10010045
Nanostructured mesoporous gold biosensor for microRNA detection at attomolar level
Masud, Mostafa Kamal, Na, Jongbeom, Lin, Tzu-En, Malgras, Victor, Preet, Anant, Ibn Sina, Abu Ali, Wood, Kathleen, Billah, Mutasim, Kim, Jeonghun, You, Jungmok, Kani, Kenya, Whitten, Andrew E., Salomon, Carlos, Nguyen, Nam-Trung, Shiddiky, Muhammad J.A., Trau, Matt, Hossain, MdShahriar A. and Yamauchi, Yusuke (2020). Nanostructured mesoporous gold biosensor for microRNA detection at attomolar level. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 168 112429, 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2020.112429
Li, Junrong, Wuethrich, Alain, Dey, Shuvashi, Lane, Rebecca E., Sina, Abu A. I., Wang, Jing, Wang, Yuling, Puttick, Simon, Koo, Kevin M. and Trau, Matt (2020). Multiomics: The Growing Impact of Micro/Nanomaterial‐Based Systems in Precision Oncology: Translating “Multiomics” Technologies (Adv. Funct. Mater. 37/2020). Advanced Functional Materials, 30 (37) 2070248. doi: 10.1002/adfm.202070248
Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Ahmed, Emtiaz, Masud, Mostafa Kamal, Hossain, Md. Shahriar A., Na, Jongbeom, Yamauchi, Yusuke and Trau, Matt (2020). Nanostructured mesoporous gold electrodes detect protein phosphorylation in cancer with electrochemical signal amplification. Analyst, 145 (20), 6639-6648. doi: 10.1039/d0an01096k
Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Lin, Ting-Yun, Vaidyanathan, Ramanathan, Wang, Zhaoran, Dey, Shuvashis, Wang, Jing, Behren, Andreas, Wuethrich, Alain, Carrascosa, Laura G. and Trau, Matt (2020). Methylation dependent gold adsorption behaviour identifies cancer derived extracellular vesicular DNA. Nanoscale Horizons, 5 (9), 1317-1323. doi: 10.1039/d0nh00258e
Tracking extracellular vesicle phenotypic changes enables treatment monitoring in melanoma
Wang, Jing, Wuethrich, Alain, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Lane, Rebecca E., Lin, Lynlee L., Wang, Yuling, Cebon, Jonathan, Behren, Andreas and Trau, Matt (2020). Tracking extracellular vesicle phenotypic changes enables treatment monitoring in melanoma. Science Advances, 6 (9) eaax3223, eaax3223. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aax3223
Khalil, Ibrahim, Yehye, Wageeh A., Muhd Julkapli, Nurhidayatullaili, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Rahmati, Shahrooz, Basirun, Wan Jefrey and Seyfoddin, Ali (2020). Dual platform based sandwich assay surface-enhanced Raman scattering DNA biosensor for the sensitive detection of food adulteration. Analyst, 145 (4), 1414-1426. doi: 10.1039/c9an02106j
Li, Junrong, Wuethrich, Alain, Dey, Shuvashi, Lane, Rebecca E., Sina, Abu A. I., Wang, Jing, Wang, Yuling, Puttick, Simon, Koo, Kevin M. and Trau, Matt (2020). The growing impact of micro/nanomaterial-based systems in precision oncology: translating “multiomics” technologies. Advanced Functional Materials, 30 (37) 1909306, 1909306. doi: 10.1002/adfm.201909306
Kumar, Aswin Raj, Shanmugasundaram, Karthik Balaji, Li, Junrong, Zhang, Zhen, Ibn Sina, Abu Ali, Wuethrich, Alain and Trau, Matt (2020). Ultrasensitive melanoma biomarker detection using a microchip SERS immunoassay with anisotropic Au–Ag alloy nanoboxes. RSC Advances, 10 (48), 28778-28785. doi: 10.1039/d0ra05032f
Single droplet detection of immune checkpoints on a multiplexed electrohydrodynamic biosensor
Wuethrich, Alain, Rajkumar, Aswin Raj, Shanmugasundaram, Karthik Balaji, Reza, Kamil K., Dey, Shuvashis, Howard, Christopher B., Sina, Abu Ali Ibn and Trau, Matt (2019). Single droplet detection of immune checkpoints on a multiplexed electrohydrodynamic biosensor. The Analyst, 144 (23), 6914-6921. doi: 10.1039/c9an01450k
Khondakar, Kamil Reza, Dey, Shuvashis, Wuethrich, Alain, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn and Trau, Matt (2019). Toward personalized cancer treatment: from diagnostics to therapy monitoring in miniaturized electrohydrodynamic systems. Accounts of Chemical Research, 52 (8) acs.accounts.9b00192, 2113-2123. doi: 10.1021/acs.accounts.9b00192
DNA methylation-based point-of-care cancer detection: challenges and possibilities
Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Carrascosa, Laura G. and Trau, Matt (2019). DNA methylation-based point-of-care cancer detection: challenges and possibilities. Trends in Molecular Medicine, 25 (11), 955-966. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2019.05.014
A microfluidic-SERSplatform for isolation and immuno-phenotyping of antigen specific T-cells
Dey, Shuvashis, Vaidyanathan, Ramanathan, Reza, K. Kamil, Wang, Jing, Wang, Yuling, Nel, Hendrik J., Law, Soi-Cheng, Tyler, Jennifer, Rossjohn, Jamie, Reid, Hugh H., Ibn Sina, Abu Ali, Thomas, Ranjeny and Trau, Matt (2019). A microfluidic-SERSplatform for isolation and immuno-phenotyping of antigen specific T-cells. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 284, 281-288. doi: 10.1016/j.snb.2018.12.099
Khalil, I., Yehye, W.A., Julkapli, N.M., Rahmati, S., Sina, A.A.I., Basirun, W.F. and Johan, M.R. (2019). Graphene oxide and gold nanoparticle based dual platform with short DNA probe for the PCR free DNA biosensing using Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS). Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 131, 214-223. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2019.02.028
Label-free detection of exosomes using surface plasmon resonance biosensor
Sina, A.A.I., Vaidyanathan, R., Wuethrich, A., Carrascosa, L. G. and Trau, M. (2019). Label-free detection of exosomes using surface plasmon resonance biosensor. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 411 (7), 1311-1318. doi: 10.1007/s00216-019-01608-5
Tracking antigen specific T-cells: technological advancement and limitations
Dey, Shuvashis, Kamil Reza, K., Wuethrich, Alain, Korbie, Darren, Ibn Sina, Abu Ali and Trau, Matt (2019). Tracking antigen specific T-cells: technological advancement and limitations. Biotechnology Advances, 37 (1), 145-153. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2018.11.010
Dey, Shuvashis, Koo, Kevin, Wang, Zhaoran, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Wuethrich, Alain and Trau, Matt (2018). An integrated multi-molecular sensor for simultaneous BRAFV600E protein and DNA single point mutation detection in circulating tumour cells. Lab on a Chip, 19 (5), 738-748. doi: 10.1039/c8lc00991k
Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Carrascosa, Laura G., Liang, Ziyu, Grewal, Yadveer S., Wardiana, Andri, Shiddiky, Muhammad J. A., Gardiner, Robert A., Samaratunga, Hemamali, Gandhi, Maher K., Scott, Rodney J., Korbie, Darren and Trau, Matt (2018). Epigenetically reprogrammed methylation landscape drives the DNA self-assembly and serves as a universal cancer biomarker. Nature Communications, 9 (1) 4915, 4915. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-07214-w
A SERS microfluidic platform for targeting multiple soluble immune checkpoints
Reza, K. Kamil, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Wuethrich, Alain, Grewal, Yadveer S., Howard, Christopher B., Korbie, Darren and Trau, Matt (2018). A SERS microfluidic platform for targeting multiple soluble immune checkpoints. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 126, 178-186. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2018.10.044
Reza, K. Kamil, Dey, Shuvashis, Wuethrich, Alain, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Korbie, Darren, Wang, Yuling and Trau, Matt (2018). Parallel profiling of cancer cells and proteins using a graphene oxide functionalized ac-EHD SERS immunoassay. Nanoscale, 10 (39), 18482-18491. doi: 10.1039/c8nr02886a
Wuethrich, Alain, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Ahmed, Mostak, Lin, Ting-Yun, Carrascosa, Laura G. and Trau, Matt (2018). Interfacial nano-mixing in a miniaturised platform enables signal enhancement and in situ detection of cancer biomarkers. Nanoscale, 10 (23), 10884-10890. doi: 10.1039/C7NR09496E
Ibn Sina, Abu Ali, Foster, Matthew Thomas, Korbie, Darren, Carrascosa, Laura G., Shiddiky, Muhammad J. A., Gao, Jing, Dey, Shuvashis and Trau, Matt (2017). A multiplex microplatform for the detection of multiple DNA methylation events using gold-DNA affinity. Analyst, 142 (19), 3573-3578. doi: 10.1039/c7an00611j
Ahmed, Mostak, Carrascosa, Laura G., Ibn Sina, Abu Ali, Zarate, Ester Marina, Korbie, Darren, Ru, Ke-lin, Shiddiky, Muhammad J. A., Mainwaring, Paul and Trau, Matt (2017). Detection of aberrant protein phosphorylation in cancer using direct gold-protein affinity interactions. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 91, 8-14. doi: 10.1016/j.bios.2016.12.012
Real time and label free profiling of clinically relevant exosomes
Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Vaidyanathan, Ramanathan, Dey, Shuvashis, Carrascosa, Laura G., Shiddiky, Muhammad J. A. and Trau, Matt (2016). Real time and label free profiling of clinically relevant exosomes. Scientific Reports, 6 (30460) 30460, 1-9. doi: 10.1038/srep30460
Yadav, Sharda, Carrascosa, Laura G., Sina, Abu A. I., Shiddiky, Muhammad J. A., Hill, Michelle M. and Trau, Matt (2016). Electrochemical detection of protein glycosylation using lectin and protein-gold affinity interactions. Analyst, 141 (8), 2356-2361. doi: 10.1039/c6an00528d
DNA-bare gold affinity interactions: mechanism and applications in biosensing
Koo, Kevin M., Sina, Abu A. I., Carrascosa, Laura G., Shiddiky, Muhammad J. A. and Trau, Matt (2015). DNA-bare gold affinity interactions: mechanism and applications in biosensing. Analytical Methods, 7 (17), 1-13. doi: 10.1039/c5ay01479d
Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Al-Rafia, S. M. Ibrahim, Ahmad, Md. Faruak, Paul, Ratan Kumar, Islam, S. M. Saiful, Younus, Muhammad, Raithby, Paul R., Ho, Cheuk-Lam, Lo, Yih Hsing, Liu, Li, Li, Hua and Wong, Wai-Yeung (2015). Synthesis, structures and properties of novel platinum(II) acetylide complexes and polymers with tri(tolyl)phosphine as the auxiliary ligand. Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials, 25 (3), 427-436. doi: 10.1007/s10904-014-0071-7
Synthesis, characterization and Electrochemical studies of Ferrocenyl-2, 4-Dinitrophenylhydrazone
Sultana, Tahmina, Waheed, Chowdhury A., Islam, S. M. Saiful, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Younus, Muhammad, Jabbar, Md Abdul and Sabuj, Md Riad Hossain (2014). Synthesis, characterization and Electrochemical studies of Ferrocenyl-2, 4-Dinitrophenylhydrazone. Journal of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, 38 (2), 177-187. doi: 10.3329/jbas.v38i2.21342
Koo, Kevin M., Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Carrascosa, Laura G., Shiddiky, Muhammad J. A. and Trau, Matt (2014). eMethylsorb: rapid quantification of DNA methylation in cancer cells on screen-printed gold electrodes. Analyst, 139 (23), 6178-6184. doi: 10.1039/c4an01641f
Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Howell, Sidney, Carrascosa, Laura G., Rauf, Sakandar, Shiddiky, Muhammad J. A . and Trau, Matt (2014). eMethylsorb: electrochemical quantification of DNA methylation at CpG resolution using DNA-gold affinity interactions. Chemical Communications, 50 (86), 13153-13156. doi: 10.1039/C4CC06732K
Carrascosa, Laura G., Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Palanisamy, Ramkumar, Sepulveda, Borja, Otte, Marinus A., Rauf, Sakandar, Shiddiky, Muhamad J. A. and Trau, Matt (2014). Molecular inversion probe-based SPR biosensing for specific, label-free and real-time detection of regional DNA methylation. Chemical Communications, 50 (27), 3585-3588. doi: 10.1039/C3CC49607D
Methylsorb: a simple method for quantifying DNA methylation using DNA-gold affinity interactions
Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, G. Carrascosa, Laura, Palanisamy, Ramkumar, Rauf, Sakandar, Shiddiky, Muhammad J. A. and Trau, Matt (2014). Methylsorb: a simple method for quantifying DNA methylation using DNA-gold affinity interactions. Analytical Chemistry, 86 (20), 10179-10185. doi: 10.1021/ac502214z
O'Byrne, K., Shanmugasundaram, K.B., Ahmed, E., Kulasinghe, A., Monkman, J., Fletcher, J.A., Mainwaring, P.N., Masud, M.K., Park, H., Hossain, M.S.A., Yamauchi, Y., Sina, A.A.I., Wuethrich, A. and Trau, M. (2023). Extracellular Small Vesicle Phosphorylated PD-L1 Liquid Biopsy Levels Correlate with Tumour Proportion Score (TPS) in NSCLC. 2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer, Singapore, 9-12 September 2023. New York, NY United States: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.jtho.2023.09.432
Methylsorb: A Simple Method for Quantifying DNA Methylation Using DNA-gold Affinity Interactions
Shiddiky, Muhammad J, Sina, Abu Ali Ibn, Carracosa, Laura G, Palanisamy, Ramkumar, Rauf, Sakandar and Trau, Matt (2014). Methylsorb: A Simple Method for Quantifying DNA Methylation Using DNA-gold Affinity Interactions. 8th International Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 20-22 December 2014. New York, NY United States: I E E E. doi: 10.1109/ICECE.2014.7027002
Single molecule sensing on nanopillars: Reading complex molecular circuits
(2021–2023) ARC Discovery Projects
A potential pan-cancer diagnostic utilizing DNA methylation landscapes
(2020–2024) NHMRC Investigator Grants
(2019) UQ Early Career Researcher
A potential pan-cancer diagnostic utilizing DNA methylation landscapes
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
Clinical Epigenetics: Biomarkers for Human Health and Diseases
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Single molecule sensing on nanopillars: Reading complex molecular circuits
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Harnessing nanotechnology to unravel the phenotypic heterogeneity of extracellular vesicles
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Monitoring molecular heterogeneity in extracellular vesicles and understanding cellular communications during treatment procedure
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
A protein phosphorylation mapping tool for monitoring tyrosine kinase inhibition therapy in cancer patients
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Novel Nanotechnology Platforms for Cancer Diagnostics
(2023) Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.
Multiplex microdevice for the detection of DNA Methylation
Methylation of DNA is a type of epigenetic signatures that defines the eukaryotic cell’s identity by regulating gene expression. Aberrant methylation in the genome can deregulate the gene expression pathways leading to diseases like cancer. Thus, DNA methylation has been regarded as one of the important biomarkers for cancer. Recent years have seen tremendous advancement in methylation based biomarker discovery providing abundant information about the genomic printing. However, cancer is a versatile disease that often needs multiple biomarker analysis for accurate detection. Current practice in detecting methylation biomarkers in clinic is largely affected by expensive sequencing technique. Recent advancements in electrochemical and optical biosensors have shown great promise in developing inexpensive multiplex platform. Despite of their significant improvement in sensitivity, these methods are restricted by major technological challenges including functionalization of sensor surface, long analysis procedure and invasive sampling. We have recently developed an interfacial biosensing technique to identify DNA methylation using gold-DNA affinity which obviates the need for sensor surface modification. In this study, we aim to develop a novel multiplex micro-device comprising an array of microelectrodes for directly detecting the genomic methylation biomarkers with the mechanism of interfacial adsorption between DNA and metal surfaces. These microelectrodes can significantly increase the assay sensitivity due to the high signal to noise ratio. We believe that this micro-fabricated multiplex platform will find broad applications as simple diagnostic tool in the clinic.