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Dr. Cynthia Goh
Founder
M. Cynthia Goh is Professor of Chemistry and the Institute of Medical Science,
and Associate Director of the Institute for Optical Sciences at the University
of Toronto. Professor Goh has a diverse set of research interests, ranging
from biomaterials to diffractive optics and probe microscopy of biological
systems. She received a BS in Chemistry from the University of the Philippines
and a PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles, working on experiments
and theory of phase transitions and critical phenomena. She did postdoctoral
research at Columbia University in the area of nonlinear optics, and at
the University of California, Berkeley on vibrational spectroscopy of solids.
Prof. Goh is a strong advocate of the concept of excellent fundamental
science forming the basis for new technology, and leading to wealth creation.
She invented the technique of diffraction-based sensing, a highly sensitive
approach for the detection of biomolecules with applications in medical
diagnostics and in drug discovery. She co-founded Axela Inc,
and served as Chief Scientific Officer of the company until 2004. Her
current scientific interest is about gaining a first-principles understanding
of the self-assembly of biomolecules and polymers. Offshoots into technology
include a rational approach for biological scaffold design for tissue
engineering, making nanocomposites with novel properties and designed
surfaces and thin films. She is active in global health issues, particularly
with regards to medical diagnostics for low resource settings. She has
been the recipient of awards from two Philippine presidents for her professional
work and service to the community.
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