Samuel Sia

Sam Sia was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Edmonton Alberta, where he played chess competitively [1]. He graduated from Harry Ainlay High School in 1993. Sia obtained an undergraduate degree of Bachelor of Science with a major in biochemistry at the University of Alberta [2]. He worked in the laboratories of Norm Dovichi (capillary electrophoresis) [3], Michael James (X-ray crystallography) [4], and Brian Sykes (NMR spectroscopy) [5][6], co-authoring research publications in each laboratory, including a first-author publication revealing the atomic structure of cardiac troponin C, a key regulatory protein in cardiac muscle contraction [7].

Sia moved to Harvard University, where he obtained his Ph.D. in Biophysics as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellow [8] and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) fellow [9]. He worked in the laboratory of Peter S. Kim at the Whitehead Institute [10], developing constrained peptides to inhibit HIV entry into cells [11][12]. He was a postdoctoral fellow in Chemistry and Chemical Biology with George Whitesides as a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) fellow. In the Whitesides lab, Sia, with Vincent Linder, adapted microfluidics to serve as low-cost diagnostic devices for low- and middle-income countries, as some of the earliest research publications in the field [13][14].

In 2005, Sia started as an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2011, and Professor in 2016. He was named by MIT Technology Review in 2010 as one of the top’s world young innovators [15], and was elected in 2016 into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering [16]. Prof. Sia is the current chair of the NIH study section Instrumentation and Systems (ISD), until 2024.

Point-of-care diagnostics

Sia’s research on point-of-care diagnostics was among the first published to be designed for and field-tested in low- and middle-income countries. His lab developed microfluidic immunoassays for use in sub-Saharan Africa, with Rwandan Ministry of Health colleagues as co-authors, to perform a full ELISA, as first published in Nature Medicine in 2010 [17]. The team later developed a microfluidic ELISA operated by an instrument that communicates test results with satellites [18], and by a minimalist dongle that connects to a smartphone [19]. The microfluidic immunoassays detected a range of targets, including markers from HIV, STIs, and Lyme disease. This research has been featured widely in the press worldwide, including CBS, PBS, Time, Washington Post, and Bloomberg [20][21][22][23][24]. Listen to Sia’s interviews on NPR Science Friday and BBC World Service.

His laboratory has also published studies to adapt point-of-care diagnostics to fit end-user requirements, with field-testing rapid tests with MSM communities [25][26], and developing a framework for integrating user information, motivation, and behavior into the design of point-of-care diagnostics [27].

During the COVID pandemic, his laboratory developed a point-of-care PCR device based on plasmonic thermocycling, that can deliver lab-quality results from nasal swab or saliva specimens within 25 minutes [28]. The technology is being commercialized [29].

Microfabricated biomaterials

Sia’s laboratory has developed methods to use biomaterials as a basis material for microfabrication. Early work focused on microvascular scaffolds, including multiple phases of connected biomaterials across interfaces (as shown by a cover research article in Nature Materials), and methods to dynamically switch the environments within the biomaterials [30].

More recent efforts have developed these ideas towards injectable biomaterials and cells that can be used for therapy. As shown in mouse models of human diseases, injectable organoids with pre-vascularized cellular structures could enhance vascularization in ischemic conditions [31], and injectable cells containing converted brown fat cells can treat obesity [32][33].

The laboratory has also shown increasingly complex microfabrication can be applied towards biomaterials, towards micro-robotics. An NSF CAREER award explored the integration of photolithography with microfluidics to construct composite structures with multiple biomaterials ([34] and the cover of Angew. Chemie.). Later, the laboratory showed that by combining such approaches into multiple aligned layers, one can use biomaterials to construct freely rotating gear-like structures, including complex designs such as a Geneva drive of mechanical watches. These intricate devices made from biomaterials were implanted into a mouse with bone cancer to deliver chemotherapy on demand when driven externally by a magnet [35][36][37][38].

Closed-loop devices for disease therapy

The Sia laboratory developed thermoresponsive biomaterials that could be responsive to wireless, deep-tissue ultrasound triggering for delivery drugs [39], and biphasic microcapsules responsive to ultrasound which can also release drugs [40]. The release can be repeatedly triggered, unlike the bursting of microbubbles, which can allow for on-demand tailoring of drug doses over weeks to months. This personalized control over drug dosing can be combined with real-time sensing of disease indications, to form a closed-loop device. Currently, Sia leads a multi-institutional, multi-PI project funded by DARPA to use ultrasound-based bioelectronics to accelerate wound healing [41]. This approach combines real-time wound sensing, machine-learning to interpret the signals, and tailored actuation to promote closure of wounds.

Selected publications at Columbia

In reverse chronological order:

“Multiplexed reverse-transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction using plasmonic nanoparticles for point-of-care COVID-19 diagnosis”, Nature Nanotechnology (2022)

“Ultrasound-responsive aqueous two-phase microcapsules for on-demand drug release.”, Angew. Chemie. Int. Ed. (2022)

“Hydrogel microfilaments toward intradermal health monitoring.” iScience (2019) [cover article]

“Additive manufacturing of hydrogel-based materials for next-generation implantable medical devices”, Science Robotics (2017)

“Personalized disease models on acChip”, Cell Systems (2016)

“A smartphone dongle for diagnosis of infectious diseases at the point of care”, Science Translational Medicine (2015)

“Share and share alike”, Nature Biotechnology (2015)

“Commercialization of microfluidic point-of-care diagnostic devices”, Lab Chip (2012) [most cited article in Lab Chip in 2013]

“Sweet solution to sensing”, Nature Chemistry (2011)

“Uncovering the behaviors of individual cells within a multicellular microvascular community”, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (2011)

"Microfluidics-based diagnostics of infectious diseases in the developing world", Nature Medicine (2011)

“In situ collagen assembly to interface 3D microfabricated extracellular matrices”, Nature Materials (2008). [cover article]

“Microscale control of stiffness in cell-adhesive substrate using microfluidics-based lithography”, Angew. Chemie. Int. Ed., 48: 7188-7192 (2009) [cover article]

“Lab-on-a-chip devices for global health: past studies and future opportunities”, Lab Chip, 7:41-57 (2007) [cover article]

Sia, with co-founders Vincent Linder and David Steinmiller, co-founded Claros Diagnostics to develop a point-of-care immunoassay for doctor’s offices. Venture investors included Oxford Bioscience Partners and Bioventure Investors. In 2011, MIT Technology Review named Claros Diagnostics one of the 50 most innovative technology companies in the world in their second annual list, and Wall Street Journal named Claros Diagnostics the runner-up for an Innovation Award in the category of medical devices. Claros Diagnostics was acquired by OPKO Health in 2011 [42][43][44]. OPKO Health published a study showing a drop of finger-prick whole blood can provide rapid quantitation of PSA level as accurately as gold-standard laboratory instruments from Roche and Abbott [45]. The Claros PSA Analyzer garnered FDA approval [46][47] via a Premarket Approval pathway, but current commercialization efforts are uncertain despite anticipation from the healthcare communities [48][49][50][51].

For point-of-core molecular diagnostics to detect nucleic acids, Sia co-founded Rover Diagnostics with Mark Fasciano, with a mission to develop point-of-care PCR with the most affordable and accessible consumables. Sia and Fasciano also co-founded Rover Labs, a high-complexity laboratory that provides diagnostic testing in the Tri-state region to schools, pharmacies, and consumers.

Sia has also worked to build the life-science innovation ecosystem in New York City. In 2021, he was named on the City & State NY’s inaugural Life Sciences Power 50 list as one of the 50 scientists, entrepreneurs and investors driving New York State’s biotech boom.

Public-private partnerships

Sia co-founded Harlem Biospace, a biotech incubator launched in partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The launch of the incubator took place when New York City lacked laboratory space for early-stage biotech startup companies, and was covered across many press outlets [52], including New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Since 2013, the incubator has hosted over 70 biotech startup companies working on therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, and research tools. Sia has published views of how scientific innovation can be democratized by sharing capital-intensive resources [53].

Leveraging the location in a neighborhood with a rich history, Harlem Biospace also partnered with a sister non-profit initiative on STEM outreach and workforce development, called Hypothekids, which has garnered renown for its impact on providing underserved students with hands-on science and engineering educational and mentorship experiences, in preparation for high-tech economy.

In 2022, the Governor of New York announced an expansion of Harlem Biospace for companies wishing to occupy private laboratories.

Academic leadership

Sia has served as Faculty Director of Entrepreneurship at Columbia Engineering since 2015. The initiative plans and executes an array of events, competitions, grants, and programs across the School of Engineering, including the Columbia Engineering Fast Pitch Competition, Columbia Venture Competition, Design Challenges, Hackathons, and the Ignition Grants program, which funds ventures started by current students. Sia also developed and co-taught a new joint course with the Columbia Business School (Prof. Olivier Toubia) that brought together Engineering and MBA students, called Research to Revenue.

In 2022, Sia was appointed Vice Provost for Fourth Purpose and Strategic Impact at Columbia University, a newly created role to leverage the university’s scholarship to create societal impact (denoted at Columbia University as the Fourth Purpose of higher education), and to help remove barriers to interdisciplinary collaboration. The office has helped to launch a number of initiatives, including Columbia Catalyst Conversations, Cross-Disciplinary Frontiers Courses, university-wide websites on innovation and impact, Columbia Action Network, and Bollinger Convenings at the Forum, and is developing pathways to support work from faculty, officers, students, and staff towards positive societal impact.

Sia regularly teaches two courses at Columbia: BMEN 4210 - Thermodynamics of Biological Systems, and BMEN 4590 - BioMEMS: Cellular and Molecular Applications.

Click here for public CV.

Education

• 1997-2002, Ph.D. in Biophysics at Harvard University

• 2002-5: Postdoctoral Fellow, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University

Professional Experience

• 2005-2011: Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University

• 2011-2016: Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University

• 2016-present: Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University

Teaching

• BMEN 4210 - Thermodynamics of Biological Systems

• BMEN 4590 - BioMEMS: Cellular and Molecular Applications

• ENGI 4100 - Research to Revenue (joint class with Columbia Business School)

Honors and Awards

• 1993-97: Canada Scholar

• 1997: Dean's Silver Medal in Science, University of Alberta

• 1997-99: National Science and Engineering Council of Canada Postgraduate Scholarship A

• 1999-2001: National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada Postgraduate Scholarship B

• 1997-2002: Howard Hughes Medical Institute Predoctoral Fellowship

• 2002: Delegate, International Achievement Summit, Dublin, Ireland

• 2002: Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching

• 2004-5: Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship

• 2006 American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant

• 2006 Walter H. Coulter Early Career Award

• 2007 National Academy of Engineering Frontiers Symposium

• 2008 NSF CAREER Award

• 2008 Walter H. Coulter Early Career Award, Phase II

• 2010 NASA Launch innovator

• 2010 MIT Technology Review 35

• 2010 NASA Launch, one of ten innovators in human health and sustainability

• 2011 Runner-up, Wall Street Journal Innovation Award in Medical Devices

• 2013 Kjeldgaard International Lectures in Molecular Biology, Aarhus Denmark

• 2015 Thiele Lectureship Award, University of Notre Dame

• 2016 Inductee, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)