Source: Hou Lab, by Hou Han Wei. AI-generated summary by biochip.com, published . Not independently reviewed.
Key takeaways
- Lingyan presented a microvortex-enabled buffer-exchange approach for in-line automated cell dissociation at ISCT Asia 2026.
- Heesang presented an automated microfluidic media exchanger for continuous 3D iPSC aggregate manufacturing and delivered an elevator pitch.
- The conference updates report no performance measurements, clinical testing or manufacturing-scale validation for either automated cell-processing system.
Hou Lab brought two microfluidics projects for automated cell processing to the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy Asia Region Conference 2026 in Singapore, held from 2 to 5 September. Lingyan delivered an oral presentation on a microvortex-enabled system for buffer exchange during automated cell dissociation, while Heesang presented a poster and elevator pitch on media exchange for three-dimensional induced pluripotent stem cell culture. Both projects address a practical bottleneck in cell manufacturing: repeatedly changing the liquid surrounding delicate cells without interrupting or damaging the culture process. The lab's presentations arrive as cell and gene therapy developers seek more automated, reproducible ways to prepare cells at scale. Hou Lab also highlighted related work during 2026, including a label-free blood-cell profiling study featured by Advanced Science and presentations at IEEE NEMS in Chengdu. Together, these activities show a research group working across microfluidic systems, electrical cell measurements and organ-on-a-chip technologies. Associate Professor Hou Han Wei was also appointed Assistant Dean for Students at the College of Engineering in August. The combined updates place student training and laboratory research side by side, with early-career researchers taking visible roles in presenting technical work.
Automating a Repetitive Cell-Culture Step
At ISCT Asia 2026, Lingyan presented “Microvortex-enabled Buffer Exchange for In-line Automated Cell Dissociation.” Cell dissociation is the process of separating cells from a cluster or surface so they can be counted, moved, analyzed or prepared for the next manufacturing step.
Buffer exchange means replacing one surrounding liquid with another. It can sound mundane, but it is closer to changing the water around a school of tiny fish without taking the fish out of the tank: the liquid must change while the cells remain viable and usable.
Using Microvortices to Move Fluids
A microvortex is a controlled swirling flow created inside a microscale channel. In a microfluidic device, which manipulates very small volumes of liquid through miniature channels, such flows can help direct particles and cells while changing the fluid around them.
Lingyan's presentation focused on using this approach for an in-line process, meaning it is designed to operate as part of a continuous workflow rather than as a separate manual task. That framing matters for cell-processing systems that aim to reduce repeated handling steps.
Media Exchange for 3D Stem-Cell Culture
Heesang presented a poster titled “A Novel Automated In-line Microfluidic Media Exchanger for Continuous 3D iPSC Aggregate Manufacturing.” Induced pluripotent stem cells, usually shortened to iPSCs, are adult cells that have been reprogrammed into a state that allows them to develop into many other cell types.
In three-dimensional culture, iPSCs can grow as aggregates, or compact cell clusters. These clusters need fresh culture medium, the nutrient-containing liquid that supports growth, yet changing that medium can be difficult when the goal is to maintain a continuous process.
From Poster to Elevator Pitch
Alongside her poster, Heesang gave an elevator pitch titled “Automating Media Exchange for 3D Stem Cell Culture.” An elevator pitch condenses a technical idea into a brief explanation, requiring researchers to make a complex engineering problem understandable without losing its central point.
Her conference schedule also included a meeting with ISCT President Professor Daniel Weiss of the University of Vermont, who provided encouraging feedback on her presentation. The exchange illustrates one of the less visible values of scientific meetings: researchers can test how clearly an emerging technical approach communicates to specialists beyond their own laboratory.
A Broader Microfluidics Program
The Singapore presentations follow other 2026 milestones for Hou Lab. From 17 to 21 April, Professor Hou, Linwei and Hui Min attended the 21st IEEE International Conference on Nano/Micro Engineered and Molecular Systems in Chengdu, China.
Professor Hou gave a keynote talk on the lab's recent work, while Linwei and Hui Min were selected for oral presentations on impedance and organ-on-a-chip research, respectively. Impedance measures how strongly a material resists an alternating electrical signal, and cell researchers can use those electrical properties to examine cells without necessarily adding dyes or labels.
Label-Free Blood-Cell Profiling
On 13 April, Advanced Science featured work by Professor Hou, Linwei, Lingyan and Hui Min on label-free leukocyte biophysical profiling. Leukocytes are white blood cells, the immune cells that circulate through blood and help respond to infection and inflammation.
The study, titled “Label-Free Leukocyte Biophysical Profiling Using Impedance-Deformability Cytometry for Rapid Cardiovascular Risk Stratification,” combines electrical measurements with deformability, or how readily a cell changes shape under force. The team linked this approach to analyzing immune-cell behavior in blood samples and to investigating inflammation and cardiovascular risk in people with diabetes.
Why This Matters
Cell therapies and stem-cell manufacturing depend on many small operational steps, including dissociating cells and replacing buffers or culture media. Turning those steps into in-line microfluidic operations could make workflows more consistent by reducing the need to stop a process for manual liquid handling.
The work also shows why microfluidics is useful beyond simply shrinking laboratory equipment. A well-designed chip can control fluid flow, retain or move cells, and collect measurements in ways that connect cell production with cell characterization.
Research and Student Leadership
On 21 August, Associate Professor Hou Han Wei became Assistant Dean for Students at the College of Engineering. His prior roles included Assistant Chair for Students, Assistant Chair for Student Wellbeing, School Academic Integrity Officer, faculty advisor to MAE Ambassadors and faculty advisor to the MAE Graduate Student Club.
Hou Lab's next steps will determine how its automated exchange systems perform within broader cell-manufacturing workflows. For now, the ISCT Asia presentations put two early-career researchers at the center of an effort to make the everyday handling of cultured cells more automated, continuous and controllable.