Microscopy, Histopathology and Analytics

07 April 2024 – 10 April 2024 | Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA

Provides a forum for presenting the latest research in novel microscopy devices and methods, machine learning, computational analysis, laboratory-based analytics and fluidics and preclinical, translational and industrial biophotonics, along with the challenges of commercializing, translating and advancing laboratory developments into the market and clinic.

Topic Categories
 

Microscopy, Histopathology and Analytics (Microscopy)
 

1. Novel Technology, Devices, Methods, Models 
   • Miniaturized devices 
   • Endoscopic devices 
   • Computational microscopy
   • Super-resolution microscopy
   • Mobile phone-based microscopy
   • Wearable microscopy
   • Multimodal microscopy
   • Multispectral and hyperspectral microscopy
   • Mutiplexed and hyperplexed imaging
   • Molecular imaging
   • Raman microscopy
   • Phase microscopy
   • Light-sheet microscopy
   • Label-free imaging
   • Fluorescence lifetime imaging
   • Photoacoustic imaging
   • Low-cost microscopy for global health settings
2. Computational Tools / Machine Learning / Deep Learning / AI
   • Image denoising, restoration and resolution enhancement
   • Image segmentation and tracking (2D, 3D and 4D)
   • Image translation and generation (e.g., Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), Diffusion Models)
   • Content based image retrieval
   • Diagnostic, prognostic and predictive classification algorithms
   • Multimodal deep learning and fusion of multi-modal data
   • Smart microscopy methods (e.g., closed-loop alignment)
   • Data visualization/rendering, mosaicing, annotation and augmentation
   • Digital staining, digital rendering
   • Handling large and multi-dimensional data (e.g., compression, cloud computing)
   • Data anonymization and federated learning
   • FAIR data and analysis solutions
   • User-friendly open-source tools
   • Clinical testing and impact of AI models
3. Laboratory-based, Pre-clinical, Translational and Commercial Biophotonics   
   • Diagnostic, theranostic and therapy methods
   • Quantitative approaches for pathology
   • Contrast agents, reporters, probes, molecules
   • Probe delivery and labeling methods
   • Drug delivery and measurement methods
   • Optical clearing methods
   • Tissue expansion microscopy
   • In situ hybridization, spatial transcriptomics, preservation of nucleic acids
   • Optical microscopy of organoids and engineered tissues
   • Immunological studies (tumor microenvironment, inflammation, wound healing)
   • Animal intravital microscopy
   • Human intravital microscopy
   • Bedside imaging — in vivo, ex vivo methods
   • Ex vivo digital / computational pathology
   • Translational challenges: From lab to the clinic

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Committee Members

• Nada Boustany, Rutgers University, United States, Chair
• Milind Rajadhyaksha, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, United States, Chair
• DongKyun Kang, Univ of Arizona, Coll of Opt Sciences, United States, Program Chair
• Yang Liu, Univ of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States, Program Chair
• Inga Saknite, University of Latvia, Latvia, Program Chair
• Mihaela Balu, UC Irvine Beckman Laser Institute, United States
• Margarida Barroso, Albany Medical College, United States
• Shwetadwip Chowdhury, University of Texas at Austin, United States
• David Dickensheets, Montana State University, United States
• Kevin Eliceiri, University of Wisconsin, United States
• David Entenberg, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, United States
• Nicusor Iftimia, Physical Sciences Inc., United States
• Kivanc Kose, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, United States
• Faisal Mahmood, Harvard University, United States
• Boris Majaron, Jozef Stefan Institute, Slovenia
• Jessica Ramella-Roman, Florida International University, United States
• Lei Tian, Boston University, United States
• Eric Tkaczyk, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, United States
• Gracie Vargas, University of Texas Medical Branch, United States
• Hequn Wang, L'Oreal, United States
• Wolfgang Weninger, Medizinische Universität Wien
• Graham Wright, A*STAR RESEARCH ENTITIES, Singapore
• Eric Yang, Stanford University, United States
• Anna Yaroslavsky, University of Massachusetts Lowell, United States

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Plenary Speakers
 

Dr. Irina Larina

Baylor College of Medicine, USA
Dynamic OCT for In Vivo Investigation of the Fallopian Tube Physiology: Eggs, Sperm and Cilia

Sarah Bohndiek

University of Cambridge, UK
Harnessing the Power of Spectroscopy in Early Cancer Detection

Gerwin Puppels

Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands
Raman Spectroscopy: Translation to the Clinic

Samuel Achilefu

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW), USA

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Invited Speakers

• Ahmed Abdulkadir, Zhaw University, Switzerland
  Integration of AI in Clinical Practice: Trustworthy Automation in Disease Marker Quantification  
   
• Seham Ebrahim, University of Virginia, United States
   
• Rekha Gautam, Tyndall National Institute, Ireland
  Characterization of Subsurface Molecular Changes in Bone through Raman Spectroscopy  
   
• Ki Hean Kim, Pohang Univ of Science & Technology, Republic Of Korea
  Optical Microscopy for Non-Invasive Examination of Conjunctival Goblet Cells in Human  
   
• Tyson Kim, University of California San Francisco, United States
  Transscleral Multiphoton Imaging, Flowmetry, and Laser Therapy  
   
• Salvatore La Cavera III, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
  Listening for Cancer at the Sub-Cellular Level with GHz-Ultrasound  
   
• Charles Lin, Massachusetts General Hospital, United States
  In Vivo Flow Cytometry: From Bench to Bedside  
   
• Jonas Ogien, Damae Medical, France
  Line-Field Confocal OCT (LC-OCT) for Skin Imaging and Characterization: Technology Overview, Clinical Advances and Future Developments  
   
• Suzanne Ponik, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States
  Visualizing Dynamic Interactions Within the Tumor Microenvironment Using Label-Free Intravital Imaging  
   
• Aditi Sahu, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, United States
  Insights from Peering into the Tumor Microenvironment  
   
• Aggrey Semeere, Infectious Diseases Institute, Uganda
  'Leap-Frogging' Sub-Saharan Africa's Cancer Diagnosis Challenges with Innovation  
   
• Filiz Yesilkoy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States
   
• Sixian You, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States
  Real-Time Label-Free 3D Histopathology Driven by Optics and AI-Assisted Nonlinear Microscopy  
   
• Guoan Zheng, University of Connecticut, United States

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 Industry Sessions
 

Biophotonics Industry Keynote Speaker: Julia Eng

Photonics in Like Sciences: Connecting Laboratories, Instruments and Consumers with Innovative Solutions

Julie Sheridan Eng was named Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Coherent in 2022.  Prior to becoming CTO, Dr. Eng served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Coherent/II-VI’s Optoelectronic Devices and Modules Business Unit. Prior to joining II-VI through the II-VI acquisition of Finisar, Dr. Eng worked at Finisar, serving most recently as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Finisar’s 3D Sensing Business Unit, and prior to that, as Executive Vice President of Datacom Engineering.  Prior to joining Finisar, Dr. Eng was part of AT&T/Lucent/Agere, where she managed datacom transceivers.

Dr. Eng is a Past Chair of the IEEE Committee on Women in Engineering and presently serves on the Board of Directors of Optica. She holds a BA degree in Physics from Bryn Mawr College and a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).  She earned MS and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. In 2022, she was elected Fellow of Optica for distinguished contributions to the advancement of optics and photonics.
 

Exploring the Landscape of Biophotonics: Trends, Challenges, Collaborations and Future Prospects
 

Moderator
Caroline Boudoux, CEO, Castor Optics; Professor, Polytechnique Montreal and Author

Panelists

• Michael Choma, Yale University
• Jessie Weber, Medical and Mid-infrared at Coractive
• Yasaman Soudagar, Co-Founder Neurescence Inc., Bruker Corp.
• Graham Dempsey, Quiver Bioscience
• Adam Wax, Duke University
   

Industry Networking Event

Presenters: 

• Caroline Boudoux, CEO, Castor Optics, Professor, Polytechnique Montreal, Author
  It Goes without Saying: Taking the Guesswork Out of Your PhD in Engineering
   
• Ty Olmstead, Florida Photonics Cluster, USA
  Exploring Florida's Biophotonics Ecosystem: Insights from the Florida Photonics Cluster
   

Optical Sensing and Imaging in Healthcare: Perspectives and Future Directions
 

Moderator: Kathy Beaudette, Industry Co-Chair, Castor Optics

Panelists:  

• Michael Choma, Professor, Yale University of Medicine, Theranova

• Jessie Weber, Coractive
   

Optical Imaging in Drug Development
 

Moderator: Ewa Zarnowska, Industry Co-Chair, Coherent Corp.

Panelists:

• Graham Dempsey, Founder and CSO, Quiver Bioscience
• Yasaman Soudagar, Co-Founder Neurescence Inc., Bruker Corp.

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 Industry Events

 

Women in Optics Reception

Saturday, 06 April 19:00 - 20:00

Lona Cocina

This informal networking event brings together women in biomedical optics — to meet other women in the field and discuss challenges and opportunities. All are welcome, regardless of gender. Please join Chairs Christine Hendon, Jonathan Liu and members of the Optica Biophotonics Congress committee, and meet others attending this cutting-edge congress. Share your ideas to help ensure our community and this meeting is as welcoming and inclusive as possible.
 

The Role of Standardization in Biophotonics

Sunday, 07 April 12:15 - 13:15

You’re invited to join the Optica Technical Groups for a panel discussion that will raise awareness and emphasize standardization’s role in accelerating biophotonics technology development. You will have the chance to hear thoughts from diverse stakeholders in academia, industry, standardization, and funding bodies on ways we can further standardize the field and push forward the development of biophotonics technologies.

RSVP here for this technical group event to let us know you will attend.

Moderator

• Katarzyna Komolibus, Senior Researcher in Biophotonics, Tyndall National Institute
• Sanathana Konugolu Venkata Sekar, Senior Staff Researcher, Team Leader, Tyndall National Institute

Speakers

• Sarah Bohndiek, Professor of Biomedical Physics at the University of Cambridge, UK
• Turgut Durduran, Professor and Group Leader of Medical Optics Groups at ICFO, Spain 
• Caroline Boudoux, Professor of Engineering Physics at Polytechnique Monéal, CEO, Co-Founder of Castor Optics, Canada 
• Jennifer Lynch, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, USA 
• Tim Quang, Staff Scientist at the Section on Biomedical Optics at the National Institutes of Health, USA

Candid Conversations: Machine Learning for Biophotonic Applications with Kivanc Kose

Monday, 08 April 12:00 - 12:45

You are invited to join the Microscopy and OCT Technical Group for an informal discussion exploring the application of machine learning in biophotonics. The technical group has invited Dr. Kivanc Kose from the Optical Imaging Laboratory at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, an expert in image processing, image analysis, computer vision, computational methods, and machine learning, to chat with attendees. Dr. Kose will briefly introduce the topic, and then we will open the floor to questions.

RSVP here to join us for this candid conversation.

Moderator:  Aditi Sahu, Senior Research Scientist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA;NewYork

Speaker" Kivanc Kose, Senior Research Scientist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA;NewYork
 

Congress Reception

Monday, 08 April 18:30 - 20:00

Join your peers for the congress reception. Due to high winds, the Congress Reception has moved to the Atlantic Ballroom Foyer.

Maternal Health Panel

Tuesday, 09 April 16:00 - 17:00

The panel will tackle the complex challenges in maternal health, with a primary focus on implementing technical strategies to decrease maternal mortality rates. It will scrutinize various factors influencing maternal health outcomes, such as socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and geography. Additionally, the panel will delve into how technology and innovation can improve access to maternal health services, especially for marginalized or remote communities. Our objective is to pinpoint effective strategies and champion actionable solutions to expedite progress in maternal health, thus safeguarding the well-being of mothers and their infants across diverse regions and populations.

Moderator
Jessica Ramella-Roman, Florida International University

Speakers

• Christine O’Brien, Washington University in St Louis
• Latisha Barfield, Florida International University

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