Principal Investigator

Jana M. Kainerstorfer, PhD

Prof. Kainerstorfer received her PhD in Physics from the University of Vienna, Austria in partnership with the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. She has an extensive background in optical imaging, with an emphasis on Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Imaging. She has particular experience in developing instruments as well as data analysis of optical data. Her lab’s research focus is based on optical imaging for clinical applications with emphasis spanning two primary areas: 1) Instrument and measurement protocol development of non-invasive optical imaging which can yield biomarkers for disease diagnostics and monitoring, and 2) Translation of such imaging tools to answer clinical questions where microvascular imaging can be of use for understanding a pathophysiology or monitoring of disease

Research Scientist- 

Constance Robbins, PhD

Constance "Robbie" Robbins received their B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh and went on to earn their PhD from Carnegie Mellon University in 2021 under Dr. Jana Kainerstorfer. Their doctoral work focused on developing the use of non-invasive optical imaging for monitoring breast cancer, and their post-doctoral research examined the relationship between multiple simultaneous measures of neural activity in a small animal model. Robbie has returned to the lab to be a part of the Body-Brain-Behavior (B3) project, which strives to better understand the develop closed loop systems for monitoring the the state of neural function and potentially enhancing human performance. When outside of work, they can be found crafting, playing chess, or biking up one of Pittsburgh's many hills.

Post-doctoral Researcher- 

Justin Patel, PhD

Justin Patel is a postdoctoral researcher working with Prof. Jana Kainerstorfer in Biomedical Engineering and Prof. Matthew Smith in the Neuroscience Institute at CMU. He received his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Purdue University, and his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences from the University of California at Berkeley. His PhD research focused on super-resolution imaging using structured light. Part of this involved heavily optically scattering media, a context that forms the basis of his current work. Currently he is interested in using EKG and non-invasive and optical measurements of blood flow dynamics to study cardiovascular autoregulation, both cerebral and peripheral. Outside the lab, Justin enjoys reading, cooking, and chilling at coffee shops.

PhD Candidates-

Bradley Scammon

Bradley Scammon is a PhD candidate. He received his B.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from Clemson University. Currently he is researching optical and electrical hardware that provides non-invasive access to neural and hemodynamic biomarkers. Aside from his research he enjoys camping, backpacking, climbing and anything outdoors. He describes the lab as collaborative, capable, and entertaining. He enjoys the broad diversity of expertise in his peers, which makes for a well-rounded, adaptable lab.

Deepa Issar

Deepa Issar is a PhD candidate of Biomedical Engineering. She received her B.Sc. at the University of Pittsburgh in 2018. Currently she is researching neural, vascular, and systemic signatures of cognitive state using NIRS and electrophysiology in collaboration with Prof. Matthew Smith. Outside of her studies, she enjoys spending time with her dog. She enjoys the collaborative spirit of the lab and working with the other students.

Eli Bulger

Eli Bulger is a PhD candidate of Biomedical Engineering, co-advised by Prof. Barbara Shinn-Cunningham. He received his B.Sc. in Nanotechnology Engineering from University of Waterloo. Currently he is researching non-invasive characterization of neural and vascular markers during attention and non-invasive multi-modal source reconstruction. Eli enjoys playing piano, writing, and various outdoors activities. What Eli enjoys most about the lab is the diversity in research and the great people. He describes it as, "collaborative, diverse and photogenic."

Emily Skog

Emily Skog is a PhD candidate of Biomedical Engineering. She received her B.Sc. in Biological Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Currently she is researching how systemic changes in the body affect neuronal signals in the brain in non-human primates. She also collaborates with Prof. Matthew Smith. Emily enjoys running in her spare time and if she had chose to not become a scientist, she would have studied literature. What Emily enjoys most about the lab is, "the spirit of collaboration between everyone. Students come from very different backgrounds but there is no hesitance to help out."

Jingyi Wu

Jingyi Wu is a PhD candidate of Biomedical Engineering. He received his M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering and his B.Sc. in Physics from Carnegie Mellon University. Currently he is researching transabdominal fetal pulse oximetry, investigating analytical models for multi-layer near-infrared spectroscopy, Monte-Carlo and NIRFASTer photon simulations, and signal processing and machine learning. Jingyi enjoys playing table tennis, badminton, league of legends, piano, and card magic in his spare time. He describes the lab as, "diverse, versatile, and supportive."

Osama Elgabori

Osama Elgabori is a PhD candidate of Biomedical Engineering. He received his B.Sc. in Physics from Wesleyan University. Currently he is developing a sensor to measure hemoglobin concentration and oxygen saturation across an artificial lung in real time in collaboration with Prof. Keith Cook. Outside of his studies he enjoys watching anime and occasionally crime shows. He enjoys how the lab emphasizes team-work and provides multiple channels for seeking help to overcome obstacles. Osama describes the lab as welcoming, motivated, and communicative.

Martin Gössweiner

Martin Gössweiner is a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering. He received his B.Sc. in Technical Physics from the Vienna University of Technology in Austria. Before transitioning to biomedical research, he spent several years as a paramedic, gaining firsthand experience in emergency medicine and critical care—an experience that continues to shape his approach to translational research. "How long can you hold your breath?" — That’s often the question Martin uses to introduce his research. His work focuses on developing non-invasive biomarkers for cerebral and somatic hemodynamics under hypoxia, using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS) to study the effects of apnea on peripheral and cerebral circulation. His ultimate goal is to bring these technologies to the bedside, improving monitoring and decision-making in critical care. When he’s not analyzing data, you can find him skiing down mountains, lifting heavy weights, or tinkering with data science projects. He describes the lab environment as collaborative, caffeinated, and full of creative problem-solving.

Masters Students - 

Shreya Kiran

Shreya Kiran is a graduate student in Biomedical Engineering. She received her B.Tech. in Biotechnology from PES university, Bangalore, India. Currently she is researching the Spatial Variability of Intracranial Pressure in the Brain using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.In her free time, Shreya loves reading, sketching, and trying out new cuisines. What she enjoys most about the lab is how collaborative and supportive everyone is, always encouraging each other.

Alexis Valencia

Alexis Valencia is a graduate student in Biomedical Engineering. He received his B.Sc. in Bioengineering from the University of California - Riverside. Currently, he is researching wearable device development for continuous long-term brain activity recording using continuous-wave near-infrared spectroscopy (CW-NIRS). Alexis enjoys designing and building using his 3D printer. He also enjoys playing music whenever he gets the chance. Alexis' favorite thing about the lab is that there is a diversity in talents, and "each one of them will help me with their strengths no matter the problems I encounter."

Reseach Assistant- 

Maanasa Guru Adimurthy 

Maanasa is a research assistant in the lab. She received her Master's in Biomedical Engineering in the Biophotonics Lab at CMU. She was co-advised by Prof. Barbara Shinn-Cunningham and Prof. Christopher Brown from University of Pittsburgh. She is currently working on looking at alpha lateralization as a marker of auditory spatial attention using EEG. Maanasa is a trained Indian Classical Music (Carnatic) singer and plays the ukulele. She loves playing and watching different sports and trying different cuisines. Her favorite thing about the lab in her own words is, "learning from all the seniors in the lab. Their knowledge and expertise are impeccable. They are kind and humble and very helpful to all the students who are starting out new."

Collaborators

Gopika Satish

Gopika completed her Master's in Biomedical engineering in the Biophotonics Lab. Her work graduate contributed to the development and evaluation of transabdominal fetal pulse oximetry by generating anatomically accurate fetal models of varying fetal depths and orientations derived from MRI data and used optical simulations to study how light absorption vary in different fetal depths and fetal orientation. She currently works as a Data Scientist with Dr. Gregory Basura at the Eye and Ear Institute in UPMC, using adapted fNIRS to study neuronal activation and resting state functional connectivity in Tinnitus.

Alumni

Postdoctoral Alumni

• Sossena Wood
• Syeda Tabassum
• Alexander Ruesch
• Deepshikha Acharya
• Jason Yang
• Jiaming Cao

PhD Alumni

• Alexander Ruesch
• Constance Robbins
• Deepshikha Acharya
• Jason Yang
• Jiaming Cao

M.S. Alumni

• Abeselom Fanta
• Ankita Mukherjea
• Bradley Scammon
• Filip Relander
• Harsha Sridhar
• Jiaming Cao
• Jingyi Wu
• Karthik Nambiar
• Juan Cortes
• Yutian Qin
• Liyuan Ma
• Gopika Satish
• Maanasa Guru Adimurthy

B.S. Alumni

• Arushi Patel
• Dong Hun Kim
• Elisabeth Iszauk
• Erin Kavanagh
• Jingyi Wu
• Juan Cortes
• Liliana Santizo Deleon
• Manny Hur
• Mohini Banerjee
• Molly Baumhauer
• Noa Park
• Pearl Franz
• Philip Farr
• Rebecca Kang
• Samantha Lavelle
• Shinjini Ray
• Udyaaksh Khera
• Yilin Yang
• YuanYuan Fu
• Zeynep Ozkaya