Close-up of a computer chip from Syed Hashsham's lab at MSU.
Photo by Kurt Stepnitz, University Relations.
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Syed Hashsham explains his research project to Governor Jennifer Granholm during a visit to MSU. He received a 21st Century Jobs Fund grant to develop and commercialize his handheld pathogen tester.
Photo by Kurt Stepnitz, University Relations.
Detecting deadly pathogens in food, air, and water may get much easier and cheaper thanks to an MSU researcher and his team.
Syed Hashsham, associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Center for Microbial Ecology, is developing a portable, hand-held device capable of detecting up to 50 microbial threat agents found in air, water, and food.
Today, testing for pathogens that cause diseases such as cholera and dysentery must be done one pathogen at a time, which is dangerous, expensive, and time consuming. Simultaneous testing simplifies the process, making it safer and more cost effective.
MSU’s Center for Microbial Ecology manages the Ribosomal Database Project, an internationally used database of information on microorganisms. It was this collection of data that led to exploring ways of using the existing resource to help in the identification of pathogens.
Looking toward the future, Hashsham says the device could be used in developing countries, as well as on cruise ships, in hospitals, or in schools.
A team of six graduate students and technicians is working on the device. “They are the heart of the project as well as the scientists being trained for the future,” Hashsham says.
Learn More
Office of Biobased Technologies
Center for Microbial Ecology
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