New UCF Lab Focuses on Healing Power of Light

Physicians and scientists will work side by side in a new UCF research lab to advance light-based technologies that can prevent, detect and treat disease.

Scientists from the university’s world-renowned College of Optics and Photonics (CREOL) and physicians and biomedical scientists from the College of Medicine commemorated the opening of the new lab Friday at the College of Medicine’s Burnett Biomedical Sciences building in Lake Nona.

They were joined by Bruce Tromberg, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at the National Institutes of Health. He leads a national research team focused on developing technologies for biomedical imaging and therapy to improve health.

“These technologies will allow physicians see how the body works in real time — with noninvasive procedures for patients,” says Deborah German, UCF vice president for health affairs and dean of the College of Medicine. “Working together, we can create advanced technologies that will provide better care to all of us.”

David Hagan, CREOL dean, said the lab’s location in Medical City will provide opportunities for biophotonics researchers to learn from clinicians.

“No matter how smart you are in biophotonics, you don’t know what’s happening inside the body,” he says. “The real trick is getting doctors talking to scientists, When that happens we can push the boundaries of what light can do for health.”

UCF medical and biophotonics experts are already working on several important research projects, including:
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