(4di) Microfluidics and Engineering Solutions for Systems Biology Studies in the Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans

            Microfluidics has recently emerged as a powerful tool for lab-on-chip research in a wide variety of areas such as soft matter, rheology, synthesis, crystallization, transport and reactions. Moreover, microfluidics is gaining importance as an essential tool in biological research since it offers many advantages that enable studies of live microorganisms and cells impossible to perform using conventional techniques. Microfluidic devices are especially beneficial for the study of the roundworm C. elegans. This soil dwelling nematode is an important model organism used to explore many biological questions, such as development, aging, neuroscience and even learning. This nematode is a highly studied multi-cellular organism that offers many experimental advantages, including a short life span, ease of culture, transparency and straightforward genetic manipulation. Additionally, its full genome and neuronal wiring diagram are known. These features make it an ideal model system for biological study, especially neuroscience. Microfluidics, combined with other engineering techniques, provide a powerful platform to perform high-content studies in a high-throughput fashion.

Here I show how we have applied an integrated approach to perform biological studies enabled by microfluidics, automation, mathematical algorithms and machine learning. I present how microfluidics is an excellent technique that allows otherwise unfeasible high-content studies of complex biological systems. Specifically, I discuss how integrated engineering platforms can be used to elucidate relevant questions in neuroscience, such as synaptic plasticity, learning and the effects of aging on neurological health.