Jim Smith

Ph.D. student
Mechanical Engineering

Project webpage:
Microfluidic circulating tumor cell capture

127 Upson Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
jps336 (at) cornell.edu

Curriculum vitae:  PDF

Biography

Jim Smith joined the Micro/Nanofluidics Laboratory in November of 2009. Jim received his B.Sci. from Clarkson University in 2008, with a double major in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. As an undergraduate, he researched piezoelectric active flow control systems with the goal of improving wind turbine efficiency. Jim joined Lockheed Martin Space Systems in 2008, where he worked on lifting body re-entry vehicles, as well as radioisotope power systems for deep space exploration.

Current Projects

Jim Smith currently works on the development of microfluidic devices for the isolation and capture of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood. His interests lie in improving the efficiency of such devices by better understanding fluid mechanics at the microscale.

Honors and Awards

  • Poster Merit Award, Gordon Research Conference on Physics and Chemistry of Microfluidics (2011)
  • Best Poster Award, ASME IMECE Vancouver (2010)
  • Honorable Mention, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (2010)
  • Olin Endowed Fellowship, Cornell University (2009)
  • Presidental Scholar, Clarkson University (2004-2008)
  • Member, Tau Beta Pi

Education

Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (2009–present)
Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering (major field), Computational Science Engineering (minor field)
Thesis committee:  Brian J. Kirby (chair), Peter J. Diamessis, Donald L. Koch

Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY (2004–2008)
B.Sci., Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering
Advisor:  Piergiovanni Marzocca
Senior project:  Design proposal for a personal very light jet (VLJ) aircraft

Publications

  • Smith JP, Barbati AB, Santana SM, Gleghorn JP, Kirby BJ.  ”Microfluidic Transport in Microdevices for Rare Cell Capture.” In preparation.
  • Gleghorn JP, Smith JP, Kirby BJ.  ”Transport and Collision Dynamics in  GEDI Microdevices.”  In preparation.
  • Kirby BJ, Jodari M, Loftus MS, GakharG , Pratt ED, Chanel-Vos C, Gleghorn JP, Santana SM, Liu H, Smith JP, Navarro VN, Tagawa ST, Bander NH, Nanus DM, Giannakakou P.  ”Functional Characterization of Circulating Tumor Cells with a Prostate-Cancer-Specific Microfluidic Device,” PLoS ONE, 7, 4, e35976, 2012.  DOI  PDF
  • Smith JP, Gleghorn JP, Kirby BJ.  ”Particle Transport in Ordered Geometric Arrays:  Separation and Capture,” Newsletter of the American Electrophoresis Society, 15, 2 (2010).  PDF

Presentations

  • Smith JP, Gleghorn JP, Kirby BJ.  ”Transport and collision dynamics in GEDI cell capture microdevices,” Gordon Research Conference on Physics and Chemistry of Microfluidics, Waterville Valley, NH.  June 27, 2010.
  • Smith JP, Gleghorn JP, Kirby BJ. “Circulating tumor cell collision dynamics in geometrically enhanced differential immunocapture (GEDI) microdevices,” ASME International Mechanical Engineering Conference and Exposition (ASME-IMECE 2010), Vancouver, Canada. November 15, 2010.
  • Gleghorn JP, Smith JP, Kirby BJ. “Particle collision dynamics in microfluidic obstacle arrays,” Annual meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE 2010), Salt Lake City, UT. November 7, 2010.
  • Gleghorn JP, Santana SM, Pratt ED, Smith JP, Lofthus MS, Jodari-Karimi M, Liu H, Bander NH, Nanus DM, Giannakakou PA, Kirby BJ. “Cancer cell assays by use of immunocapture, subcellular imaging, and programmed cell release in GEDI microdevices,” 14th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences (MicroTAS 2010), Groningen, The Netherlands. October 3, 2010.
  • Gleghorn JP, Smith JP, Kirby BJ. “Collision dynamics in geometrically enhanced differential immuno-capture devices for rare cell capture,” 14th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences (MicroTAS 2010), Groningen, The Netherlands. October 3, 2010.
  • Smith JP, Gleghorn JP, Kirby BJ. “Particle collision dynamics in geometrically enhanced differential immunocapture microdevices,” 10th New York Complex Matter Workshop, Ithaca, NY. June 18, 2010.