Keynote speaker name: Lam Dai TRAN
Affiliation
Institute for Tropical Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST)
Biography
Prof. Dr. Lam Dai TRAN is currently the Director of the Institute for Tropical Technology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST). He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Solid and Semiconductor Chemistry from the Faculty of Chemistry, Belarusian State University in 1994; Doctor of Physical in Surfaces – Intersurfaces Chemistry at University of Paris VII Denis Diderot (France) in 2003. He was appointed as Associate Professor of Chemistry in 2009, Professor of Chemistry in 2018.
Currently, main research directions of Prof. Tran are inorganic chemistry, nanomaterials and biomaterials. He has participated in many science and technology projects inluding a leader of a strong research group funded by the NAFOSTED Foundation. He has many international publications (including many articles in high IF journals); 03 monograph books, 03 patents; 01chapter monograph ordered by the Royal Chemical Society of Great Britain. In the field of postgraduate training, Prof. Dr. TRAN has been guiding 20 PhD students. He was an invited lecturer of University of Paris VII Denis Diderot (France) in 2005, 2009, 2010; member of the editorial board of the journal Science and Technology (Scopus, VAST), the journal Nano Convergene (SCI-E, Springer), Asia nano forum executive member from Vietnam (since 2014).
Abstract
Development OF Low-Cost, Accessible, AND Effective Methods FOR Drug Screening
It is a fact that the typical drug discovery program is a long period with about 10–15 years and spending approximately $ 1B. As statically, from 10,000 compounds through preclinical studies to assess safety and bioactivity in animal models or clinical trials, only 1 molecule is available in the market. Therefore, the development of low-cost, accessible, and effective methods for drug screening is neccesary. Several inexpensive, convenient, and accurate drug testing platform have been developed in our laboratory. 3D cancer spheroids were developed in microwells for drug testing, replaced traditional 2D cell culture. The reusable microfluidic device was fabricated by commercial laser engraving on transparent and biocompatible poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) material to generate a concentration gradient generator for drug testing. A novel 3D cell culture model with stacking layer of PEGDA-GelMA hydrogel platform to facilitate the formation of cancer spheroid co-cultured with HUVEC to create an angiogenesis model and drug testing. These models are expected to be used in high-throughput drug screening of new trial therapeutic compounds and investigating drug response from individual patients’ samples for personalized medicine in the future.
Keywords: Microfluidics, lab-on-a-chip, laser engraving, low cost