BME Faculty Member Search: Victor Zhao: Tissue-like soft bioelectronics for continuous biomarker monitoring

Biomarkers from the human body can provide dynamic, powerful insights into a broad spectrum of health conditions. Real-time monitoring of biomarkers in bodily fluids will enable earlier disease detection and personalized treatment strategies. At present, the ability to continuously track molecular biomarkers remains limited due to barriers in sensing capability and device rigidity.

This talk focuses on our development of tissue-like soft bioelectronic devices that address these challenges. Our approach integrates innovations across sensors, materials, and circuits. I developed aptamer-functionalized field-effect transistor biosensors to overcome fundamental Debye length limitations for highly sensitive and selective biomarker detection. To create a seamless interface with the body, we engineered intrinsically stretchable semiconducting polymers with tissue-like mechanical properties and biological functionality through covalent grafting strategies. I also developed integrated, stretchable polymer-based circuits for on-chip signal conditioning and amplification, enabling robust biosignal acquisition in physiologically relevant environments.

These innovations enabled platform technologies targeting mental health monitoring. I developed implantable neural probes for serotonin monitoring in the brain, towards fundamental studies of anxiety and depression. We also developed skin-like wearable sensors to monitor the stress biomarker cortisol in sweat and interstitial fluid. These technologies advance our understanding of mental disorders and provide critical tools for the quantification of mental health conditions.

Bio: Chuanzhen Zhao is an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University, working with Professor Zhenan Bao. His research focuses on materials engineering and circuit design to create tissue-like soft electronic devices. He developed intrinsically stretchable conducting polymers and biomolecule-grafting strategies for tissue-like interfaces, enabling seamless body-machine integration. He also advanced integrated polymer circuits for on-chip signal conditioning and neuromorphic computing.

Dr. Zhao earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from UCLA under Professors Paul S. Weiss and Anne M. Andrews, where he developed aptamer-based biosensing platforms and nanofabrication techniques. His doctoral work established fundamental approaches to overcoming the Debye length limitation in electrochemical sensing. He demonstrated the first implantable aptamer field-effect transistor neuroprobes for real-time neurotransmitter detection in freely moving animals.

Dr. Zhao has authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications, including 13 first-author papers in leading journals such as Nature Electronics, Science Advances, Nature Reviews Bioengineering, and ACS Nano. Dr. Zhao was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in science in 2023 for his contributions to biosensing technologies for mental health monitoring. He has also received the MRS Gold Graduate Student Award, the NIH F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship, and the IEEE Best PhD Thesis in Nanotechnology Award.