Illuminating Biomarkers of Stroke with Diffuse Optical Spectroscopies

Erin Buckley, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech & Emory University
Department of Pediatrics, Emory University
 

ABSTRACT
Our research group specializes in the development and application of diffuse optical spectroscopies to study the brain. These non-invasive, light-based tools enable real-time bedside monitoring of microvascular hemodynamics.  In this seminar, I will focus on our recent work that uses these tools to identify biomarkers of stroke risk in two high-risk patient populations; subarachnoid hemorrhage and pediatric sickle cell disease. Moreover, I will talk about how we have advanced the techniques to account for the confounding influences of hematocrit in the sickle cell cohort.
 

BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Buckley received her Ph.D. in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pennsylvania in 2011 under the supervision of Dr. Arjun Yodh. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Neurology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with Dr. Daniel Licht, followed by a second postdoc at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Department of Radiology with Maria Angela Franceschini, funded by the MGH Fund for Medical Discovery. Her research has focused on the use of two complementary, non-invasive optical techniques, namely diffuse correlation spectroscopy and near-infrared spectroscopy, for quantification of cerebral blood flow, oxygenation, blood volume, and oxygen metabolism. In addition to developing and validating these techniques, her main goal has been to investigate unique clinical applications in pediatric cohorts using both clinical subjects as well as animal models.