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Irene Georgakoudi (born 7 June 1971) is a Greek biophysicist and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University, where her work focuses on developing non-invasive medical imaging techniques based on optical spectroscopy for applications in medical diagnostics and therapeutics.

Early life and education

Georgakoudi was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. She moved to the United States in 1989, obtaining a magna cum laude Bachelor's degree in physics at Dartmouth College in 1993. She completed her master's degree in biophysics at the University of Rochester in 1996.

She stayed at Rochester for her doctoral studies, investigating photodynamic therapy in Professor Tom Foster's group and completing her thesis in 1999.

Georgakoudi was awarded several university prizes and grants during her doctoral studies, including the Graduate Alumni Fellowship, Agnes M and George Messersmith Fellowship, and the William F Neuman Award in Biophysics. She also received the Graduate Student Society Leadership Award in 1997 for her involvement in the University of Rochester's Graduate Student Society.

Research and career

Georgakoudi's research career has focused on developing new optical spectroscopy techniques for applications in medical imaging and the detection and treatment of different diseases.

She joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral fellow in 1999, where her research studied how fluorescence spectroscopy could improve early cancer diagnosis as an imaging tool for observing changes in cell growth. In 2003, she moved to the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School where she received the Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award for her work.

In 2004, she joined Tufts University, where she is now Professor of Biomedical Engineering. Her current research uses developing optical techniques to image human tissue, providing non-invasive ways to monitor changes in cellular metabolism and diagnose diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders.

Awards and honours

• Fellow of the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE), 2020
• Fellow of the Optical Society of America, 2016
• Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, 2015
• NSF Career Award for Non-invasive modalities for optical imaging of cell-matrix interactions in engineered tissues, 2006-2011
• Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 2004

References

1. ^ Georgakoudi, Irene (1999). PhD Thesis: Effects of photosensitizer bleaching and localization on photodynamic oxygen consumption and dosimetry (PDF). University of Rochester. pp. iii–iv.
2. "Irene Georgakoudi | Women in Optics | SPIE". spie.org. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
3. "The biophysicist who tries to make cancer detection a lot easier". Ellines.com. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
4. Georgakoudi, Irene; Nichols, Michael G.; Foster, Thomas H. (1997). "The Mechanism of Photofrin Photobleaching and Its Consequences for Photodynamic Dosimetry". Photochemistry and Photobiology. 65 (1): 135–144. doi:10.1111/j.1751-1097.1997.tb01889.x. ISSN 1751-1097. PMID 9066293. S2CID 1253620.
5. "William F. Neuman and Margaret W. Neuman Scholarship Fund in Biophysics and Environmental Medicine - Awards - Biochemistry & Biophysics - University of Rochester Medical Center". www.urmc.rochester.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
6. ^ "Irene Georgakoudi". Department of Biomedical Engineering. 2019-08-21. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
7. Georgakoudi, Irene; Sheets, Ellen E.; Müller, Markus G.; Backman, Vadim; Crum, Christopher P.; Badizadegan, Kamran; Dasari, Ramachandra R.; Feld, Michael S. (2002-03-01). "Trimodal spectroscopy for the detection and characterization of cervical precancers in vivo". American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 186 (3): 374–382. doi:10.1067/mob.2002.121075. ISSN 0002-9378. PMID 11904594.
8. Georgakoudi, Irene; Jacobson, Brian C.; Müller, Markus G.; Sheets, Ellen E.; Badizadegan, Kamran; Carr-Locke, David L.; Crum, Christopher P.; Boone, Charles W.; Dasari, Ramachandra R.; Dam, Jacques Van; Feld, Michael S. (2002-02-01). "NAD(P)H and Collagen as in Vivo Quantitative Fluorescent Biomarkers of Epithelial Precancerous Changes". Cancer Research. 62 (3): 682–687. ISSN 0008-5472. PMID 11830520.
9. "Photonics Distinguished Seminar: Professor Irene Georgiakoudi" (PDF). Boston University Photonics Center. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
10. Georgakoudi, Irene; Feld, Michael S (2004-07-01). "The combined use of fluorescence, reflectance, and light-scattering spectroscopy for evaluating dysplasia in Barrett's esophagus". Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Clinics of North America. Optical Biopsy. 14 (3): 519–537. doi:10.1016/j.giec.2004.03.008. ISSN 1052-5157. PMID 15261200.
11. "Label-free fluorescence microscopy offers early cancer detection". Physics World. 2020-06-25. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
12. "Cancer metabolic pathway identified as target for therapy: Researchers identify a". ScienceDaily. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
13. "Spotting Cancer at the Molecular Level". Cancer Research from Technology Networks. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
14. ""Biopsy Without a Knife": A New Cancer Imaging Technique". BioSpace. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
15. "2016 OSA Fellows". Optical Society of America. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
16. "Fellow Directory - AIMBE". Retrieved 2021-01-07.
17. "NSF Award Search: Award#0547292 - CAREER: Non-invasive modalities for optical imaging of cell-matrix interactions in engineered tissues". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-07.
18. "Past Recipients of the Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award". ecor.mgh.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-07.

• Living people
• Women in optics
• 21st-century women scientists
• Fellows of Optica (society)
• Fellows of SPIE
• University of Rochester alumni
• 21st-century Greek physicists
• 1971 births
• Tufts University faculty
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
• Dartmouth College alumni
• Scientists from Thessaloniki