Education

• Ph. D. Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA, 2001.

• M. Eng. Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1996.

• B.S. Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1995.

Research Interests

Biosensors and instrumentation

Our work is primarily focused on developing molecular interactions and handheld instrumentation to enable simple agricultural diagnostics in the field.

These technologies help maintain a safe and secure supply of food and other natural resources, and improve the efficiency of biological production especially in Hawaii and other tropical environments.

I am also interested in developing simple technologies for remote automation, for example to facilitate pet care and reinforcement of positive behaviours. I also am active in consulting with local start-ups developing sensors for agriculture, biological defense and other applications.

Courses Taught:

• BE 120 (Quantitative Biology); scheduled for Spring 2011

• BE 150 (Introduction to Biological Engineering); 2005 - 2010

• BE 350/350L (Modeling and Simulation of Dynamic Systems); 2003 - 2007

• BE 420 (Sensors and Instrumentation for Biological Systems); 2004 - present

• BE/MBBE 625 (Biosensors: Principles and Applications); 2005 - 2008

Activities and Memberships:

• Licensed Professional Engineer (PE), Mechanical Engineering, Hawaii (2007-Present)

• American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (1998-Present)

• American Chemical Society (2005-Present)

• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2007-Present)

• American Phytopathology Society (2007-Present)

• Undergraduate Advisor, Biological Engineering program, UH Manoa, (2003-2011)

• Director, Biological Engineering (undergraduate) program, UH Manoa, (2005-2011)

• Graduate Faculty, Biological Engineering, UH Manoa, (2002-Present)

• Graduate Faculty, Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, UH Manoa, (2002-Present)

• Graduate Faculty, Nutritional Sciences, UH Manoa, (2002-Present)

Awards

• Runner up, Most Outstanding Engineering Dissertation at UC Davis, 2000/2001.

• Select paper award: Manometric sensors for on-line measurement of glucose, lactose, and dissolved gases. 2001 ASAE International Meeting, Sacramento, CA.

• Select paper award: Surface limitations for gas transport through a silicone film. 2004 ASAE International Meeting, Ottawa, Canada.

Refereed Publications

Reprints available upon request:

Jenkins, D. M., Kubota, R., J. Dong, Y. Li, and D. Higashiguchi. 2011. Handheld device for real-time, quantitative, LAMP-based detection of Salmonella enterica using assimilating probes. Biosensors & Bioelectronics. (in press)

Kubota, R., P. LaBarre, J. Singleton, A. Beddoe, B. H. Weigl, A. M. Alvarez, and D. M. Jenkins. 2011. Molecular diagnostics in a teacup: non-instrumented nucleic acid amplification (NINA) for rapid, low cost detection of Salmonella enterica. Chinese Science Bulletin. (Invited Manuscript for Special English Issue).

Kubota, R., P. LaBarre, J. Singleton, A. Beddoe, B. H. Weigl, A. M. Alvarez, and D. M. Jenkins. 2011. Non-instrumented nucleic acid amplification (NINA) for rapid detection of Ralstonia solanacearum race 3 biovar 2. Biological Engineering Transactions. 4(2):69-80.

Kubota, R., A. M. Alvarez, and W.-W. Su, D. M. Jenkins. 2011. Fret-based assimilating probe for sequence specific real-time monitoring of Loop Mediated isothermal AMPlification. Biological Engineering Transactions. 4(2):81-100.

K. Yang, D. M. Jenkins, and W.-W. Su. 2011. Rapid concentration of bacteria using submicron magnetic ion exchangers for improving PCR-based multiplex pathogen detection. Journal of Microbiological Methods. 77(3):182-193.

Kubota, R., M. A. Schell, G. D. Peckham, J. Rue, A. M. Alvarez, C. Allen, and D. M. Jenkins. 2011. In silico genomic subtraction guides development of highly accurate, DNA-based diagnostics for Ralstonia solanacearum race 3 biovar 2 and blood disease bacterium. Journal of General Plant Pathology. 77(3):182-193.

Paret, M. L., R. Kubota, D. M. Jenkins, D. M., and A. M. Alvarez. 2010. Survival of Ralstonia solanacearum race 4 in drainage water and soil, and detection with immunodiagnostic and DNA-based assays. HortTechnology. 20(3):539-548. HortTechnology. 20(3):539-548.

Jenkins, D. M., C. Song, S. Fares, H. Cheng, and D. Barrettino. 2009. Disposable thermostated electrode for temperature dependent electrochemical measurements. Sensors and Actuators, B-Chemical. 137(1):222-229.

Kutin, K., A. Alvarez, and D. M. Jenkins. 2009. Detection of Ralstonia solanacearum in natural substrates using phage amplification integrated with real-time PCR assay. Journal of Microbiological Methods. 76(3):241-246

Teruel, M. A., D. M. Jenkins, and J. I. Reyes-de-Corcuera. 2009. Crystallization of β-D-glucose and analysis with a simple glucose biosensor. Journal of Chemical Education. 86(8):959-961.

Fares, A., M. Safeeq, and D. M. Jenkins. 2009. Adjusting temperature and salinity effects on single capacitance sensors. Pedosphere. 19(5):588-596.

Jenkins, D. M., M. A. Teruel, J. I. Reyes de Corcuera, and O. Young. 2008. Simultaneous determination of hydrolysis and mutarotation rates during the enzymatic hydrolysis of lactose. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 56(18):8303-8308.

Kutin, K., D. M. Jenkins, and D. Borthakur. 2008. Characterization of a Corynebacterium strain that can grow in medium containing up to 2 M nitrate. Bioremediation Journal. 12(3):168-172.

Kubota, R., D. M. Jenkins, B. Vine, and A. Alvarez. 2008. Detection of Ralstonia solanacearum by Loop-mediated isothermal AMPlification (LAMP). Phytopathology. 98(9):1045-1051.

Jenkins, D. M., C. Zhu, and W. Su. 2008. A simple hybrid circuit for direct determination of fluorescence lifetimes. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 24(2):259-263.

Jenkins, D. A., E. Diaz, R. Goenaga, and D. M. Jenkins. 2008. Solar sterilization of abscised fruit: a cultural practice to reduce infestations of Anastrepha spp. around orchards. Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico. 92:197-206

Fares, A., H. Hamdhani, and D. M. Jenkins. 2007. Temperature dependent scaled frequency to improve the accuracy of multisensor capacitance probes. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 71(3):894-900.

Jenkins, D. M., B. Chami, M. Kreuzer, G. Presting, A. Alvarez, and B. Y. Liaw. 2006. Hybridization probe for femtomolar quantification of selected nucleic acid sequences on a disposable electrode. Analytical Chemistry. 78(7):2314-2318.

Jenkins, D. M. 2004. Desorption as a rate limiting step for gas permeation through a polymer membrane. Journal of Physical Chemistry (B). 108(50):19325-19329.

Jenkins, D. M. & D. A. Jenkins. 2003. Digital detector array for the study of non-specifically tagged bees and wasps. Biosystems Engineering. 86(3):295-303.

Jenkins, D. M. & M. J. Delwiche. 2003. An immersible manometric sensor for measurement of humidity and enzyme mediated changes in dissolved gas. Biosensors & Bioelectronics. 18(9):1085-1093.

Jenkins, D. M. & M. J. Delwiche. 2003. Adaptation of a manometric biosensor to measure glucose and lactose. Biosensors & Bioelectronics. 18(1):101-107.

Jenkins, D. M., M. J. Delwiche, E. J. DePeters, & R. H. BonDurant. 2002. Factors affecting the application of on-line milk urea sensing. Transactions of the ASAE. 45(5):1687-1695.

Jenkins, D. M., M. J. Delwiche & R. W. Claycomb. 2002. Electrically controlled sampler for milk component sensors. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 18(3):373-378.

Jenkins, D. M. & M. J. Delwiche. 2002. Manometric biosensor for on-line measurement of milk urea. Biosensors & Bioelectronics. 17(6-7):557-563.

Jenkins, D. M. 2001. Manometric sensor to measure urea in milk for improvement of dairy cow nutritional management. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Davis. (Available on CD upon request)

Jenkins, D. M., M. J. Delwiche, E. J. DePeters, & R. H. BonDurant. 2000. Refinement of the pressure assay for milk urea nitrogen. Journal of Dairy Science. 83(9):2042-2048.

Jenkins, D. M., M. J. Delwiche, E. J. DePeters, & R. H. BonDurant. 1999. Chemical assay of urea for automated sensing in milk. Journal of Dairy Science. 82(9):1999-2004.

Patents

• A simple, rapid, and inexpensive circuit for direct measurement of luminescent lifetimes (disclosure, October 2006).

• Sensor for analyzing components of fluids. US Patent No. 6,287,851, September 2001.

• Disposable electrode for detection of selected nucleic acid sequences. Disclosed September 2005.

• Automatic flush trigger for toilet-trained cats (utility patent filed January 2010)

• Multi-phase magnetic field generator for enhanced biological recovery (provisional patent filed 2009)

• Real-time isothermal sequence specific detection of DNA with non-contact temperature controller (disclosed January 2010 - Utility patent filed June 2011)