IGERT Story
Insana and Cunningham chosen as IEEE Fellows
Description
Two University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign IGERT CMMB faculty have been named Fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Professor Brian Cunningham was recognized by IEEE for contributions to photonics crystal-based biosensors and detection instrumentation. Professor Michael Insana is being recognized for contributions to ultrasound imaging methods, particularly elastography.
At the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, Cunningham heads the Nano Sensors Group—a highly interdisciplinary team, with expertise in the areas of microfabrication, nanotechnology, computer simulation, instrumentation, molecular biology and cell biology. In particular, his team is working on biosensors based upon photonic crystal concepts that can either be built from low-cost flexible plastic materials or integrated with semiconductor-based active devices, such as light sources and photodetectors, for high performance integrated detection systems. In June 2000, Cunningham founded SRU Biosystems with the goal of making biosensors and detection systems to be used in pharmaceutical research and diagnostic tests.
Insana is a professor and head of the Department of Bioengineering and a faculty affiliate of the Beckman Institute and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, His research includes the fundamentals of imaging system design and performance evaluation, signal processing, detection and estimation. Insana’s team is developing applications for imaging the elasticity of breast tissue, a diagnostic technique that will allow noninvasive visualization of soft tissue stiffness. His research has applications to improve the detection and treatment of breast cancer, vascular disease and kidney disease.
Visit the Engineering at Illinois Web site for the full story.
