CAREER: Low Coherence Light Scattering for Biophotonics

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0348204WaxThis CAREER Development Plan focuses on utilizing optics knowledge from the field of photonics for biomedical engineering applications. The goal of the research plan is to develop new applications of low coherence interferometry (LCI) for detecting light scattered by cells and tissues as a method of determining their structural and functional features with sub-wavelength sensitivity. Optical techniques offer the advantages of being non-invasive, non-ionizing and readily implemented by simple, cost-efficient means while avoiding the need for fixatives and staining agents and their associated artifacts. The research plan is based on three activities: 1. To further develop Angle-resolved LCI (a/LCI), a method for measuring cell morphometry in situ, the efficacy of which already has been validated in the laboratory. The a/LCI technique has great potential as an early-cancer diagnostic that will be realized by implementing and applying robust a/LCI instruments for both clinical and laboratory investigations of cells and tissues.2. The validation and development of Fourier-domain LCI, a novel method for probing sub-surface structure in biological tissues using optical spectroscopy. This approach is a simpler optical scheme than a/LCI but to date has only been demonstrated on tissue phantoms. Further experiments will help to evaluate its potential capabilities.3. The development of a novel microscopy scheme based on using an actively stabilized interferometer to measure the phase of scattered light for cell biology applications. This technique will enable precision measurements of the biophysical properties of cells. The education plan will incorporate photonics into the biomedical engineering curriculum by developing a new Biophotonics course and new teaching materials. The specific activities include development of a modern microscopy course, incorporation of Biophotonics into existing BME courses and development of independent Biophotonics projects for students ranging from high school to the graduate level. The activities will take advantage of a new Biophotonics teaching laboratory that will house state of the art equipment for instructional use. The education program also will benefit from the help of the outreach program at Duke University that will enable introduction of Biophotonics to high school students, through independent projects and to underrepresented groups by involving visiting students in research projects in the principal investigator's laboratory.