Samuel K. Sia

Biomedical Engineering

Samuel Sia develops technologies for point-of-care blood tests, wearable sensors, and implantable devices, both in an academic and industry setting. He co-developed a point-of-care blood test for prostate cancer which is being commercialized and has garnered FDA approval, and is co-founder of Rover Diagnostics which is developing rapid and low-cost detection of DNA and RNA. 

  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, 2002-2005
  • Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 2016-Present
  • Faculty Co-Director of Entrepreneurship, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Columbia University, 2014-Present
  • Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 2011-2016
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 2005-2011
  • BMEN 4210 - Thermodynamics  of Biological Systems
  • BMEN 4590 - BioMEMS: Cellular and Molecular Applications
  • ENGI 4100 - Research to Revenue (joint class with Columbia Business School)
  • Co-Founder, Harlem Biospace (biotech incubator started with NYC’s Mayor’s Office), 2013
  • Founder and President, Junco Labs, 2009
  • Co-Founder and Chair of Scientific Advisory Board, Claros Diagnostics (sold in 2011 to OPKO Health, NYSE: OPK), 2004-2011
  • Inducted Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), 2016
  • Thiele Lectureship Award, University of Notre Dame, 2015         
  • Kjeldgaard International Lectures in Molecular Biology, Aarhus Denmark, 2013
  • Runner-up, Wall Street Journal Innovation Award in Medical Devices, 2011
  • NASA Launch, one of ten innovators in human health and sustainability, 2010
  • MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35, 2010
  • Invited attendee, National Academies Keck Futures Initiative, UC Irvine
  • Wallace H. Coulter Early Career Award Phase II, 2008
  • NSF CAREER Award, 2008
  • Invited participant, National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering, Seattle, 2007
  • Walter H. Coulter Early Career Award, 2006
  • American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant, 2006
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship (postdoc), 2004-2005
  • Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, 2002
  • Delegate, International Achievement Summit, Dublin, Ireland (1 of 200 graduate students in the world from all disciplines chosen to attend), 2002
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellowship, 1997-2002
  • National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada Postgraduate Scholarship B, 1999-2001
  • National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada Postgraduate Scholarship A, 1997-1999
  • Dean’s Silver Medal in Science, University of Alberta, 1997
  • Canada Scholar, 1993-1997
  • S.Y. Chin, Y.C. Poh, A. Kohler, J.T. Compton, L.L. Hsu, K.M. Lau, S. Kim, B.W. Lee, F.Y. Lee and S.K. Sia, “Additive manufacturing of hydrogel-based materials for next-generation implantable medical devices”, Science Robotics, eaah6451 (2017).
  • N. Tejavibulya and *S.K. Sia, “Personalized Disease Models on a Chip”, Cell Systems, 3(5):416-418 (2016).
  • S. Nayak, N.R. Blumenfeld, T. Laksanasopin, and S.K. Sia, "Point-of-Care Diagnostics: Recent Developments in a Connected Age.", Anal.  Chem., 89:102-123 (2017).
  • S. Nayak, A. Sridhara, R. Melo, L. Richer, N.H. Chee, J. Kim, V. Linder, D. Steinmiller, S.K. Sia, M.Gomes-Solecki, “Microfluidics-based point-of-care test for serodiagnosis of Lyme Disease”, Scientific Reports Volume 6, Article number: 35069 (2016).
  • O. Ordeig, S.Y. Chin, S. Kim, P.V. Chitnis, S.K. Sia, “An implantable compound-releasing capsule triggered on demand by ultrasound”, Scientific Reports, 6:22803 (2016).
  • S.K. Sia, M.P. Owens, “Share and share alike”, Nature  Biotechnology, 33:1224-1228 (2015).
  • T. Guo, R. Patnaik, K. Kuhlmann, A.J. Rai, S.K. Sia, “Smartphone dongle for simultaneous measurement of hemoglobin concentration and detection of HIV antibodies”, Lab on a Chip,  15:3514-20 (2015).
  • T. Laksanasopin et al, “A smartphone dongle for diagnosis of infectious diseases at the point of care”, Science Translational Medicine, 7, 273re1- 9 (2015).
  • C.D. Chin, Y.K. Cheung, T. Laksanasopin, M.M. Modena, S.Y. Chin, A.A. Sridhara, D. Steinmiller, V. Linder, J. Mushingantahe,  G. Umviligihozo, E. Karita, L. Mwambarangwe,  S.L. Braunstein, J. van de Wijgert, R. Sahabo, J.E. Justman, W. El-Sadr, S.K. Sia, “Mobile device for disease diagnosis and data tracking in resource-limited  settings”, Clin. Chem., 59, 629-640 (2013).
  • G. Eng, B.W. Lee, H. Parsa, C.D. Chin, J. Schneider, G. Linkov, S.K. Sia, G. Vunjak-Novakovic, “Assembly of complex cell microenvironments using geometrically docked hydrogel shapes”, Proc.  Natl. Acad.  Sci., 110, 4551-4556 (2013).
  • C.D. Chin, V. Linder, and S.K.Sia, “Commercialization of microfluidic point-of-care diagnostic devices”, Lab on a Chip  (2012).  [single most cited article in Lab Chip in 2013]
  • C.D. Chin, T. Laksanasopin, Y.K. Cheung, D. Steinmiller, V. Linder, H. Parsa, J. Wang, H. Moore, R. Rouse, G. Umviligihozo, E. Karita, L. Mwamarangwe,  S. Braunstein, J. van de Wijgert, R. Sahabo, J. Justman, W. El-Sadr and S.K. Sia, "Microfluidics-based diagnostics of infectious diseases in the developing world", Nature  Medicine, 17, 1015–1019 (2011).