Anita Mahadevan-Jansen’s CV arguably needs little introduction. As President of SPIE, this respected professor of biomedical engineering juggles a demanding directorship at the Biophotonics Center at Vanderbilt University (VBC).
Her primary research areas include the use of label optical imaging techniques for diagnosis of disease and guidance of surgery, an area where the whole world is hoping for further breakthroughs. It’s this balance of critical research with her strong advocacy focus that makes her current presidency all the more remarkable.
The research mission of VBC is built around three main areas: clinical photonics; neuro-photonics and multiscale photonics. The centre’s Day of Light Symposium was a highlight of the 2022 calendar.
Dr. Mahadevan-Jansen is a fellow of SPIE, Optica (OSA), the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and was recently inducted into the National Academy of Inventors. She has served as a reviewer for nearly two dozen journals over her career and has served as editor for several journals including Journal of Biomedical Optics, Neurophotonics and Applied Spectroscopy. She started the Biomedical Vibrational Spectroscopy conference at Photonics West BiOS conference in 2002, which has been running ever since.
Organisation: Vanderbilt University
Role: Director, Vanderbilt Biophotonics Center
Based in: Nashville, TN, USA
Education: Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin