Innovative technologies lead to novel diagnostics, therapeutics, and cataloguing abilities

By 2050, scientists expect that eleven billion people will need to be fed across the world. The challenge, however, is that the amount of food currently produced will not be sufficient to meet the needs of this increased population. Dr. David Galbraith, of the University of Arizona, is motivated by this “Eleven Billion Person” problem, as well as other problems emerging within the biological, biomedical, and agricultural fields that adversely affect the health of this ever increasing global community. Recognized worldwide as an early pioneer in the development and use of flow cytometry and cell sorting, Dr. David Galbraith has a long and highly-cited track record of devising these and other biotechnological methods, instruments, and techniques to address critical problems in biology, biomedicine, and agriculture. Dr. Galbraith’s 180 scholarly research articles, election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2003, and many patents are evidence of his recognition within these fields.

The new techniques developed by Dr. Galbraith and his team address a variety of important general problems emerging as a direct consequence of our increasing world population, including: cataloging world-wide those remaining species of plants for conservation and future development purposes, providing novel diagnostics and therapeutic targets for disease at the level of single cells, and developing portable and cost-effective diagnostic tools for emerging pathogens. Dr. Galbraith’s ability to devise and develop novel techniques that are then widely adopted give him and his team a unique perspective for tackling these examples of our global community’s most pressing problems. By analyzing the individual cells of plants, animals and humans, both in health and in disease, he and his team can quickly and effectively interpret the biological mechanisms responsible for normal development and for the onset and progression of disease. The knowledge that he is able to acquire about living organisms is leading to applications that should improve health, and are based on ingenuity and truly rigorous science. For example, most recently, he and his team have been developing a diagnostic tool that will be hosted on smart phones and capable of detecting Ebola and other infectious diseases at the point-of-care!

Current research includes:

  • Cataloguing Plants: Human population growth is increasingly driving species to extinction. Dr. Galbraith is working to identify plant species, particularly uncharacterized species, before they become extinct in order to catalogue them for their potential future value to humanity. Using flow cytometry, he and his team are able to define the genome sizes of plants conveniently and affordably to evaluate the total number of plant species that currently exist on the planet. Dr. Galbraith envisions an international network of collaborating scientists that would combine local experts in plant identification and discovery with molecular and cytogenetic instrumentation and methods.

  • Novel Diagnostics: Building upon technology developed in his laboratory, Dr. Galbraith is providing new ways to understand gene expression at the level of single cells. These unique methods can track the changes that occur in cancer cells at the earliest points of their deviation from normal development. They also allow characterization, for the first time, of the normal genomic variation found within single cells of a particular type thus leading to incredibly sophisticated diagnostic abilities.

  • Charting Disease: Dr. Galbraith is developing a new technology aimed at integrating an instrument for sensitive detection of microbial disease agents with current and next generation smart phones. Dr. Galbraith and his team envisage use of this detection device at points of transportation departure (airports etc.) as well as within the general urban and non-urban environment, particularly in developing countries. This capability will be key to monitoring and controlling emergent diseases worldwide.

As a child, Dr. Galbraith traveled extensively to accommodate his father’s employment as a professor who studied elementary particle physics. From this background, he developed an appreciation of collaborative work focused around instrumentation. When Dr. Galbraith entered university he hoped to also follow a career in physics, but quickly developed an interest in biology, particularly biochemistry. His career has subsequently followed a path of devising novel instruments and methods for addressing important questions in biotechnology. Although much of his work has involved plants, and he is recognized particularly as a leader in flow cytometry and cell sorting of plants, the methods that he has developed are also seen to be generally applicable to biological and biomedical research.

In his free time, aside from research, Dr. Galbraith is an active musician in his community. For the last fifteen years, he has been a member of the chorus in the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and has also been a part of several local vocal groups that perform an eclectic mix of music. [YouTube link to CD from TSO (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHiV8dYP48o)]

Website: http://www.cals.arizona.edu/spls/node/3

 

Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2003