Cristina Davis

Co-Director, Integrated Health Sciences, Environmental Health Sciences Center

Cristina Davis, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Associate Vice Chancellor of Interdisciplinary Research and Strategic Initiatives, and director of the Bioinstrumentation and BioMEMS Lab. She has almost 20 years of experience working in multidisciplinary research using chemical and biological sensing applications to solve real-world problems.

Her research at Bioinstrumentation and BioMEMS Laboratory focuses on novel biomarker identification using mass spectrometry and ion mobility methods and engineering biosensor devices to exploit the information for mobile diagnostics. Applications include medical, defense, agriculture and veterinary medicine areas.

Her research has made a significant impact on user communities and she has launched two UC Davis-affiliated startup companies from her research to commercialize the work.

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Positions at UC Davis

  • Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, UC Davis
  • Associate Vice Chancellor of Interdisciplinary Research and Strategic Initiatives
  • Director of the Bioinstrumentation and BioMEMS Laboratory

Areas of Expertise

  • Chemical and biological sensing applications
  • Use of technology to speed biomarker discovery
  • Novel bioMEMS devices
  • Bioinformatics interpretation of sensor output

 

Education and Degree(s)
  • BS, Mathematics and Biology (double major), Duke University, 1994
  • PhD, Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, 1999
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, Physiology and Electrical Engineering (joint), The Johns Hopkins University, 2001
Honors and Awards
  • William A. Blees Foundation Scholarship, while at Duke University (1990-1991)
  • National Science Foundation, Summer Research Fellowship (Temple University) (1991)
  • National Institutes of Health, Pre-doctoral Cardiovascular Training Grant (University of Virginia) (1996-1999)
  • Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Postdoctoral Fellowship (The Johns Hopkins University) (2000-2001)
  • Award, Outstanding Service as a Competition Judge, The Siemens Foundation and The College Board (Princeton, NJ) (2007)
  • Selected for the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative (2008)
  • Best Patent Award, The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (for US Patent #7,388,195) (2008)
  • Invited Visiting Professor, Universidad de Nevarra, Máster Oficial en Ingeniería Biomédica (summers of 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011) (2008)
  • Supernumerary Professor, Universidad de Nevarra (San Sebastián, Spain) (2009)
  • Award, Outstanding Service as a Competition Judge, The Siemens Foundation and The College Board (Princeton, NJ) (2012)