About This Webinar
Diffusing light can be used to quantitatively probe the physiology of tissues located far below the surfaces of the body. The emerging light fields contain a wealth of diagnostic information about blood flow, blood oxygenation, and oxygen metabolism, pertaining to molecular biomarkers such as cytochrome-c oxidase, lipid, and water as well as health biometrics, such as intracranial pressure and cerebral autoregulation. Arjun Yodh of The University of Pennsylvania introduces the essential diffuse optics measurement tools and paradigms. Then, he discusses selected clinical and preclinical examples from collaborations with colleagues at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. These examples illustrate the potential of the technologies in the contexts of brain injuries and breast cancer. Lastly, he discusses the recent progress of the community that will propel this field forward.
Who should attend:
Engineers, researchers, and laboratory scientists who are working in biophotonics with diffusing light. Clinicians whose work includes imaging and monitoring tissues. Anyone who is interested in learning more about diffuse optics and who works in medicine, cancer research, metrology, and optics.
About the presenter:
Arjun Yodh, Ph.D., is James M. Skinner Professor of Science and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). Between 2009 and 2020, he was director of Penn’s Materials Science and Engineering Center (NSF-MRSEC) and its Laboratory for the Research on the Structure of Matter. His current research areas include biophotonics, especially functional imaging and monitoring of living tissues with diffuse light — for which he was awarded the 2021 Feld Biophotonics Prize of Optica — and soft condensed matter physics, which explores the behavior of soft materials, such as colloids, liquid crystals, and other complex fluids. In addition to mentoring more than 100 doctoral students and post-doctoral associates, Yodh has made significant contributions to education outreach at Penn, for example, leading STEM partnerships with the University of Puerto Rico and STEM research experience programs for undergraduates. Yodh graduated from Cornell University in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science in Applied and Engineering Physics. He obtained his doctorate from Harvard in 1986 under the guidance of Tom Mossberg and then spent two years at AT&T Bell Laboratories as a post-doc working with Steven Chu and Harry Tom. Yodh joined the faculty at Penn in 1988, where he has remained for his entire career.