2005 Sigi Ziering Award for Outstanding Contribution for a Publication in the Journal Clinical
Sanford A. Asher, PhD, is professor of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh and adjunct professor of chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
He served as the co-director of the Materials Research Center of the University of Pittsburgh.
He is scientific founder of the startup company, Glucose Sensing Technologies, and is on the scientific advisory boards of BioTools and Crystalplex.
His research has involved the development of new materials and new spectroscopic techniques. His group developed ultraviolet resonance Raman spectroscopy as a new technique for fundamental and applied structural and trace studies of molecules in complex matrices and is using ultraviolet resonance Raman spectroscopy to examine the first stages in protein folding. In addition, Dr. Asher’s research group develops new optical devices and chemical sensing devices from self-assembling colloidal particles.
His winning article, “Photonic Crystal Glucose-Sensing Material for Noninvasive Monitoring of Glucose in Tear Fluid”, describes a new material that consists of a crystalline colloidal array embedded within a polymer network of a polyacrylamide (ethylene glycol) hydrogel with pendent phenylboronic acid groups. The new material has properties appropriate for use in such glucose-sensing applications as ocular inserts or diagnostic contact lenses for patients with diabetes mellitus. The paper’s co-authors were Vladimir L. Alexeev, Sasmita Das, and David N. Finegold.
Dr. Asher's award winning article can be read in its entirety at http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/content/full/50/12/2353