Dr. Guido Verbeck's research was recently featured in an article in Dallas Innovates as a disease-diagnosing game changer. Dr. Verbeck and his team in the UNT Department of Chemistry are conducting mind-blowing research, developing sensors that can detect chemical weapons, seek out respiratory illnesses like COVID-19 -- including creating a rapid COVID breathalyzer test -- as well as detect early-stage cancer markers, all areas that can make us humans breathe a little easier.

From the 2021 Future 50 Dallas-Fort Worth article:

Verbeck and his group at UNT developed a chemical sensor, then teamed with Dallas-based Worlds Inc. to turn it into a rapid COVID breathalyzer test. By detecting unique volatile organic compounds, the invention "fingerprints" the virus. It was initially developed to look for chemical variants in the air, as in a fire, drugs in a car, or mass graves, Verbeck says. Beyond COVID, the device has potential groundbreaking applications of "sniffing out" other dangerous diseases like cancers and diabetes. "Creating a device that can look for not only respiratory illnesses, but also early-stage cancer markers and metabolic disorders in real time could really change the diagnosis field," he says. "Because of this large application set, it was important to use AI and machine learning. This is why Worlds is such a great partner." Verbeck, who earned his Ph.D. in chemistry at Texas A&M, is an expert in mass spectrometry focused on instrument design and development. What's next for the professor? He's developing a new device for cancer treatment and one for increasing organ viability for transplants while continuing to pursue a host of new metabolic disease markers for his chemical sensor.

Check out this Dallas Innovates article for even more of an in-depth look at Dr. Verbeck's fascinating work.