Interventional Biophotonics Week 2025: Innovation, Integration, and Impact

This July, UC Davis welcomed researchers, clinicians, and trainees from across the globe for the third annual Interventional Biophotonics Week Symposium (July 21-22) and Summer School (July 23-25). The five-day event showcased the latest advances in optical imaging technologies and their integration into clinical workflows.

Close to ninety people attended the Symposium, including faculty, physicians, residents, graduate and undergraduate students, postdoctoral fellows and project scientists from institutions in Germany, Italy, Poland, and the US, as well as industry scientists.

“This event continues to be a cornerstone for building a vibrant, interdisciplinary community in interventional biophotonics,” said Dr. Griff Harsh, NCIBT co-director. “We’re proud to support the next generation of innovators in this rapidly evolving field.”

Scientific Symposium Highlights (July 21–22)

The symposium featured keynote and invited talks from world-class experts in biophotonics and biomedical engineering:

• Dr. Anita Mahadevan-Jansen (Vanderbilt University), Keynote address: Translating Label-Free Optical Techniques for Surgical Guidance.
• Dr. Giulia Acconcia (Politecnico di Milano), Keynote speaker: New Detectors for FLIM Technologies
• Dr. Farzad Fereidouni (Emory University), Invited speaker: AI Analytics in Digital Pathology
• Dr. Guoqiang Yu (University of Kentucky), Invited speaker: Optical Imaging Modalities for Noninvasive Quantification of Blood Flow, Blood Oxygenation and Oxidative Metabolism
• Dr. Irina Larina (Baylor College), Keynote speaker: Optical Imaging in Reproductive Biology
• Dr. Jonathan T. C. Liu (Stanford University), Keynote speaker: Non-destructive 3D Pathology and Analysis for Optimizing Treatments
• Dr. Jurgen Popp (Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technologies), Invited speaker: Multimodal Imaging
• Dr. Kirill Larin (University of Houston), Keynote speaker: Optical Coherence Tomography: Technological Advances and Applications
• Dr. Mark Anastasio (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Keynote speaker: AI in Optical Imaging
• Dr. Sergio Fantini (Tufts University), Keynote speaker: Near-infrared Spectroscopy and Imaging Techniques for Medical Diagnostics
• Dr. E. Duco Jansen (Vanderbilt University), Invited speaker: A Combined Fluorescence and Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging System for Real-time Dosimetry of Photodynamic Therapy

Faculty leaders and affiliates of the NCIBT addressed the need for interventional imaging and discussed progress in the field, including in advances in technology, AI, and biological mechanistic understanding. Key members in attendance included: Center Director Dr. Laura Marcu (UC Davis) and Co-Director Dr. Griff Harsh (UC Davis, UNM), Dr. Randy Carney (UC Davis), Dr. Saif Islam (UC Davis), Dr. Vivek Srinivasan (NYU Langone Health), Dr. Farouc Jaffer (Massachusetts General Hospital), Dr. Jinyi Qi (UC Davis), Dr. Yi Xue (UC Davis), Dr. Aydogan Ozcan (UCLA), and Dr. Weijian Yang (UC Davis).

In addition to technical talks and didactic lessons, the program included poster pitches and a poster session with prizes for the best posters awarded to: Stella Greiner (graduate student at Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technologies,1^st prize), Aran Sandhu (undergraduate student at UC Santa Barbara who graduated recently, 2^nd prize), and Clara Kristen (graduate student and visiting scholar at UC Davis, 3^rd prize).

Scientific panel discussion brought together physicians, engineers, and biophotonics researchers, and participants enjoyed a mentoring session on Working with Industry, with Dr. Marco Arrigoni (Light Conversion), Dr. Oybek Kholiqov (Neuralenz), and Julien Bec (UC Davis, with years of engineering experience in industry prior to joining academia).

Summer School: Hands-On Learning (July 23–25)

In addition to the talks and panels with leading scientists at the Symposium (Mon-Tues), 39 trainees at various levels of experience benefited from lectures, hands-on training, and demos during the Summer School section of the event (Wed-Fri).

Wednesday: Biophotonics Foundations & Clinical Optical Imaging
After a brief introduction to biophotonics by Dr. Randy Carney, participants explored core concepts and clinical applications, including:

• iFLIM for tumor margin identification (Dr. Stephanie Goldschmidt, Dr. Andrew Birkeland, Dr. Orin Bloch)
• iDOS for blood flow and oxygenation (Dr. Vivek Srinivasan)
• Lasers in optical imaging (Dr. Marco Arrigoni)
• Fiber probe design for clinical multimodal imaging (Dr. Andrew Thrapp)

NCIBT Co-director Dr. Griff Harsh moderated a panel on Clinical Optical Imaging, and hosted Dr. John Freund, founder and Managing Director of Skyline Ventures, and co-founder of Intuitive Surgical, who talked candidly about the development of the Da Vinci Robot and inspired learners to think about how to affect change in biomedical sciences.

Afternoon labs provided demonstrations and hands-on training with key instrumental capabilities developed by the NCIBT, including iFLIM and iDOS instruments, led by Dr. Andrew Thrapp and graduate students Silvia Noble Anbunesan and Xiangping Ouyang.

Thursday: Clinical Integration & Field Excursion
Trainees visited UC Davis Health for live demonstrations of biophotonics:

• Imaging in the Operating Room (Dr. Griff Harsh and Clinical Nurse Educator Ian Fong, MSN, RN, CNOR)
• Imaging in the Neuro Intensive Care Unit (Dr. Ryan Martin)
• Imaging in the Endovascular Suites (Dr. Jeffrey Southard and Cardiovascular Technician Tricia Nixon)

The day concluded with a group excursion to Sonoma Valley for networking and relaxation.

Friday: Artificial Intelligence in Biophotonics
The final day focused on AI, from basics to applications in imaging:

• Intro to AI (Dr. Randy Carney)
• Practical aspects of iFLIM measurement and analysis (Dr. Julien Bec, Dr. Xiangnan Zhou)
• Hands-on AI labs for iFLIM and iDOS data analysis (Dr. Randy Carney, Dr. Andrew Thrapp)

Additional photos from the Interventional Biophotonics Week are available in the Photo Galleries.