Advanced Spectroscopy Laboratory

Student

Christopher Marble

cmarble112@tamu.edu

Christopher Marble is a third-year PhD student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) fellow. He earned his M.S. in Physics from Texas A&M University in 2018. He graduated Tarleton State University with a B.S. in Physics and a B.S. in Mathematics in 2016. His interests include nonlinear optical effects, harmonic generation, super continuum generation and Raman spectroscopy. He previously conducted research on femtosecond pulse propagation and bioeffects of femtosecond laser pulses with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory as a Consortium Research Fellowship Program fellow

Eddie M. Gil

averageed@tamu.edu

Eddie Gil is a Ph.D. student majoring in Biomedical Engineering. He earned a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University. He is interested in applying neural networks to problems in Computer Aided Diagnostics.  He is also interested in understanding how these networks arrive at their decisions and what properties of networks lead to better performance. His previous work includes research performed to segment retinal laser lesions in fundus images, and randomly generated neural networks for estimating tissue optical properties.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/eddie-gil-88450710a

Mark Keppler

Graduate Student

mkeppler@tamu.edu

Mark Keppler is a PhD candidate at Texas A&M University in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship. He graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University with a BS in biomedical engineering and a minor in mathematics. Since then, he has been working closely with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Bioeffects Division to further our understanding of optical-tissue interactions. Mr. Keppler’s research primarily focuses on developing optical systems aimed at breaking modern detection limits through the implementation of compressed sensing techniques.

Joshua Lalonde

jlalonde@tamu.edu

Josh is a Ph.D. candidate who is interested in using optics to gain more insight into neurological issues found in the population. Before coming to Texas A&M, he received his B.S. in Engineering from Trinity University as well as worked at an epilepsy lab at Baylor College of Medicine. He is interested in the fundamental science behind neurological problems and coming up with ways to view the underlying issues causing the.problems By doing this, he hopes this greater understand of underlying issues will aid researchers in coming up with novel solutions to help people suffering from various neurological problems.

Maria Troyanova-Wood

Graduate Student

maria.t.wood@tamu.edu

My primary focus is applying Brillouin elastography – a noninvasive, stiffness-specific spectroscopic technique for differentiation of melanoma from benign pigmented skin lesions. I envision this optical methodology being used in the future in both clinical setting to diagnose disease, as well as in a laboratory to evaluate the cancerous cells’ response to treatment.

Jace Willis

Jace Willis is a first-year PhD student working under the advisement of Dr. Yakovlev in the Biomedical Engineering Department. His research goals are focused on investigating matters of technological interface with the brain via properly sending and receiving information with minimal invasiveness. He is currently a HEEP Fellow collaborating with visiting scholar and Hagler Fellow Dr. Vanderlei S. Bagnato. His research efforts are currently focused on determining neuron culture network signaling changes following induced oxidative stress via photo-dynamic therapy, followed by attempted recovery of the network activity and patterns.

Interests include optogenetics, brain-machine interface technologies, and deep-tissue imaging.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacewillis/

Sean P. O’Connor

sean_occonnor@tamu.edu

Sean Patrick O’Connor’s research interests are in nonlinear optics, nonlinear spectroscopy, biomedical imaging, and photobiomodulation. He is currently researching Impulsive Stimulated Brillouin Spectroscopy (ISBS) which assesses the viscoelastic properties of materials with shorter acquisition times than spontaneous Brillouin scattering. His goal is to push the spatial resolution of ISBS to cellular and subcellular imaging limits and observe real time changes in the viscoelastic properties of cells and biomaterials.