Enrique Valera

About

Enrique Valera is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He received his Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona, Spain, in 2008. His research has focused on biosensor technology, microfluidic platforms, and the development of electrochemical and optical point-of-care devices for clinical diagnostics. Valera has extensive experience in designing microfabrication processes, optics, impedance spectroscopy, and surface chemistry, as well as synthesizing and functionalizing nanoparticles for biosensing applications. His work aims to contribute to the development of medical tools that support personalized medicine and global health solutions, especially in resource-limited settings. He is dedicated to advancing faster, more precise diagnostics and developing adaptable platforms for detecting biomarkers and pathogens. Valera's research spans electronics, chemistry, and applied sciences, with a focus on creating sensitive, portable, and cost-effective diagnostic devices that can be translated from laboratory research to clinical and environmental applications.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Virology
• Medicine
• Pathology
• Artificial Intelligence
• Telecommunications
• Biology
• Nursing
• Genetics
• Risk analysis (engineering)

Selected publications

• Rapid isothermal amplification and portable detection system for SARS-CoV-2

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2020 · 415 citations

  The COVID-19 pandemic provides an urgent example where a gap exists between availability of state-of-the-art diagnostics and current needs. As assay protocols and primer sequences become widely known, many laboratories perform diagnostic tests using methods such as RT-PCR or reverse transcription loop mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP). Here, we report an RT-LAMP isothermal assay for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus and demonstrate the…

  DOI

• COVID-19 Point-of-Care Diagnostics: Present and Future

  ACS Nano · 2021 · 181 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  Point-of-care (POC) detection technologies that enable decentralized, rapid, sensitive, low-cost diagnostics of COVID-19 infection are urgently needed around the world. With many technologies approved for commercialization in the past 10 months, the field of COVID-19 POC diagnostics is rapidly evolving. In this Perspective, we analyze the current state of POC technologies for the diagnosis and monitoring of COVID-19 infection and discuss future challenges in COVID-19 diagnostics. As the COVID-19…

  DOI

• Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Virus Amplification Using a Crumpled Graphene Field-Effect Transistor Biosensor

  ACS Sensors · 2021-12-08 · 76 citations

  articleCorresponding

  The rapid and unexpected spread of SARS-CoV-2 worldwide has caused unprecedented disruption to daily life and has brought forward critical challenges for public health. The disease was the largest cause of death in the United States in early 2021. Likewise, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for rapid and accurate diagnoses at scales larger than ever before. To improve the availability of current gold standard diagnostic testing methods, the development of point-of-care devices that…

  PublisherDOI

• Label-free SARS-CoV-2 detection and classification using phase imaging with computational specificity

  Light Science & Applications · 2021 · 64 citations

  Efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis revealed that fast, accurate, and scalable testing is crucial for curbing the current impact and that of future pandemics. We propose an optical method for directly imaging unlabeled viral particles and using deep learning for detection and classification. An ultrasensitive interferometric method was used to image four virus types with nanoscale optical path-length sensitivity. Pairing these data with fluorescence images for ground truth, we trained semant…

  DOI

• Amplification-free, OR-gated CRISPR-Cascade reaction for pathogen detection in blood samples

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2025-03-10 · 55 citations

  articleOpen access

  Rapid and accurate detection of DNA from disease-causing pathogens is essential for controlling the spread of infections and administering timely treatments. While traditional molecular diagnostics techniques like PCR are highly sensitive, they include nucleic acid amplification and many need to be performed in centralized laboratories, limiting their utility in point-of-care settings. Recent advances in CRISPR-based diagnostics (CRISPR-Dx) have demonstrated the potential for highly specific mol…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Rashid Bashir

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  96 shared

• M.‐Pilar Marco

  Institute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia

  40 shared

• Jacob Berger

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  32 shared

• A. Rodrı́guez

  24 shared

• Karen White

  24 shared

• Tanmay Ghonge

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  23 shared

• Umer Hassan

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  20 shared

• Anurup Ganguli

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  20 shared

Labs

• Enrique Valera LabPI

Education

• PhD, Electronic Engineering Department

  Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

  2008

Awards & honors

• Four granted patents (two in Spain and two in the United Sta…

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