Vadim Backman, PhD
Professor, Biomedical Engineering; Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
Research Program
Cancer-Focused Research
My research focus bridges advances in biophotonics and cancer research. The work spans from the basic physics of light-tissue interaction to development of new optical imaging and sensing technologies to the development of clinical instrumentation and to large-scale clinical trials. On the technology side, the main focus of my research is on the development of biophotonics technologies to image tissue at the nanoscale and molecular levels. From the translational perspective, the focus is on the development of a principally new platform for early detection, risk-stratification and screening of lung, colon, pancreatic, ovarian, prostate and esophageal neoplasms. From the basic science perspective, my group focuses on understanding of the physical mechanisms regulating genomic events in early carcinogenesis.