News

Dr. Arjun Yodh, a leading expert in optical imaging, visited the Biomedical Optics Lab to discuss the latest advancements in optical technologies for biomedical applications.

Dr. Arjun Yodh, James M. Skinner Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, will present a seminar on Imaging and Spectroscopy Using Diffusing Light at the University of Kentucky.

Faraneh Fathi, founder of Neurovista, tells us about the technology and Women Leading Kentucky

Click here for full interview

Opa Johnson and Faraneh Fathi featured in  Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Women Leading KY

For news click here

Faraneh Fathi & Devanny King stop by FOX 56 to talk about the Emerging Entrepreneurs competition and the Women's Business Center of Kentucky.

For the video click here

The University of Kentucky is well-represented on a list of the most-cited researchers in the world. In a database compiled by Stanford University in a partnership with Elsevier, 136 current UK scientists and scholars appear among the top 2% of the most-cited researchers across 22 disciplines.

Click here for more.

The Emerging Entrepreneurs Pitch Competition, held last night at the historic Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center, was a celebration of creativity, passion, and entrepreneurial spirit. Presented in partnership with the Women’s Business Center of Kentucky, the event brought together visionary minds and a supportive community for an evening full of energy and inspiration.

Congratulations to the competition winners:

1st Place: R.A.M. Devices
2nd Place: SelfFull
3rd Place: Neurovista Solutions

Click here for more

Pegah Safavi has been awarded a 2025 Optics and Photonics Scholarship by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, for potential contributions to optics, photonics, or a related field.

Safavi is a PhD candidate in biomedical engineering at the University of Kentucky (USA), conducting research under the mentorship of Dr. Guoqiang Yu. Safavi develops wearable, fiber-free optical sensors for continuous monitoring of cerebral hemodynamics. Her work integrates optical imaging, signal processing, and translational neuroscience to study cerebral hemodynamics in models of aging, Alzheimer’s disease, and brain injury. Safavi has received multiple honors for academic excellence, scientific communication, and leadership: most notably, she is an inaugural recipient of the Lighthouse Beacon Foundation Graduate Fellowship. Safavi aims to bridge the gap between research innovations and real-world clinical impact.

Click here for more.

Faezeh Akbari, a third-year Ph.D. candidate in the F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering, has been awarded a $5,000 Optics and Photonics Education Scholarship by the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE), the international society for optics and photonics, for potential contributions to the field of optics, photonics, or related field.

Click here to read more.

On May 13, 2025, graduate students from the F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Kentucky swept the graduate division at the 2025 PNC Wildcat Pitch Competition, claiming all three top spots.

FlowTech secured first place with its innovative wearable device for real-time brain hemodynamics monitoring. Team members Faezeh Akbari, Pegah Safavi, and Fatemeh Hamedi were recognized for their strong technical foundation and commercialization potential.

Neuro Vista, led by Faraneh Fathi, earned second place, and RAM Devices, presented by Madison Laurel Bates, took third place—further showcasing the department's excellence in research-driven innovation. Click here to read more.

PhD candidate Faraneh Fathi proudly led her startup, NeuroVista, to a 2nd place finish in the Graduate Track of the 2025 PNC Wildcat Pitch Competition. Her achievement follows successful completion of the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship (VACE) Bootcamp, where she received dedicated mentorship from Warren Nash and Mariam Gorjian.
Faraneh thanked the VACE Bootcamp and competition for enhancing her entrepreneurial skills, and expressed gratitude to the judges—especially Nathaniel Bentley, Ethan Frazier, Tanner Thompson, CPA, and John Stewart—for their feedback. She also appreciated PNC’s sponsorship and her advisor, Dr. Guoqiang Yu, for his guidance.
To know more see Faraneh's linkedIn post.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 PNC Wildcat Pitch Competition at the University of Kentucky, hosted by team VACE and the Gatton College of Business and Economics!
Graduate Track:
1st place - $5,000 | FlowTech
2nd place - $3,000 | NeuroVista
3rd place - $2,000 | RAM Devices

Director's Award

Pegah Safavi | College of Engineering

Connect: pegah.safavi@uky.edu

Poster: "Continuous Monitoring of Cerebral Blood Flow and Oxygenation Responses to Intermittent Hypoxia in Neonatal Rats"

Background: Intermittent hypoxia (IH) may result in hypoxic/ischemic stresses on the brains of preterm neonates. To address the need for wearable techniques, we adapted an innovative, fiber-free, wearable diffuse speckle contrast flow-oximetry (DSCFO) device for continuous monitoring of both cerebral blood flow (CBF) and oxygenation in neonatal rats.

Methods: A miniaturized DSCFO probe was assembled consisting of two small laser diodes as focused-point and a tiny NanEye camera to detect spatial fluctuation of diffuse laser speckles for CBF, and light intensity attenuations for cerebral oxygenation measurements, including oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin concentrations ([HbO2] and [Hb]). The DSCFO probe was attached gently to the head of neonatal rats (7 days old) under 1.25% isoflurane anesthesia. Neonatal rats in the IH group received repetitive transient hypoxia-hyperoxia challenges (10 cycles of 2-minute 8% O2 in N2 and 2-minute 100% O2), while the sham group underwent a 10-minute normoxic baseline monitoring.

Results: The IH group (n = 8) demonstrated significant increases in CBF (1.268% ± 0.767, p = 0.041) and [HbO2] (3.346% ± 1.946, p = 0.003), and a significant decrease in [Hb] (0.98% ± 2.340, p = 0.018) during the last 2 minutes of recovery. In contrast, the sham group (n = 6) exhibited minor variations in CBF, HbO2, and Hb over the monitoring period.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated the feasibility of DSCFO as a low-cost wearable sensor for continuous monitoring of multiple cerebral hemodynamic parameters. The findings underscore the importance of multi-parameter measurements for gaining deeper insights into cerebral regulation during IH events.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 8, 2025) — The University of Kentucky Women’s Forum announced the four winners of the 2025 Sarah Bennett Holmes Award at a celebratory luncheon March 26. Award winners, nominees and other invited guests heard remarks from UK President Eli Capilouto and a keynote address titled "Standing Strong — Empowering Women to Define Their Path," presented by Tukea Talbert, D.N.P.

These awards recognize individuals and teams who promote the growth and well-being of women at the university and across Kentucky, individuals who reflect the accomplishments and legacy of Sarah Bennett Holmes, for whom the award is named. Holmes, a distinguished former dean of women at UK, tirelessly championed the rights of women throughout her career.

Widowed at an early age, Holmes raised four children while completing her own education. She then began a successful career at the university where she inspired young women to persevere in the face of hardship and pursue their career goals. Among her accomplishments, Holmes developed work programs for women during the Great Depression. In her honor, the UK Women’s Forum created the Sarah Bennett Holmes Award and since 1994 has been honoring women at UK who demonstrate the same principles as Holmes through their work and service.

Faculty, staff and graduate student recipients receive a monetary award and a plaque. The team and its members receive a framed certificate and plaque for their achievement. All winners are named on plaques in UK’s Main Building. The Sarah Bennett Holmes Award is among the most esteemed recognitions bestowed at UK and brings recognition for efforts that might otherwise go unnoticed.

The 2025 Sarah Bennett Holmes award winners are:

Amanda Fallin-Bennett, Ph.D. (faculty): College of Nursing

Abeni El-Amin, Ph.D. (staff): College of Education

Pegah Safavi (graduate student): Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering

Operation Be You (team)

Faezeh Akbari, a third-year Ph.D. candidate in the F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering, recently had her work selected as a featured article by the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). 

Akbari’s paper titled “Programmable scanning diffuse speckle contrast imaging of cerebral blood flow,” was centered around research to develop a low-cost, portable, programmable scanning diffuse speckle contrast imaging (PS-DSCI) technology for fast, high-density, and depth-sensitive imaging of cerebral blood flow in rodents.

Read paper here. 

Akbari, a researcher in the Biomedical Optics Lab, was also recently honored as the 2024 Outstanding Biomedical Engineering Graduate Student by the F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering. 

Akbari was selected for the award due to her significant academic achievements, research contributions, and dedicated leadership in both scientific and extracurricular activities. 

In his nomination of Akbari, Guoqiang Yu, Ph.D., professor in the F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D. Department of Biomedical Engineering, praised her excellence in research, leadership and extensive involvement outside of the classroom. 

“Faezeh's motivation, ambition, independence, and productivity in academia establish her as a rising leader in the field of BME. Her exceptional blend of technical innovation, academic excellence, and leadership qualities makes her a highly deserving candidate for this award.” 

Click here for more

Read more here.

The 2024 Halcomb Fellowship in Medicine and Engineering has been awarded to Faezah Akbari, a doctoral candidate in the Pigman College of Engineering F. Joseph Halcomb III, M.D Department of Biomedical Engineering. She is the 14th recipient of this fellowship.  

Akbari’s mentor in the Pigman College of Engineering is Guoqiang Yu, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering, and her mentor in the UK College of Medicine is Henrietta S. Bada, M.D., in the Department of Pediatrics. Her project is titled, "An Innovative PS-DSCI for Real-Time Imaging of Neonatal Cerebral Blood Flow and Functional Connectivity," and seeks to develop a novel technology to improve brain imaging in neonatal infants, an advance that will have significant clinical diagnostic value.

The Halcomb Fellowship in Medicine and Engineering consists of an annual stipend of $30,000, with the option of renewal for a second year based upon the research progress of the recipient. The intent of the program is to encourage and support graduate students to conduct research that has a defined path to clinical translation.

Read more here.

Read more here.

Read more here.

Click here for more 

Click here for more.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 29, 2024) — On Friday, the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approved 16 University Research Professors for the 2024-25 academic year. Established by the Board of Trustees in 1976, the professorships program recognizes excellence across the full spectrum of research at UK.

“Each year it is truly gratifying to recognize these distinguished experts who have made significant contributions across the breadth of research fields at the University of Kentucky,” said Lisa Cassis, UK’s vice president for research. “Our next cohort of University Research Professors have demonstrated excellence in work that addresses scientific, social, cultural and economic challenges in our region and around the world.”

College leadership developed criteria for excellence within their area of expertise and then nominated faculty who excelled at these criteria. Each University Research Professor receives a one-year award of $10,000 and participates in other events planned around the program.

Click here to read more.

Read here to know more.

Click here to read more

Click here to read more

Click here to learn more

Read more here and here.

You can read more about the article "A Wearable Fiber-Free Optical Sensor for Continuous Monitoring of Cerebral Blood Flow in Freely Behaving Mice" by scrolling down the page https://www.embs.org/tbme/. In addition, the featured articles will be highlighted under the menu item "Featured Articles" within the menu item "Research Highlights." You may also read a summary here.

Read more here.

Read more here.

Read more here.

Read more here.

Read more here.

Read more here, and here.

Read more here.

Read more here.

Read more here.

Read more here.

Read more here.

Read more here.

Read more here.

Dr. Guoqiang Yu was recognized as one of the UK College of Education’s Teachers Who Made a Difference in 2020. The program recognizes educators who made a positive impact on the lives of their students. Dr. Yu received the same recognition in 2016.

Read more here.

Read more here.

The team at UK, led by Sunderam, includes Abhijit Patwardhan, professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Biomedical Engineering; Guoqiang Yu, associate professor of biomedical engineering; and Bruce O’Hara, professor in the Department of Biology.

News Link

CNTC is supported by the NCI/NIH and part of the National Cancer Institute Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, provides advanced multidisciplinary training for advanced graduate students and postdoctoral fellows toward the goal of creating a new type of cancer nanotechnology researcher who will fully appreciate the breadth of disciplines involved in translating novel laboratory findings to cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Ran Cheng's Thesis

Dr. Guoqiang Yu (PhD), Associate Professor in the Center for Biomedical Engineering, was recently awarded a pilot grant from the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging for a project entitled, “Noninvasive Optical Diagnosis of Cerebrovascular Disease in Older Population”. This study is a multidisciplinary effort involving collaboration with Dr. Charles D. Smith (MD and PhD, Professor of Neurology), Dr. David K. Powell (PhD, Adjunct Professor of CBME), Dr. Gregory A. Jicha (MD, Associate Professor of Neurology), and Dr. Yang Jiang (PhD, Associate Professor of Behavioral Science).

Lihong Wang, the Editor-in-Chief of JBO published an editorial paper: “Continued Growth of JBO”, which acknowledged the most contributed people and work in 2012. view pdf Our lab members and work were included:

G. Yu, “ Near-infrared diffuse correlation spectroscopy in cancer diagnosis and therapy monitoring,” J. Biomed. Opt. 17(1), 010901 (2012).  This paper was listed as an invaluable review paper. View the paper here.

Dr. Guoqiang Yu was listed as a guest editorial board member.

Dr. Yu Shang was listed as one of top 10 reviewers.

View the PDF here.

Report Link   View in YouTube

Report Link   View in YouTube

Most of lab memebers attended the Biomeical Optics Topical Meeting orgnized by Optical Society of America (OSA) in Miami, Florida. Ten abstracts were presented by students and postdocs including 3 oral presentations and 7 posters.

Dr. Guoqiang Yu’s accomplishments in biomedical engineering research and contributions to the University of Kentucky (UK) community earned him “Notable Research Professor”, honored by UK Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers at its annual award banquet (04/18/2012).

Dr. Guoqiang Yu was interviewed by the Medical Physics Web. He introduced our recent research on non-invasive measurements of tumor hemodynamic changes during x-ray radiation delivery. You can check the interview at this link: http://medicalphysicsweb.org/cws/article/research/48807.

The details about our study can be found here.

Dr. Guoqiang Yu (PhD), Assistant Professor in the Center for Biomedical Engineering, was recently awarded a 2-year R21 grant (1R21AR062356-01) from the NIH (NIAMS) for a project entitled, “Noncontact Diffuse Optical Assessment of Pressure Ulcer and Therapy”. This study is a multidisciplinary effort involving collaboration with Dr. Sara Salles (MD, Associate Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) and Dr. Karin Swartz (MD, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery).

Dr. Guoqiang Yu (PhD), Assistant Professor in the Center for Biomedical Engineering, was recently awarded a 2-year pilot grant from the University of Kentucky Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) for a project entitled, “Noncontact Diffuse Optical Quantification of Hemodynamic Contrast in Breast Tumor”. This study is a multidisciplinary effort involving collaboration with Dr. Margaret Szabunio (MD, Professor of Radiation Medicine) and Dr. Brent Shelton (PhD, Professor of Biostatistics).

“Noninvasive diffuse optical monitoring of head and neck tumor blood flow and oxygenation during radiation delivery” published in Biomedical Optics Express (BOE, Vol. 3 Issue 2, pp.259-272, 2012), was selected as a spotlight paper by BOE.

“Intraoperative evaluation of revascularization effect on ischemic muscle hemodynamics using near-infrared diffuse optical spectroscopies” published in Journal of Biomedical Optics 16, 027004 (2011), was selected by the Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research. (http://www.vjbio.org)

“Diffuse optical monitoring of repeated cerebral ischemia in mice” published in Optics Express 19, 20301-20315 (2011), was selected by the Virtual Journal for Biomedical Optics (VJBO). (http://vjbo.osa.org/virtual_issue.cfm)

“Portable optical tissue flow oximeter based on diffuse correlation spectroscopy” published in Optics Letters 34, 3556-3558 (2009), was selected by the Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research. (http://www.vjbio.org)

Katelyn‘s academic merit and promise earned her the USEC (United States Enrichment Corporation) Graduate Fellowship in fiscal year of 2011-2012.

Dr. Yu Shang, postdoctoral scholar in Biomedical Optics Lab (PI: Dr. Guoqiang Yu) at the Center for Biomedical Engineering, was recently awarded a two-year postdoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association (AHA) for a project entitled, “Development of Diffuse Optical Spectroscopies for Monitoring Cerebral Blood Flow and Oxygenation in Mouse Stroke Model”. This study is a multi-disciplinary effort involving collaboration with Drs. Michal Toborek (PhD & MD) and Lei Chen (PhD & MD) in the Department of Neurosurgery.

Katelyn Gurley is awarded the Jack and Linda Gill Science and Engineering Fellowship in fiscal year of 2010-2011.

Dr. Guoqiang Yu (PhD), Assistant Professor in the Center for Biomedical Engineering, was recently awarded a 5-year R01 Bioengineering Research Grant (BRG) from the NIH (R01 CA149274) for a project entitled, “Diffuse Optical Monitoring of Head and Neck Tumor Therapy”. This study is a multidisciplinary effort involving collaboration with Dr. Mahesh Kudrimoti (MD, Associate Professor of Radiation Medicine), Dr. Scott Stevens (MD, Assistant Professor of Diagnostic Radiology), and Dr. Brent Shelton (PhD, Professor of Biostatistics).

Dr. Guoqiang Yu (PhD), Assistant Professor in the Center for Biomedical Engineering, was recently awarded a two year grant-in-aid from the American Heart Association (AHA) for a project entitled, “A Portable Optical Flow-Oximeter for Assessment of Cerebral Hemodynamics and Metabolism during Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)”. This study is a multi-disciplinary effort involving collaboration with Dr. Don Hayes (MD, Co-Investigator), Assistant Professor of Pediatrics–Pulmonology, of the University of Kentucky Good Samaritan Hospital Sleep Disorders Center.