Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
BioMEMS, microfluidics, lab-on-a-chip, microsystem integration and packaging, world-to-chip interfacing, cell-to-chip interfacing, implantable biomedical microdevices.
Office: DRB 159
Phone: (213) 740-6952
Fax: (213) 740-0343
Email:
ellis.meng@usc.edu
Dr. Meng is associated with
Biomimetic Microelectronic Systems (BMES) and
Biomedical Microsystems Lab (BML) labs.
Background
Ellis Meng received her Bachelor's degree in Engineering and Applied Science from the California Institute of Technology in 1997. She pursued her graduate studies in Electrical Engineering and received her M.S. in 1998 and Ph.D. in 2003 at the same institution. While at Caltech, she was a recipient of the Intel Women in Science and Engineering Scholarship, Caltech Alumni Association Donald S. Clark Award, and Caltech Special Institute Fellowship. She joined the Biomedical Engineering Department at USC in the summer of 2004. Dr. Meng is a researcher in the Biomimetic Microeletronic Systems NSF ERC in which she is a thrust leader for interface technology and the Associate Director of Education and Student Diversity. She is a recipient of the NSF CAREER award and a member of Tau Beta Pi, IEEE, ASME, BMES, and SWE.
Research
Dr.Meng's primary research interests are the development of micro- and nanotechnologies for ultrahigh performance biocompatible electrochemical analysis of biological materials and fluids. These tiny devices have the potential to revolutionize biology and medicine. For the first time, the integration of electronics and fluidics in biocompatible platforms will allow directed electrochemical interaction with tissue, single cells, and even individual proteins. The automation of biochemical analysis on a chip drastically improves throughput, efficiency, and sensitivity at a mere fraction of the time and cost of conventional technology. The three major areas of Dr.Meng's research are:
1. Development and integration of smart micro-/nano-fluidic components into highly functional biochemical analysis systems
* Macro-to-micro fluidic interfacing
* Highly sensitive biocompatible flow controllers
* Massively parallel and integrated micro-/nano-fluidic flow delivery systems
2. Platforms for electrochemical interfaces to neural tissue with applications to neural repair and rehabilitation
* Biocompatible polymer microchannels for axonal guidance and neural networking
* Biocompatible polymer tissue scaffolds for electrochemical interface to organotypic slice cultures
3. Implantable micro-/nano-devices for treatment of incurable ocular diseases.
* Implantable and comprehensive glaucoma management systems
* Implantable, refillable intraocular drug delivery systems
* Implantable microsystems to characterize the mechanical properties of the retina
