Abstract: MIT and imec can synergize their strengths in semiconductor innovation and life sciences by co-developing advanced nanoelectronic devices for biomedical applications. This talk will provide an in-depth overview of imec’s technology platforms in photonics, electronics, and bioMEMS, highlighting how these platforms have been improved through academic collaborations. Selected case studies will illustrate how such co-innovation has accelerated breakthroughs in bio-integrated sensing chips, precision diagnostics, synthetic biology and scalable manufacturing—bridging fundamental research with translational impact in health and biotechnology.
Bio: Liesbet Lagae is a pioneering scientist and technology leader of the Health activities at imec, where she serves as Program Director of Life Science Technologies and holds the title of imec R&D Fellow. Her career is driven by a passion for creating technologies that make a real difference in patients’ lives, especially in the fight against cancer.
She earned her PhD in nanoelectronics from KU Leuven in 2003, focusing on magnetic random-access memories. Shortly after, she joined imec as a team leader in spintronics and later co-founded imec’s Life Science Technologies (LST), which she helped grow into a mature business line. Her work bridges semiconductor innovation and biomedical applications, with a focus on developing silicon-based biochips. She leads a multidisciplinary team of over 150 researchers and has been instrumental in advancing tools for DNA sequencing and synthesis, proteomics and cellular technologies. Liesbet is also a part-time professor in nanobiophysics at KU Leuven and has authored over 300 publications and holds 25 patents. She received a prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant for her work on cell sorter-on-chip platforms aimed at improving cancer diagnostics and treatment.