From Atoms to Organisms: Bioanalytical Sensors Elucidating Physicochemical Properties of Multiscale Systems

The field of Bioanalytical Sensors is inherently interdisciplinary. Basic and applied research in this area involve biology, biochemistry, medicine, physiology, chemistry, physics, and engineering to develop systems and instrumentation capable of transducing a molecular recognition event into a measurable signal. These systems may then be used to increase under-standing of biological phenomena, improve health and welfare, and enhance international security. The 2016 conference has been inspired by a modern healthcare system where diagnosis and management of chronic disease states introduces new challenges in detection, treatment and measurement and, where life style and fitness choices present new demands as people seek to take more responsibility for their own health, treatment and care. Healthcare is moving from reactive treatment to preventative medicine and this drive in the culture is pushing the momentum for a new generation of bioanalytical sensing systems, that provide value in their data, are economically compelling and technically realistic. The focus is forward looking and the program will feature wearables and portables in the discussion and pull it all together with new analytical platforms to challenge future directions. We will explore the most recent molecular and whole sample imaging and spectrometry, while debating how synthetic biology and nano-fabrication can impact structure and functional design solutions. Rapid advances in development of smaller, more rapid, automated, and more sensitive bioanalytical sensors will spur economic development of marketable products for environmental, health- and security-related fields, and basic scientific endeavors.