Bruce J. Tromberg

Bruce Jason Tromberg is an American photochemist and a leading researcher in the field of biophotonics. He is the director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Before joining NIH, he was Professor of Biomedical Engineering at The Henry Samueli School of Engineering and of Surgery at the School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine. He was the principal investigator of the Laser Microbeam and Medical Program (LAMMP), and the Director of the Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic at Irvine. He was a co-leader of the Onco-imaging and Biotechnology Program of the NCI Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at Irvine.

Tromberg is actively engaged in translational research, developing biophotonics technologies while working closely with clinicians and patients to explore their possible clinical application in areas such as breast cancer, heart disease and obesity. He is considered "a pioneer in biophotonics through the continuous development of advanced technologies in diffuse optical spectroscopy and multi-modal imaging."

Education Tromberg received a B.A., in Chemistry from Vanderbilt University in 1979, and a M.S.(1983) and Ph.D.(1988) in Chemistry, working with Tuan Vo-Dinh at the University of Tennessee. He has published more than 400 publications and holds at least 17 patents.

As of 2011, Tromberg was one of the ten top researchers to be funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the field of optical coherence tomography (OCT). Tromberg is principal investigator of The Laser Microbeam and Medical Program (LAMMP) at the Beckman Laser Institute (BLI), which received funding as a NIH Biomedical Technology Resource Center as part of a multi-year program beginning in 1997. He has chaired NIH workshops on imaging related topics and has been on the advisory council on optical technologies for the US Public Health Service.

Tromberg has been a member of the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) Publications Committee for a number of years. He became a member of the editorial board of SPIE's Journal of Biomedical Optics when it was founded in 1996, and served as its editor-in-chief from 1999 to 2010. He also served as an editor of the journal Optical Engineering. He served on the SPIE Board of Directors from 2003 to 2006.

Tromberg is a fellow of the Optical Society of America (OSA), and has served as a co-chair at OSA meetings related to biomedical optics. He has been active both as a contributor to and a guest editor of the journals Applied Optics and Lasers in Medicine and Surgery.

Tromberg was selected as director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on September 6, 2018, and sworn in on January 7, 2019.

Research Tromberg has used non-linear optical microscopy for high resolution functional mapping of physiological processes in living cells and tissues, and ultrafast laser techniques for the multi-dimensional visualization of cell and tissue physiology. He is a specialist in the interaction of laser radiation with tissue, and has developed diagnostic techniques to analyze the effects of laser energy on tissue. Tromberg has been the principal investigator on a number of major projects relating to breast cancer, which have been supported by the National Institutes of Health the U.S. Army, the California Breast Cancer Research Program, and the National Science Foundation, among others.

Tromberg and others in his laboratory have developed new methods for broadband diffuse optical spectroscopy (DOS) including diffuse optical spectroscopic imaging (DOSI);

SFDI is similar, using near infrared light to detect and measure oxygen saturation, water, and fat content. The information is used to describe tissue at multiple depths, to map an entire area such as a tumor, and to monitor changes.

Publications His publications include peer-reviewed papers, conference papers, book chapters, and patents. Among his most important papers are:

Awards and honors 2016, Fellow Member of the Optical Society of America (OSA) 2015, Michael S. Feld Biophotonics Award, OSA 2006, Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) 2004, U.S. Co-Chair, Gordon Research Conference on Lasers in Biology and Medicine 2001, OE Magazine Technology Innovator Award 2000, Coherent Biophotonics Young Investigator Award 1987, R&D 100 Award, for dissertation research on antibody-based fiber optic sensors