Jennifer Barton
Director, BIO5 Institute
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Professor of Biosystems Engineering
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Professor of Medical Imaging
Professor of Optical Sciences
Professor, BIO5 Institute
Jennifer Barton received the BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and University of California Irvine, respectively. She worked for McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) on the Space Station program before returning to The University of Texas at Austin to obtain the Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in 1998. She is currently Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Optical Sciences, and Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering at the University of Arizona. She has served as department head of Biomedical Engineering, Associate Vice President for Research, Interim Vice President for Research, and is currently Interim Director of the BIO5 Institute, a collaborative research institute dedicated to solving complex biology-based problems affecting humanity.
Barton develops miniature endoscopes that combine multiple optical imaging techniques, particularly optical coherence tomography and fluorescence spectroscopy. She evaluates the suitability of these endoscopic techniques for detecting early cancer development in patients and pre-clinical models. Additionally, her research into light-tissue interaction and dynamic optical properties of blood laid the groundwork for a novel therapeutic laser to treat disorders of the skin’s blood vessels. She has published over 90 peer-reviewed journal papers in these research areas. She is a fellow of SPIE- the International Optics Society, and a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.