Madhavi Krishnan is a British chemist who is Professor of Physical Chemistry at the University of Oxford. Krishnan invented an electrostatic fluidic trap which permits the spatial control and manipulation of nanoscale materials. These traps can permit the sensitive detection of biomarkers of disease, allowing for early diagnosis.

Madhavi Krishnan
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
Anna University
AwardsCorday-Morgan Prize
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Oxford
TU Dresden
ETH Zurich
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
ThesisInnovations in DNA analysis device technology : exploiting the effects of scale (2004)

Early life and education

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Krishnan earned her undergraduate degree in Industrial Biotechnology at Anna University in Chennai. She moved to the United States for her graduate studies, where she joined the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor to work on genetic testing. Krishnan was an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Fellow at TU Dresden, where she developed new techniques to trap colloidal nanoparticles and stretch DNA.[1] In 2008 she was awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship and moved to ETH Zurich.[2] She was a visiting scholar at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.[3]

Research and career

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In 2012 Krishnan was appointed an Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry at ETH Zurich, where she was eventually made a Swiss National Science Foundation Chair. She moved to the University of Oxford in 2018, where she was made an Associate Professor of Physical Chemistry.[4]

Krishnan investigates single-molecule imaging, making use of electrostatic fluid traps to suspend nanoscale materials.[5] Traditionally, molecular traps need external fields (for example, ion traps and optical tweezers), which can perturb the systems that are under investigation.[6] Investigating molecules in a field-free, electrostatic trap permits the non-destructive analysis of molecules in fluids at room temperature.[6] Studying molecules in this way allows for unparalleled opportunity to understand molecular size and charge.[6]

In September 2023 Krishnan was awarded a Title of Distinction of Professor of Physical Chemistry by the University of Oxford.[7]

Awards and honours

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Selected publications

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  • Burns, Mark A.; Johnson, Brian N.; Brahmasandra, Sundaresh N.; Handique, Kalyan; Webster, James R.; Krishnan, Madhavi; Sammarco, Timothy S.; Man, Piu M.; Jones, Darren; Heldsinger, Dylan; Mastrangelo, Carlos H. (16 October 1998). "An Integrated Nanoliter DNA Analysis Device". Science. 282 (5388): 484–487. Bibcode:1998Sci...282..484B. doi:10.1126/science.282.5388.484. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 9774277.
  • Krishnan, Madhavi; Ugaz, Victor M.; Burns, Mark A. (25 October 2002). "PCR in a Rayleigh-Bénard Convection Cell". Science. 298 (5594): 793. doi:10.1126/science.298.5594.793. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 12399582.
  • Krishnan, Madhavi; Mojarad, Nassiredin; Kukura, Philipp; Sandoghdar, Vahid (6 October 2010). "Geometry-induced electrostatic trapping of nanometric objects in a fluid". Nature. 467 (7316): 692–695. Bibcode:2010Natur.467..692K. doi:10.1038/nature09404. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 20930840. S2CID 205222381.

References

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  1. ^ "Talk Krishnan 07 - ICPWiki". www2.icp.uni-stuttgart.de. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Madhavi Krishnan / Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry". www.flow17conference.com. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Prof. Dr. Madhavi Krishnan - AcademiaNet". www.academia-net.org. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Madhavi Krishnan - Research Guides". research.chem.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Professor Madhavi Krishnan". www.merton.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d "Assistant professor Madhavi Krishnan receives ERC Consolidator Grant". www.mnf.uzh.ch. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Recognition of Distinction" (PDF). University of Oxford Gazette. 154 (5397): 60–61. 12 October 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Nernst-Haber-Bodensteinpreis 2016". www.chem.uzh.ch. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Professor Madhavi Krishnan | Corday-Morgan Prize winner 2020". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 24 June 2020.