Mihaela Balu

Associate Researcher, Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic

Dr. Mihaela Balu is an Associate Researcher at UCI Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic. Her laboratory is focused on integrating and advancing modern biophotonics technologies, such as nonlinear optical microscopy to the clinical setting. Dr. Balu’s main research goal is to use this technique as a non-invasive imaging tool for visualizing, quantifying and understanding the microscopic and molecular processes that underlie skin biology with a particular interest in melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer.

Dr. Balu has authored over 25 peer-reviewed articles. Representative articles include: “Distinguishing between benign and malignant melanocytic nevi by in vivo multiphoton microscopy” and “In vivo multiphoton NADH fluorescence reveals depth-dependent keratinocyte metabolism in human skin” and “Rapid mesoscale multiphoton microscopy of human skin”.

Dr. Balu’s Lab is an imaging shared resource for the UCI Chao Comprehensive Cancer Center and UCI Skin Biology Research Center.

In 2007, Dr. Balu joined UCI Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic as a postdoctoral scholar after earning her Ph.D. in Optics from the College of Optics & Photonics: CREOL, University of Central Florida.

  • Education

    Ph.D., Optics, 2006, College of Optics & Photonics: CREOL, University of Central Florida

    M.S., Physics, 1999, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    B.S., Physics, 1998, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania, Major: Physics Minor: Optics

  • Phone

    949-824-8797