Class detail: 3 credits, Spring 2015, Tuesday/Thursday 1:30pm‐2:50pm
Instructor: Dr. Barry Lutz, Department of Bioengineering (blutz@uw.edu)
Course Description: The course will teach engineers principles, tools, and technologies needed
to practice or develop nucleic acid (DNA/RNA) diagnostics in the context of global health needs.
Overview: Analysis of DNA or RNA markers has revolutionized disease diagnosis, and translating
this capability to low‐resource settings is a major global health need. This course will teach
aspects of nucleic acid diagnostics from sample preparation to test result, including conventional
laboratory methods and simplified processes for low‐resource settings (global health).
Coursework will include quantitative analysis and reaction modeling, but will be accessible to
undergraduate students and graduate students with general chemistry, math, and engineering
skills. Graduate students will complete additional project assignments. In addition, we will touch
upon translational issues and technical constraints of low‐resource global health settings. The
goal of the course is for students to gain functional understanding and a baseline tool set needed
to practice or develop nucleic acid diagnostics, for developed world or global health settings.
Prerequisites: basic chemistry, differential equations (contact instructor for exceptions)
Topics covered may include:
1. Types of nucleic acids and their role in diagnostics (pathogen vs human, DNA, RNA, etc)
2. Genomic tools for design of diagnostics assays (pathogen gene targets, specificity)
3. Structure and function of DNA and RNA (bases, base pairing, replication)
4. Enzyme function in context of diagnostic assays (functions, rates, stability)
5. Thermodynamics and kinetics of nucleic acid hybridization (fundamentals, tools)
6. Sample types and sample preparation (lysis, disruption, protection, purification)
7. Detection of nucleic acids (electrophoresis, absorbance, probes, lateral flow strips)
8. Molecular mechanisms of nucleic acid amplification methods (PCR, isothermal)
9. Chemical design (stoichiometry, rates) and modeling nucleic acid amplification methods
10. Advanced nucleic acid analyses (drug resistance, SNP detection, sequencing)
11. Designing for global health settings (resources, usability requirements)
12. Devices and instruments for nucleic acid diagnostics (laboratory and point‐of‐care)
13. Test validation (samples, regulatory) and commercialization (market, major players)
