SPIE names Michael Berns as its 2022 Gold Medal winner

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Professor Berns is co-founder of the Beckman Laser Institute and a Professor at University of California, Irvine.

By Photonics World

SPIE has announced that its 2022 SPIE Gold Medal winner is Michael Berns, co-founder and founding director of the Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic and a professor of biomedical engineering, surgery, and developmental and cell biology at the University of California, Irvine.

The SPIE Gold Medal is the highest honor the Society bestows. It is awarded in recognition of outstanding engineering or scientific accomplishments in optics, photonics, electro-optics, or imaging technologies and applications.

Berns is widely known as the “the father of laser microbeams,” due, in part, to his seminal work delineating how the laser can perform subcellular surgery on chromosomes. With an overarching approach that focuses on light interactions with cells and tissues, his research works to address biomedical problems such as nervous-system repair at single-cell level, a laser-leveraging technique that extends to degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s.

Multiple roles and recognitions

Among other roles, Berns oversees Beckman’s Cellular Biophotonics Laboratory, as well as serving as the director of the recently established Michael and Robert Berns Laser Microbeam Program.

Berns’ many recognitions include being elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in the UK in 2021. He is a Fellow of the British Royal Society of Biology, the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science as well as being an SPIE Fellow.

In 1994, he received the UCI medal, the highest honor awarded at UCI; in 2006, he received the SPIE Biomedical Optics Lifetime Achievement Award. He currently sits on the editorial board of the SPIE Journal of Biomedical Optics.

“Michael Berns’ work over several decades has set the international benchmark for the particular use of the laser for various studies in biomedicine,” says University of St. Andrews’ School of Physics and Astronomy Professor Kishan Dholakia.

“He has consistently performed and delivered breakthrough science that has stood the test of time, and is, quite simply, a highly prolific and agenda-setting international scientist of the highest quality. I have been most impressed with his passion and rigor at scientific meetings, which is an inspiration to audiences, and key to his success in teaching, training, and mentoring young researchers.

“In addition, the strategic value and impact of Berns’ work with regard to international science has been outstanding. The collaboration of his group at UCI with Professor Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop and her group at the University of Queensland, for example, has led to an exceptional and prolific union of two of the leading photonics laboratories in the world.

“The complementary partnership has led to very exciting and highly productive trans-Pacific interdisciplinary research. The impact of Berns’ own work and that with collaborators supports the future of the field through the training and exchange of graduate students and post-docs.”

Read full article on optics.org.

UCI-led team develops new biopsy technology for analyzing multiple tumor tissue biomarkers

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Photo by: UCI News

A team led by University of California, Irvine researchers has developed a new biopsy technology that can profile multiple tumor microenvironment biomarkers simultaneously, revealing cellular spatial organization and interactions that will help advance personalized disease diagnosis and treatment. Current single-biomarker biopsies lack the ability to analyze many different markers and often fail to predict patient outcomes.

Called the Multi Omic Single-scan Assay with Integrated Combinatorial Analysis, the fluorescence imaging-based technology can spatially profile a large number of mRNA and protein markers in cells and tissues, including clinical tumor tissues. A study published today in Nature Communications shows that MOSAICA enables direct, highly multiplexed biomarker profiling in a 3D spatial context using a single round of staining and imaging instead of the repeated processing steps typically needed in conventional methods.

Clinicians and scientists will now have a holistic view of the different immune and cancer cell types in tumor tissues, providing greater insight for determining patient prognosis and treatment.

“Spatial biology is a new science frontier and mapping out each cell and its function in the body at both the molecular and tissue level is fundamental to understanding disease and developing precision diagnostics and therapeutics,” said Weian Zhao, Ph.D., UCI professor of pharmaceutical sciences and study co-corresponding author. “Many cancer immunotherapeutics, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, don’t work and scientists realized that was because of the spatial organization of all the tumor tissue cell types, which dictates drug efficacy. The MOSAICA can characterize the spatial cellular compositions and interactions in the tumor immune microenvironment in biopsies to inform personalized diagnosis and treatment.”

Click here to read the full article on the UCI News website.

UCI Health Unmatched for excellence

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UCI Health is home to 188 doctors who have been named 2022 Physicians of Excellence by the Orange County Medical Association, more than any other hospital in the region.

This prestigious honor, announced in the January 2022 issue of Orange Coast magazine, is bestowed by the volunteer physician organization as part of its mission to promote the art and science of medicine, the protection of public health and the betterment of the medical profession.

The complete list includes more than 740 Orange County physicians in more than 65 specialties. The magazine is on newsstands now.

“UCI Health physicians are unparalleled in their dedication to our patients and community,” said UCI Health CEO Chad T. Lefteris. “From providing world-class care to advancing clinical innovations, no other healthcare system in the region has as many physicians at the top of their specialty in both the hospital and outpatient settings.”

The issue’s cover features Dr. José Mayorga, executive director of UCI Health Family Health Centers, for his work educating the community about important health topics such as COVID-19 and vaccinations.

Also featured in the issue is a UCI Health patient who was diagnosed with lymphoma — a type of cancer that affects the body’s white blood cells, a crucial part of the immune system — and received life-saving care from the UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

This year, UCI Health received its 15th consecutive “A” grade for patient safety from the Leapfrog Group and was listed among America’s Best Hospitals for the 21st year in a row by U.S. News & World Report. The report highlights the excellence of UCI Health programs in gynecology, No. 24 and geriatrics, No. 44, among similar programs nationally. The medical center is ranked No. 8 in the Los Angeles metropolitan region.

UCI Health doctors practice across the region. In addition to UCI Medical Center in Orange, primary and specialty care locations include Gottschalk Medical Plaza in Irvine and offices in Costa Mesa, Laguna Hills, Newport Beach, Orange, Placentia, Tustin and Yorba Linda.

In coastal Orange County, UCI Health specialty care in cancer, breast health, digestive diseases, plastic surgery, neurosurgery and dermatology is available in Costa Mesa. Urology, executive health, behavioral health and sleep medicine services are available at the UCI Health Newport — Birch Street. And integrative services in cardiology, gastroenterology, pain management, dermatology, sports medicine and plastic surgery are offered at UCI Health — Newport Beach.

To be eligible for OCMA recognition, physicians are required to:

  • Be certified by a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties, a member board of the American Board of Osteopathic Medical Specialties, or an equivalency board recognized by the Medical Board of California or Osteopathic Medical Board of California
  • Be in good standing with the Medical Board of California or Osteopathic Medical Board of California
  • Maintain a primary practice in Orange County for the last five years
  • Be in practice within his/her specialty for the last five years

Physicians were required to demonstrate achievements in at least two of the following criteria: physician leadership; teaching/mentoring; medical research/scientific advances; and humanitarian service.

The following UCI Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic faculty received this prestigious honor:

Dermatology
Kristen M. Kelly, MD

Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
Brian J.F. Wong, MD

Neurology
Yama Akbari, MD
Mark J. Fisher, MD

Click here for the full article.

Luminar Tech founder devotes $70 million for new Orlando charitable fund

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By: Kate Santich
Photo By: Orlando Sentinel

Austin Russell, the 26-year-old Orlando tech genius and billionaire, is plunging into the philanthropy sector with a personal donation of $70 million in stock to create a charitable fund in Central Florida — though it has yet to be determined how the money will be spent.

“This may be the biggest gift ever made in Orlando,” said Mark Brewer, president and CEO of the Central Florida Foundation, the nonprofit institution partnering with Russell to set up the fund and decide how to use it. “The reality is, this opens the door to do some really amazing things here.”

Russell, who became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire when his Luminar Technologies (LAZR) went public last year, wasn’t available for an interview Tuesday. But he released a statement saying he wanted to make a difference in the community “and beyond.”

“I established Luminar’s [headquarters] in Orlando after seeing its incredible yet underrated potential, specialized talent, community and opportunity to become a premier global technology center,” the statement reads. “I’m glad to be playing a role in realizing that vision.”

As founder and CEO of Luminar, which makes sensors for self-driving cars, Russell divides his time between Orlando and his company’s Silicon Valley offices, but his home is here. He launched the business in California in 2012 after winning a $100,000 fellowship from billionaire tech investor and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel for his LiDAR concept, or light detection and ranging, using pulsed lasers to measure distance.

At the time, Russell was 17 and studying applied physics at Stanford. He had already attended classes at Beckman Laser Institute at the University of California, Irvine, as a high-school student. His goal, he said then, was to eradicate automobile accidents.

“When this becomes a new, modern, safety technology on vehicles that’s integrated on every vehicle globally produced, that’s when I’d firmly say that we’ve accomplished the goals that we set,” he told Forbes in December 2020.

Though Russell said in that interview he had no immediate plans for Bill Gates-like philanthropy, Brewer said Russell is interested in directing his charitable efforts toward big-picture change, as Gates has aimed to do in matters of global health.

“The work we did on homelessness a few years ago, where we had to change the entire system of how homeless people are identified and how they’re housed first, instead of after they’ve stayed in shelters for a period of time — that’s the kind of systems-level change we do and the kind of change he wants,” Brewer said. “It’s like the opioid work that’s being done here, where you’re trying to figure out how to stop the flow of people who are becoming addicted, rather than just giving them Narcan after they overdose.”

There’s no hint yet whether Russell will focus on those areas or something else entirely. In a region known for its low-wage economy and dire shortage of affordable housing, Brewer said there’s ample opportunity for Russell to make a difference. The entrepreneur will begin meeting with foundation officials by mid-January, and initial grants could be made fairly quickly, Brewer said, though he did not want to be more specific.

Jeff Hayward, president and CEO of the Heart of Florida United Way, said Russell’s move is a welcome one, especially coming from a tech entrepreneur.

“The technology sector has been less than engaging when it comes to philanthropy for critical basic needs, like helping people to keep a roof over their heads,” he said. “I’m very happy to see Mr. Russell join the fray, and I hope he’ll convince some of his peers in the community to join, too.”

Tuesday, Luminar shares traded at $17.10 on the NASDAQ, closing down 69 cents. The company projects that the market for its sensor and software solutions will reach roughly $150 billion by 2030, and it already has partnerships with eight of the world’s top 10 automakers, including a deal with Volvo Cars sealed in June to use Luminar’s technology as standard equipment on its upcoming fully electric flagship vehicle.

The Central Florida Foundation will be tasked with selling the shares overtime to make grants, and Brewer said $70 million is likely to be a starting point.

“This is just the beginning of his long-term personal commitment to philanthropy,” he said

Click here for the full article.

Who Is Austin Russell? How ‘The Next Elon Musk’ Made Billions

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By: Ashley Palya

Photo by: Luminar

A new young billionaire has taken the mantle as the “world’s youngest self-made billionaire” after his self-driving technology company Luminar Technologies Inc. (LAZR) went public in December 2020. Some have taken to calling 26-year-old Austin Russell the “next Elon Musk.”

The Newport Beach, California, native applied for his first patent at 13 and worked at a laser institute at the University of California at Irvine instead of going to high school. Luminar has a market capitalization of just over $6 billion. Shares of Luminar have taken a hit in the past year. On Dec. 29, 2020, shares of Luminar closed at $32.36. On Tuesday, shares of Luminar closed at $17.10.

Click here for the full article.

Generating XACT images with a single-shot X-ray pulse in nanoseconds

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By: Aili McConnon
Photo by: AIP Scilight

X-ray induced acoustic computed tomography can image the body at faster speeds and with smaller doses of radiation compared to traditional CT imaging

Siqi Wong, a graduate student in the lab of UCI Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic’s Shawn Liangzhong, published a paper in Applied Physics Letters.  The paper was chosen as an Editor’s Pick and highlighted by the American Institute of Physics.

X-ray imaging is widely deployed in scientific and medical realms, but the harm of radiation and slow imaging speed remain key limitations.  Wang et al. developed a new type imaging modality called XACT (X-ray induced acoustic computed tomography) that is a promising alternative to traditional X-rays. XACT is similar to CT scans, but XACT can image the human body at a much faster speed and a much smaller radiation dose compared to traditional CT imaging.

“The innovation here is that we only need a single-shot X-ray pulse in nanoseconds to generate an XACT image, which typically requires around 1,000 pulses for averaging,” said author Siqi Wang.

The researchers used a 128-channel ring-shaped ultrasound array and a 150 kilovoltage peak X-ray source with a 50-nanosecond pulse width to achieve full tomographic imaging capability from a single pulse with a spatial resolution of 0.97 millimeters.  The team plans to develop a portable 3D X-ray fluoroscopy, which could have a large impact in interventional radiology in clinical practice.

Click here to read the full article on AIP Scilight.

Savvy New Tech, 10/6/21: Dr. Elliot Botvinick with iGlobe multianalyte sensor

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I posted about Dr. Elliot Botvinick from the University of California Irvine who is developing a multianalyte sensor called iGlobe.  It is unique and exciting and funded, for development by the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

Dr. Elliot Botvinick, PhD is Professor, Samueli School of Engineering, BioEngineering, Surgery, Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic and The Edwards Lifesciences Center for Advanced Cardiovascular Technology. iGlobe: He was awarded a 3-year, $3.5 million grant, along with Dr. Gregory Weiss, Professor of Chemistry, from the Helmsley Charitable Trust for the development of the iGlobe, first of its kind device to simultaneously measure insulin, glucose, oxygen and ketones with a single probe inserted just beneath the skin.

Named the UCI Samueli School of Engineering “Innovator of the Year” and “Entrepreneurial Leader of the Year for several years running, Dr. Botvinick holds more than 20 invention reports and lots more than 10 patents. Dr. Botvinick earned his Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego. He’s a dynamic and very enthusiastic scientist … and he is an amazing friend to the entire T1D community.

Just this week, Dr. Botvinick did a wonderful presentation to the DIY looping community as well as those in the T1D communities.  Hope you enjoy this!

Read more on The Savvy Diabetic.

2021 UCI Innovator Awards Virtual Reception

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Photo by: UCI Beall Applied Innovation

Our faculty member Dr. Anand Ganesan is nominated as a UCI Beall Applied Innovation 2021 Innovator Award Nominee in The Emerging Innovation/Early Career Innovator of the Year Award!
UCI Beall Applied Innovation, with generous support from Don and Ken Beall, created the annual UCI Innovator Awards to recognize UCI researchers working actively to promote commercialization of university intellectual property, which supports industry growth and moves inventions from the lab to market to benefit humankind.
Join us on October 19 from 1-2 p.m. PT to hear who amongst the many talented nominees will take home awards.

The Emerging Innovation/Early Career Innovator of the Year Award

Anand Ganesan, M.D. Ph.D.
Professor
School of Medicine

Han Li, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Henry Samueli School of Engineering

Iryna Zenyuk, Ph. D.
Associate Professor
Henry Samueli School of Engineering

Click here to view the full award list on the UCI Beall Applied Innovation website.

Gratton Receives Award for Pioneering Work

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The International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE) recognized ENRICO GRATTON with the 2021 Britton Chance Biomedical Optics Award at the SPIE Photonics West virtual conference. The award cited Gratton’s significant contributions to biophotonics – the science of producing and utilizing photons or light to image, identify and engineer biological materials. SPIE specifically noted his development of innovative ultrafast optical imaging and spectroscopy methods and their integration into microfluidic platforms.

This award was “a great honor” for Gratton who considers Chance, for whom the award was named, a “great friend.” In his conference presentation, Gratton shared his experiences meeting Chance, a National Academy of Sciences member and Olympic gold medalist in sailing who died in 2010, and doing research together.

Gratton is a professor of biomedical engineering and principal investigator for UCI’s Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics. A pioneer in the field of biomedical optics, Gratton’s achievements include development of the following technologies: multifrequency phase fluorometry, pulsed-source methods for frequency-domain fluorescence spectroscopy, generalized polarization to study cell membranes, spectral fluorescence lifetime measurements for cell physiology, photo-density waves, quantitative tissue oximetry with near-infrared spectroscopy and optical brain imaging.

During his more than 40-year career, Gratton has disseminated his work to researchers worldwide, trained younger scientists and interfaced successfully with industry. Under his guidance, more than 50 students have earned doctorates, with most currently occupying critical roles in academia and research institutions.

Read full article in UCI Department of Biomedical Engineering Discovery magazine.

Berns Recognized for Biomedical Optics Contributions

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MICHAEL BERNS, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of biomedical engineering with a joint appointment in developmental and cell biology, and co-founder and founding director of UCI Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in the United Kingdom.

Berns was invited to join the society based on his extensive biomedical optics contributions in the fields of biology and medicine. “I am truly honored to be invited to join the Royal Society, especially because it’s the same society that has honored so many elite luminaries of the past,” said Berns.

The mission of the organization is to advance health, through education and innovation. Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society of Medicine are elected for life through a peer review process membership and governance. Famous Fellows include Charles Darwin, Louis Pasteur,
Edward Jenner and Sigmund Freud. Elected Fellows of the British Royal Society of Medicine are comparable to members of the National Academy of Medicine in the United States.

Click here to read UCI Department of Biomedical Engineering Discovery magazine.