My research interests are mainly focused on development and validation of non-invasive, cellular and sub-cellular resolution imaging methods for disease diagnosis and life science research. In Bouma/Tearney lab at MGH and HMS, I have developed and established a new generation of OCT technology termed micro-Optical Coherence Tomography (µOCT). µOCT provides a spatial resolution that is more than one magnitude higher than the standard OCT technology. This improved resolution of µOCT enables visualization of human tissue microstructures at the sub-cellular level ex vivo, and makes it possible to visualize the cellular and subcellular anatomy and dynamic processes in diseases like cancer and coronary artery diseases in vivo at a scale comparable to histopathology. Together with Dr Gary J Tearney and Dr Steven M Rowe, I have also developed a µOCT-based imaging assay for investigating mucociliary clearance in Cystic Fibrosis, COPD, Asthma and other obstructive pulmonary airway diseases, which enables simultaneous measurement of important anatomic parameters required for assessing mucociliary clearance under natural conditions, including airway surface liquid and periciliary liquid depth, ciliary beat frequency, ciliary beat pattern, mucus transport rate, mucus rheology, and mucus extrusion from the gland. My other research activities include study of leukocyte chemotaxis and motile cilia activities using optical microscopy
