Justin Baba, research associate professor of biomedical engineering, has been named associate director of the Biophotonics Center at Vanderbilt. In this new role, he will oversee educational programs.
The center is focused on targeted educational programs for medical residents and fellows as well as graduate and undergraduate students and provides learning opportunities for area high school students.
“We are excited to have Professor Baba take charge of VBC’s educational initiatives. He has been instrumental in driving our summer research internship program by developing professional relationships as well as initiating community building activities,” said Anita Mahadevan-Jansen, director of the Biophotonics Center and Orrin H. Ingram Professor of Engineering. “I look forward to working with him to build our program and develop the next generation of biophotonics researchers.”
The Biophotonics Center spans multiple schools—Engineering, Medicine and Arts & Science—and interfaces with a number of Vanderbilt centers and institutes while being anchored in the School of Engineering. The institutes and centers include the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, the Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, the Brain Institute, and the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education.
“It is a tremendous privilege to contribute to the growth and advancement of the members of the VBC. I look forward to helping develop the next generation of biophotonics pioneers and experts,” Baba said.
Baba’s research focus includes applications of optical techniques for sensing and diagnosis of various pathologies, with particular emphasis on the use of polarized light for early noninvasive detection and assessments of superficial lesions.
Contact: Brenda Ellis, 615 343-6314
brenda.ellis@vanderbilt.edu