College of Optical Sciences

Dr. Jiang’s research interests broadly lies in micro/nano technology applications to advance engineering, manufacturing, biology, and medicine. One of Dr. Jiang's research focus is development of human models of Organ(s)-on-Chips in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams of colleagues. These Organs-on-Chip microsystems closely mimic in vivo environments, implement an integrated approach and enable investigations in a well-controlled manner. They are used to study roles of tissue/organ interactions, mechanisms in tumor progression, invasion, metastasis, and dormancy, as well as disease treatments for targeted therapy and personalized medicine.

Euan McLeod, Ph.D., works at the intersection of nanophotonics, soft materials science, and many-body systems. One of his current major research thrusts is to use optical tweezers combined with biomolecular functionalization to assemble nanostructured 3D devices out of colloidal nanoparticle building blocks. Euan also works on developing lensfree holographic microscopes that provide high resolution across an ultra-large field of view in cost-effective and compact platforms. Euan is developing new methods to improve the resolution and sensitivity of these microscopes to sense ultrafine nanoparticles like aerosols and viruses. By combining these microscopes with microfluidic chambers, he is working to develop highly multiplexed biomedical sensors. All of these areas of experimental research are supported by extensive computational and theoretical efforts. Previously in his career, Euan has published extensive research in high-speed acoustic lensing, laser-materials processing at the nanoscale, and free-surface microfluidic instabilities.

Judith Su is an Assistant Professor in Biomedical Engineering and an Assistant Professor of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona. She is also an Associate Member of the University of Arizona Cancer Center. Judith received her B.S. and M.S. from MIT in Mechanical Engineering and her Ph.D. from Caltech in Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics. Her background is in imaging, microfabrication, and optical instrument building for biological and medical applications. In general, her research interests are to develop new imaging, sensing, and rheological techniques to reveal basic biological functions at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels. Recently her work has centered on label-free single molecule detection using microtoroid optical resonators with a focus on basic research, and translational medicine through the development of miniature field portable devices.

My research interests are in the field of theoretical image science with emphasis on medical imaging. I currently study task-based measures of image quality in which one must define the task the images are to be used for and the observer who will be performing this task, to properly measure and optimize the quality of images and imaging systems. We take the stance that imaging systems should be designed to best enable the observer to detect tumors and not base design decisions on resolution, contrast, etc. Topics in my research group include accurate system modeling, statistical modeling, observer performance metrics, signal-detection theory and general image science.

My research is focused on developing novel optical microscopy technologies and improving patient care using these technologies. My research area includes (1) low-cost smartphone in vivo microscopy, (2) high-speed comprehensive in vivo endomicroscopy, and (3) ultraminiature endomicroscopy. (1) Low-cost smartphone in vivo microscopy: I am currently leading a NIH-sponsored research project for developing smartphone confocal microscope and diagnosing Kaposi's sarcoma in Uganda with the smartphone confocal microscope. I will further advance the smartphone microscopy technology and address other applications, including diagnosis of cervical and oral cancers in low-resource settings, large-population screening of skin cancers in the US, and aiding science and medical educations. (2) High-speed comprehensive in vivo endomicroscopy: I have previously developed a high-speed confocal microscopy system and endoscopic imaging catheters and acquired largest in vivo confocal images of human organ reported. At the UA, I plan to further advance the technology by i) increasing the imaging speed by orders of magnitude and ii) incorporating fluorescence imaging modality. (3) Ultraminiature endomicroscopy: In my previous research, I have developed miniature endoscopic catheters that can visualize internal organs in vivo through a needle-sized device. At the UA, I will develop microscopic imaging catheter with a extremely small diameter and utilize it for guiding cancer diagnosis and treatment.