Mihaela Balu
Associate Professor, Dermatology, Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Mihaela Balu is an Associate Professor of Dermatology and Biomedical Engineering, specializing in advanced modern optical imaging technologies for skin research and clinical applications.
Dr. Balu’s laboratory focuses on integrating cutting-edge biophotonics technologies, including nonlinear optical microscopy, into clinical practice. Her primary research goal is to develop on-invasive imaging tools that can visualize, quantify, and help understand the microscopic and molecular processes underlying skin biology, with emphasis on melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers.
Notably, the Balu Lab has developed FLAME (Fast Large Area Multiphoton Exoscope), a revolutionary imaging system that acts like a powerful microscope for examining human skin without the need for biopsies. This cutting-edge technology can capture detailed, 3D images of skin layers in just minutes, covering areas from small spots to several square centimeters while identifying key components like melanin and pigment-producing cells. FLAME has the potential to transform dermatology by helping doctors more accurately diagnose skin cancers and other conditions, guide treatments more effectively, and advance our understanding of skin biology, while making the examination process faster and more comfortable for patients.
The Balu Lab serves as a shared imaging resource for both the UC Irvine Chao Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UC Irvine Skin Biology Research Center. These collaborative efforts provide advanced microscopy capabilities to support research across multiple disciplines.
