The Biophotonics Laboratory is located in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. Our research focuses on developing minimally invasive optical technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of disease, particularly for early cancer. It is widely believed that the greatest achievement that can be made in cancer management is the early detection and subsequent treatment of disease. The next generation cancer management strategies require technologies that combine sensing, targeting, and treating of the earliest stage disease. Our approach combines optical imaging, spectroscopy, and nanotechnology to develop systems capable of combined diagnosis and treatment of early cancer. In addition, the lab actively studies the basic mechanisms of light-tissue interactions to understand light transport and develop novel imaging strategies.

Recent Publications

Puvanakrishnan P, Park J, Diagaradjane P, Schwartz JA, Coleman C, Gill-Sharp KL, Sang KL, Payne JD, Krishnan S, Tunnell JW. Near infrared narrowband imaging of gold/silica nanoshells in tumors. J Biomed Opt 14(2):024044, 2009 [PDF]

Rajaram N, Nguyen TH, Tunnell JW. A Lookup-table based inverse model for measuring optical properties of turbid media. J Biomed Opt 13(5):050501, 2008 [PDF]

Park J, Estrada A, Sharp K, Sang K, Schwartz JA, Smith D, Coleman C, Payne JD, Korgel B, Dunn AK, Tunnell JW. Two-photon-induced photoluminescence imaging of tumors using near-infrared excited gold nanoshells. Opt Express 16(3):1590-1599, 2008 [PDF]