Revolutionizing health through bioelectronics and biosensors

In the Biodesign Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors at Arizona State University, Center Director Josh Hihath and his team are revolutionizing the future of health technologies. His vibrant team of faculty and staff are developing new detection capabilities for biomedical and environmental health research, building wireless personal sensors for mobile health applications and exploring fundamental natural phenomena at the single-molecule level for next-generation detection technologies.  

Hihath joined ASU in 2022, replacing the late NJ Tao, whose innovative work raised the center to international prominence in the field of nanotechnology. In addition to his appointment at the Biodesign Institute, Hihath is a professor with the School of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering at ASU. 

Hihath is also principal investigator of DNA Biotronix, an ASU startup company that is developing a noninvasive wearable device to consistently detect glucose levels for people with diabetes with greater accuracy than current glucose sensors.  

In September 2023, Hihath was awarded $3 million from the National Science Foundation to develop a new manufacturing process that uses DNA nanotechnology and synthetic biology to create a new generation of useful electronic applications at the molecular scale. 

Below, Josh Hihath talks about his career path, why sensing technologies are increasingly important, and the dream of developing “agnostic diagnostic” systems. Answers are edited for length and clarity. 

Question: What is the research focus of your center? 

Answer: Our research focuses on the development of new biosensor and bioelectronic technologies. We have faculty working at all stages of this development pipeline, from fundamental studies of biological, electrical and optical systems, through sensor development and up to translation to real-world applications. 

Our overarching goal is to develop next-generation platforms to improve technologies in the health industries. We work to solve fundamental and technical problems in bioelectronics and personalized medicine with innovative materials and devices to engineer novel hybrid approaches. Our philosophy is to explore societal needs and invent new capabilities to address those needs.   

Q: Why is this work important to society? 

A: Sensing technologies are rapidly becoming ever-more important to society. Tracking diseases and pandemics; diagnosing ailments; monitoring food, water quality and the environment; and developing methods to interface with biological systems are all critical for improving people’s health at both the local and global levels. 

Q: What is the biggest challenge in this field of research? 

A: One very important challenge lies in the interplay between specificity and generality. Developing sensors for each disease, biomarker, chemical or other target requires significant development time to identify ways that are capable of selectively identifying that target and making sure that other materials don’t interfere with the sensing system. Ideally, it would be possible to develop one system that could be quickly pivoted to directly detect lots of potential targets.  

Q: What is something you consider one of the center’s biggest successes? 

A: Our center has been very successful at translating technologies into real-world use. We are involved with industry on many levels, from startups to major Fortune 500 companies. This interaction allows our work to have real-world impacts, and to improve people’s lives and health. 

For instance, Erica Forzani, in collaboration with NJ Tao, developed a successful startup called Breezing that allows people to monitor their metabolic rate directly by analyzing their breath. Another researcher, Shaopeng Wang, has been working closely with Biosensing Instruments to develop and translate Surface Plasmon Resonance-based sensing systems for a variety of different targets.   

Q: If someone gave your center $100 million, what would you do with it? 

A: As a team, we have extensive capabilities to translate new technologies to market to develop new systems. We would focus on the development of “agnostic diagnostic” systems that would allow us to detect and identify a variety of diseases with minimal modification to the underlying system. This would enable these systems to operate more efficiently, to allow agility in the sensing industry and to decrease costs to help democratize disease detection and personalized health tracking globally. 

Q: How did you become interested in science, and in particular, the field you are in? 

A: I was always interested in science and engineering. From a young age I would take apart anything I could get my hands on to see how it would work. I was always fascinated by computers and electronics and built a crystal radio when I was around 10 years old. Once I went to college I had decided to go into electrical engineering. During this time, I worked for Sun Microsystems, and I quickly learned that the jobs I wanted to do required an advanced degree, so I decided to go to graduate school. At that point, I fell in love with research. Generating new knowledge that can impact the world and people’s lives is addictive — there really is a thrill in discovering something completely new, and after the first time you’ve done it, you want to continue doing it. 

Q: What key events set you on your research path? 

A: When applying to graduate schools I got an NSF fellowship to attend ASU for my PhD. At that point, I also decided that biology was one of the fastest moving fields of discovery and that in the future the intersection between biological systems and electrical engineering would be an exciting and extremely important area to work, which is why I decided to join the research group that I did. 

Q: What is the most fun aspect of your work in the center? 

A: It is exciting to work with graduate students and postdocs on their own missions for discovering new things. To see people make their first major advance in their research is extremely rewarding and in turn this helps move us toward our ultimate goal of improving lives. 

Q: What is your favorite thing about working at Biodesign? 

A: I enjoy working with all the researchers at Biodesign. Everyone is excited about their work, and when you speak with people, they are excited about sharing their work and looking for new ways to collaborate. 

Q: Describe your experience with Biodesign’s collaborative, interdisciplinary research culture. 

A: I have met lots of new people since joining Biodesign and learned a lot about fields that are very different from my own background. At times this has opened new research directions and often new friendships. This is a vibrant place to work, and it is great to be around people who have a mission and passion for their work.