Since joining in Dr. Yu's lab at 2008, I have been attracted to the fantastic features of near-infrared light that allows for non-invasive monitoring of blood flow and oxygenation in deep tissue. My career goal is to become an independent researcher and leader in the field of bio-photonics, particularly in developing diffuse optical technologies for the quantification of cerebral hemodynamics and its relationship with neurovascular diseases such as stroke.

I got my bachelor degree of Biomedical Engineering at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China in 2008. I am currently a Ph.D. student and my research interest is to quantify cerebral blood flow and oxygenation using near-infrared diffuse optical spectroscopy.

Katelyn Gurley is a Lexington native, and received her bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Kentucky in May of 2010.  She continued graduate studies at the University of Kentucky in biomedical engineering, and plans to obtain her master of science degree in 2012.  Research interests include bio-photonics, with particular focus on applications to skeletal muscle physiology and disease treatment.

The biomedical optical lab is really the place where I can study in my interested field of research with the most advanced equipments. My research topic is the noninvasive diagnosis of breast tumors using near-infrared diffuse optical spectroscopy and tomography.

I have dedicated 8 years to the research on functional near-infrared spectroscopy/ tomography & Light propagation in biological tissue, first in National Lab for Optoelectronics in Wuhan in China, then in Steven L. Jacques' lab in Portland, Oregon. Now, I am working at Dr. Yu's lab to study near-infrared diffuse correlation spectroscopy. I am willing to get near-infrared light into our lives, for monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment.