Andrea S. Carlini of UCSB BioSci Engineering

Abstract:  Wearable devices are enabling non-invasive, continuous health monitoring outside the clinic. In this talk Dr. Carlini will discuss the development of soft, flexible devices that sense physical and chemical changes in tissue environments, with a focus on two platforms: biofluid flow sensors and skin/sweat sensors. These systems are uniquely designed within silicone elastomer encapsulants to achieve robust, quantitative readouts in dynamic settings. Their flow sensors use thermal anemometry and calorimetry with integrated NTC resistors to detect microvascular changes and predict vascular access failure in chronic kidney disease. These devices have been validated in bench tests, preclinical trials, and finite element models, and withstand real-world challenges like catheter occlusions and thrombosis. Separately, they have developed microfluidic devices for electrical admittance sweat sensing and colorimetric pH measurements, offering real-time data on hydration and skin health. At its core, Dr. Carlini’s lab is a chemistry lab that designs stimuli-responsive materials. Looking ahead, they aim to hybridize their wearable devices with stimuli-responsive chemistries to create soft, adaptive platforms that autonomously sense, respond, and report—paving the way for next-generation tissue engineering systems.

Biography:

Bio: Dr. Andrea S. Carlini holds a B.S. in Chemistry and Biological Sciences from Virginia Tech. She completed her Ph.D. research on “Dynamic Biosynthetic Polymers for Myocardial Tissue Engineering”; at the University of California San Diego, supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship under the mentorship of Prof. Nathan C. Gianneschi. Following her doctoral studies, she pursued postdoctoral research with Prof. John A. Rogers at the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics (QSIB). In 2022, Dr. Carlini joined the faculty at the University of California Santa Barbara as an Assistant Professor of (Bio)Materials in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. She holds a courtesy affiliation within the Interdisciplinary Program for Quantitative Biosciences (IPQB) and the Center for Polymers and Organic Solids (CPOS). The Carlini Group develops structurally dynamic biomaterials and devices for biomedical applications. Her research has been recognized through an NSF CAREER Award (DMR-2443975) and Hellman Faculty Fellowship.

Address:California, United States