Kamran Avanaki
Email Address: avanaki@uic.eduCollege: Engineering Department: Bioengineering
Title: Associate Professor
Office: 210 SEO Phone: 3143971862
Webpage: https://www.opira-avanaki.com/director-1
Participating in the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Awards program: Yes
Research Interest:
My area of research expertise is biomedical imaging instrumentation, specifically photoacoustic imaging (PAI) and optical coherence tomography (OCT), as well as the development of signal/image analysis algorithms for machine learning applications.
My vision is to use these imaging modalities with my image analysis algorithms to develop real-time, non-invasive imaging protocols that assist diagnosis of diseases related to the human brain and skin. We have recently expanded our research area to small animal brain imaging for neuroscience research to answer questions related to the neurocircuitry of addiction and other behaviors.
One major pillar of research in my lab is the development of diagnostic assistant methods for melanoma. The current standard of care involves performance of many biopsies to identify one melanoma; resulting in pain, anxiety, scarring and disfigurement for patients, as well as a considerable cost for the healthcare system. We have developed several methodologies based on OCT or PAI, with and without the use of contrast agents, to reduce the number of unnecessary biopsies and diagnose melanoma in its earliest stage.
The other major pillar of research in my lab is the development of bedside imaging systems to assess the brain of premature and/or low birth weight ( Minimum time commitment in hours per week: 5 Qualifications of a Student:
We have a different set of qualifications for the different projects described above. But in general, a motivated student who is willing to learn is the type of student we are looking for. Please email me for more details. Brief Summary of what is expected from the student:
Having weekly meetings in order to track the progress of the research project, and ensure the following responsibilities:
1. Studying materials connected to the research, i.e. related journal papers
2. Undergo training to learn how to use different instruments in the lab before working with it
7. Conduct the entire experiment while a graduate student helps to set up the experiment
8. Write a research paper discussing the process and results of this research experiment
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