Dr. Lili Deligianni of IBM Corporation

The Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 (GBD 2010) estimated that a substantial
proportion of the world’s disease burden came from neurological, mental, mood
disorders, and substance abuse. The total economic cost of disease in 2010 is a
devastating 2.5T $US. Furthermore, clinical care has not embraced technology and as a
result lacks access to patient data in real time. Continuous monitoring of disease markers
has the potential to create new insights on disease conditions and improve outcomes with
early diagnosis and monitoring of disease treatments.
A novel cognitive computing platform, IBM's TrueNorth chip, that enables the use of
deep learning techniques in an ultra-low power environment was used with a
convolutional neural network (CNN) for real-time analysis of brain-activity data at the
point-of-sensing. This approach has the potential to create true closed-loop insights
(analytics) and therapies for next generation wearable and implantable devices at the
intersection of neurobiology and artificial intelligence.
Chemical sensors and biosensors have been widely used as attractive alternatives to the
bulky, expensive, and complex analytical instruments used in the health-care sector. Over
decades, several of these devices have been developed for detecting vital analytes using
electrochemical methods. Electrochemical sensors have gained a dominating role in
clinical diagnostics due to their high performance, portability, simplicity, and low cost.

Sensors can become smart when coupled to advanced analytics and real-time analysis at
the point of measurements.
Neurons within the intact brain secrete chemical substances, called neurotransmitters, to
communicate with neighboring cells. Neurotransmitters, comprise an important way in
which information is relayed and processed in the brain during behavior. However, until
recently, this chemical communication had not been characterized because biosensors
suitable to monitor sub-second chemical events in micron dimensions were unavailable.

Cyclic voltammetry at carbon-fiber microelectrodes provides measurements with sub-
second time resolution and has been used to examine the dynamics of neurotransmitter

concentrations. To enhance the sensitivity and the selectivity of these measurements, we
have developed polymers as electrode coatings for bare carbon electrodes. Dopamine,
serotonin and adenosine are neurotransmitters that were measured with this methodology.

Biography:

Lili Deligianni has a 3 decade experience as a Principal Investigator and Research
Scientist at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY. Dr.
Deligianni’s recent research interests include biosensors, bioelectronics and artificial
intelligence with applications in neural and mental health.
Lili Deligianni played a leading role in the successful introduction of electrochemical
processes in the solder bump technology. The process became the standard in the
electronic industry for joining of silicon chips to packages. Lili Deligianni co-invented
the copper electrodeposition process for on-chip interconnects. The introduction of
electroplated copper wire on silicon wafers has revolutionized the performance of
computer chips. For the patents associated with the copper interconnect process, she
received the 2006 Inventor of the Year Award of the New York Intellectual Property Law
Association and two IBM Corporate Awards. For these technologies, the team was
recognized in 2004 with the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
Dr. Deligianni has co-authored 58 peer-reviewed publications and 192 issued patents and
more than 30 pending patents. Lili Deligianni received her Ph.D. degree in Chemical
Engineering from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She is an elected
member of the IBM Academy of Technology. She is a Fellow of the Electrochemical
Society, was the first female recipient of the Electrodeposition Research Award and the
Vittorio de Nora Award of the Electrochemical Society. In the spring of 2019, she will be
recognized with the E.V. Murphree award of the American Chemical Society.
She is a senior member of IEEE and of AIChE. She is a member of ACS, AAAS and
ACM. Deligianni has served as chair of the Watson Women’s Network for more than
6years and led Engineer’s week outreach in K-12 schools.
Dr. Deligianni has a proven track record in R&D and commercialization of electronic
components for the semiconductor industry. She has developed an electrodeposition route
for the synthesis of solar thin film semiconductors and earth abundant solar materials and

has been instrumental in the scale-up of thin film solar energy conversion technologies.
She has worked on a wide range of research including the development and materials for
a DNA sequencing electrochemical device and more recently on nanoscale polymeric
coatings to improve the sensitivity and selectivity of neurotransmitter measurements. She
has developed nanoscale scalable carbon electrodes that can be integrated with traditional
electronics to create bioelectronic therapies of the nervous system.

Email:

Address:IBM, Thomas J. Watson Research Center (emeritus), IBM, New York, New York, United States