Ryan Senger

Ryan Senger serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech's College of Engineering, with courtesy appointments in Chemical Engineering (Virginia Tech) and Surgery (Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine). His research bridges metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and biomedical diagnostics through innovative applications of Raman spectroscopy.

Education:

• Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, Colorado State University, 2005
• M.S., Chemical Engineering, Colorado State University, 2002
• B.S., Chemistry, Millikin University, 1999

Senger's research focuses on developing bio-based technologies for sustainable chemical production, disease detection through urine analysis, and synthetic biology containment. His lab pioneers Raman spectroscopy-based chemometric urinalysis (Rametrix) for detecting diseases including bladder cancer, chronic kidney disease, Lyme disease, and Long COVID. Current projects involve bioelectrical system engineering in microbes, electron harvesting from waste biomass, and secure synthetic genetic material containment. His work integrates AI/ML for spectral analysis and genome-scale metabolic modeling.

His recent publications demonstrate strong trends in veterinary diagnostics (canine cancer detection), neurological disease monitoring, and renal dysfunction profiling using Raman chemometrics. The research consistently applies spectral fingerprinting to translate complex biological data into clinical diagnostic tools.

Awards:

• 2022-24: Celebrating Innovation Recognition (x4)
• 2023: Dean’s List of Instructors
• 2016: VT Knowledgeworks Innovation Challenge Winner
• 2009: The Gaden Award for Metabolic Engineering

Senger actively mentors students through laboratory research and teaches courses including Thermodynamics of Biological Systems, Metabolic Engineering, and Bio-Raman Chemometrics. His funding portfolio includes NSF grants for metabolic modeling workshops and commercial projects with Rametrix Technologies (where he serves as CTO), focusing on dialysis patient monitoring, renal disease management, and aquaculture feed development.

He directs the Rametrix Technologies research team that develops urine-based diagnostic devices and spectral analysis software, maintaining strong industry-academic partnerships for technology commercialization.