Photoacoustic microscopy of the beating heart

Mentor: Song Hu, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering

Lab description: Our laboratory combines optics and ultrasound for in vivo high-resolution imaging of structural, functional, metabolic, and molecular contrasts at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Our research efforts encompass three main aspects: pushing the technical envelope to cover temporal scales that range from fast cellular dynamics to chronic disease progression, revealing novel optical / acoustic contrast mechanisms to enhance imaging sensitivity and specificity, and bridging the gaps between mechanistic studies in animals and clinical practice in humans.

Project: Development of a high-speed miniature photoacoustic microscopy system for intravital imaging of the beating mouse heart. In this project, the intern is expected to work with a postdoc in the Hu lab on the system development, image acquisition, and data analysis, with a primary focus on the analytical aspect.