Biophotonics – Program Director: Joseph Izatt. The excellent resources in biophotonics currently existing at FIP can be integrated to develop a comprehensive, bottom-up approach toward non-invasive, early detection of disease where scientific and technological advances made at one level are incorporated into and drive the work at the next stage. Optical coherence imaging techniques such as optical coherence tomography and phase-resolved microscopy provide powerful non-invasive modalities for real-time, micrometer-scale cross-sectional tissue imaging and ultrasensitive detection of cellular dynamics in vivo with microscopic scale resolution. Diffuse optical tomography for measurements of hemodynamics and fluorescence and Raman techniques for spectroscopic diagnosis of disease, are important photonic modalities ready for translational research. We will extend our in vivo studies using fluorescence and Raman from the point-detection modality into a multispectral imaging modality. An important goal of our clinically motivated research program is to create a multi-modality platform, whereby in vivo optical detection provides a complementary means to improve early detection and guidance for disease treatment.We will also investigate the use of novel molecular probes (nanoparticles, quantum dots, and plasmonics probes) as photonics contrast agents and molecular reporters of cellular events. We will investigate the development of molecular probes with multifunctional detection capabilities (OCT, diffuse scattering, fluorescence, and Raman). By "multiplexing" these different photonics modalities, we will develop a novel type of hybrid biomedical system capable of detecting both chemical/molecular and morphological properties of tissue in vivo, which is not possible to conceive using only a single type of detection.With a special focus on translational research, we will establish interdisciplinary collaborations with clinical investigators and draw upon various resources at Duke.

Nanophotonics – Program Director: Kam Leong. Today, the amount of research in biomedical science and engineering at the molecular level is growing exponentially because of the availability of new investigative nanotools.These new analytical tools are capable of probing the nanometer world and will make it possible to characterize the chemical and mechanical properties of cells, discover novel phenomena and processes, and provide science with a wide range of tools, materials, devices and systems with unique characteristics. Using nanobiosensors, we can probe individual chemical species in specific locations throughout a living cell. Tracking biochemical processes within intracellular environments can be performed in vivo with the use of fluorescent molecular probes and nanosensors for molecular medicine applications. With powerful microscopic tools using near-field optics, we can explore the biochemical processes and sub-microscopic structures of living cells at unprecedented resolutions. There is a critical need for the development of new technologies that can determine in real time the earliest signs of disease at the cellular level, and also allow treatment of disease in a seamless fashion.In a research area involving close collaboration with the BME Bioengineering Initiative, we will develop photonics imaging labels for nanocarriers to be used in targeted delivery of drugs that have their shells conjugated with antibodies for targeting antigens and fluorescent chromophores for in vivo tracking.

Nano & Micro Integrated Systems - Program Director: Nan Jokerst. The intersection of nano-info-bio-opto technologies into integrated systems will impact many application areas, including medical research and diagnostic systems. Small, low-cost, low-power medical devices are essential for improving health care delivery, screening multiple medical diseases at the point-of-care, and detecting infectious pathogens associated with pandemic illnesses in global health applications. Biosensors and biochips provide critical diagnostic devices that employ the powerful molecular recognition capability of bioreceptors such as antibodies, DNA, enzymes and cellular components of living systems. The intersection of biological "wet" materials and traditional photonic "hard" materials through heterogeneous optoelectronic integration is an emerging area with applications including sensing.These technologies will build upon multi-material, ultra mixed signal embedded optoelectronic functionality (sensing, interconnection) in high-density interconnection substrates, 3-D electrical and optical integration of Si circuits for massively parallel processing and interconnect, and fiber optic interconnect, and will lead to the development of a host of photonics technology with wide-ranging applications in telecommunications, environmental sensing, medical diagnostics and global health applications.We will explore the capabilities of Digital Biochemistry, which combines nanometer-scale devices and materials, such as metal and carbon nanoparticles, with molecular-recognition systems and optical, mechanical or electronic transduction platforms to produce high-throughput, high sensitivity and high temporal, spatial and spectral resolution biochemical sensors. At the physician's office, integrated complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) biochip systems offer several advantages in small size, high performance, rapid analysis capabilities, and low cost because of their integrated electro-optics sensing microchip.

Quantum Optics and Information Photonics - Program Director: Daniel Gauthier. In this program we have made the strategic decision to focus our activities on the cutting-edge research area in quantum information that could address the critical challenges enabling secure medical data transmission for next-generation health care delivery. We anticipate that quantum effects will be merged with standard communication systems in the next decade.Medical data transmission from patients's home, points of care or remote locations will benefit greatly from advances in quantum informationresearch at FIP. For example, the development of photon entanglement techniques could provide key disruptive technologies that will allow secure transmission of diagnostic data and timely delivery of therapeutic agents to treat chronic diseases in interactive personalized medicine.A possible strategy in further developing the program in quantum information is to team-up with Physics and search for senior researchers who have expertise in advanced technologies such as atoms confined in high-Q cavities or photon entanglement using parametric down conversion.AFIP faculty is already focusing his work on this area, where he is investigating ways to make sources and detectors that are compact and can be mated with existing telecommunication hardware. Future focus will be devoted to large-scale implementation of these emerging technologies. We are also investigating advanced techniques to determine the velocity of information on optical pulses by creating pulses of light that travel very fast (much faster than c) or very slow (much slower than c) and measuring information encoded on them.FIP has an important opportunity to lead in the development and application of next-generation communication technologies that meet the confidentiality requirement of both providers and patients and radically transform the structure of patient-centered medicine and global health delivery.

Advanced Photonics Systems and Materials – Advanced Photonics Program Director: William (Monty) Reichertand Photonic Materials Program Director: David R. Smith. An important aspect of the Institute's research programs is its "systems-oriented" focus on real-world applications. Critical to these applications programs, the Institute pursues basic and applied research in a systems focus. The Advanced Photonics Systems and Materials program comprises several important research activities related to the development and implementation of systems and new materials with important and unique value to photonics: development of AlGaAs-InAs high electron mobility transistors, AlGaN UV emmitters, and integrated InP-based heterojunction bipolar transistors; investigation of MOS dielectrics materials, and generation of static and dynamic MOS integrated circuits; development of system-level test methods for mixed-signal and RF circuits, computer-aided-analysis of high-level and transistor-level circuits, and device modeling; translational research on third-generation liquid crystal on silicon digital projection light systems; application of virtual reality for there-dimensional data interface with potential applications in telemedicine; design and testing of system-on-chip integrated circuits, distributed sensor networks, dynamic power management and fault tolerance in real-time embedded systems, design automation techniques for microfluidics-based biochips, and chip cooling using droplet-based microfluidics.

Novel Spectroscopies – Program Director: Warren Warren. The Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics is actively developing novel spectroscopic tools and techniques for application across the fields of chemistry, physics, engineering and medicine.  At one end of the spectrum lies "hard science" research such as use of ultrafast laser spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance to alter dynamics, use of nanosecond time-resolved techniques to examine the sub-molecular dynamics of polymers, and fundamental studies of photoexcited states.  At the other is applied research using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy and fluorescence to probe gene expression in single cells, low-coherence interferometry to examine cancer-related changes in cell structure, and high-resolution optical coherence tomography for medical imaging and tissue characterization.

Systems Modeling Techniques Theory & Data Treatment – Program Director: Weitao Yang. Advanced photonic techniques using ultrafast lasers, multi-photon, time-resolved and phase-resolved detection techniques, polarization and lifetime measurements further extend the usefulness of molecular and cell-based assays. Another important advance in photonic technologies is the development of advanced imaging systems that have the combined capability of high-resolution, high-throughput and multi-spectral detection of optical reporters. Near-field spectroscopies provide important tools to investigate and develop new classes of molecular and cellular labels based on inorganic fluorophors, second-generation quantum dots, and plasmonics nanoprobes. Single-molecule detection techniques using various photonics modalities provide the ultimate tools to elucidate cellular processes at the molecular level. Another area of research focus involves novel photonics platforms for ultra-high throughput assays and diagnostics and therapy in personalized medicine. A new research area involves the so-called "Terahertz (THz) gap", which refers to the region of the electromagnetic spectrum that lies between microwave and infrared wavelengths. Due to the difficulties involved in making reliable THz sources and detectors, the terahertz frequency range still remains one of the least explored regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. However, this regime is rich with possibilities in spectroscopy and imaging. We will also form a team of theoretical investigators in systems modeling and medical data treatment, who will be developing the much needed mathematical models for deep tissue imaging and image construction.Other important theoretical areas involve bioinformatics, biomolecular computing, and theoretical modeling of self assembly of DNA nanostructures and photonic nanosystems.