Photo by Briana Valentino
observed la vida boca
Waseem Asghar
SCIENCE OF SAVING LIVES
FAU Professor Waseem Asghar Wins International Prize For Cutting-Edge Research BY LAURA JANELLE DOWNEY
W
aseem Asghar is a very smart man – and we’re not just talking about his Ph.D. After receiving the distinguished 2016 Humanity in Science Award at the Analytica conference in Munich last May, the 31-year-old gave a chunk of the $25,000 prize money to his wife, Maria Ikram. “Before I even got the money, it was decided that she would take it as a gift,” says the assistant professor in the Department of Computer Engineering & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University. The prize – which recognizes Asghar’s work in creating a low-cost, paper-based microchip biosensing
34
tool to identify people with HIV and other pathogens as well as treatment options – could help save millions of lives in underdeveloped countries and beyond. “There are about 35 million people in this world who are infected with HIV,” says the Boca Raton resident. “One to 2 million died last year because of it.” Asghar is determined to chip away at that number with the help of colleague Massimo Caputi. “What we are trying to develop is like a pregnancy test for HIV analysis so that anyone can use it in a resource-constrained environment, especially in villages where a lot of people are infected and they don’t
T H E B O C A R AT O N O B S E R V E R
have the resources,” Asghar says. “This chip will allow people to use it at their homes or at their local community center to look at their infection status or to see if they are responding to the drug or not.” Another advantage is that it only requires a few drops of blood. Asghar has always been intrigued with the way things work, he says: “It was the curiosity to know more. When playing with a toy car, I wanted to see how it runs and how I could control it. When I was in second grade, I knew that I wanted to do something in engineering or science.” He also works in the Department of Biological Sciences.
In his free time, he mentors high school students. “We want to give them exposure to research so that they can better understand which field they would like to choose,” he says. Although Asghar tries to make time to hit the YMCA for a swim with his two children, for the most part, he can be found in the laboratory. He is currently working on developing a rapid diagnostic for people with the Zika virus. In addition, he is assessing advanced reproductive technologies to aid infertile women. “It’s a big concern,” Asghar says. “If successful, we will be helping humanity.” O