Graduate Student - Ph.D.

Chemistry

Duke University (Durham, NC)

Warren S. Warren

I am investigating the two-photon absorption of melanin and hemoglobin and applying it to nonlinear microscopy of tissue, with applications in melanoma diagnosis.

Multiphoton scanning laser microscopy has become a powerful tool for imaging biomedical samples. It provides inherent optical sectioning, even in highly scattering media such as tissue, with resolution sufficient to examine intracellular detail because nonlinear signals can be highly localized. I am investigating sources of intrinsic contrast in tissue, allowing in vivo diagnosis without relying on exogenous contrast agents. Melanins are ubiquitous skin pigments, and their chemical type and distribution reflects the metabolism and behavior of melanocytes. I am developing multiphoton signatures which can discriminate between the two dominant forms of melanin in tissue (eumelanin and pheomelanin). Imaging the distribution of eumelanin and pheomelanin in pigmented skin lesions revealed a chemical change between dysplastic, non malignant nevi and malignant melanoma.

2010 APS Division of Laser Science Travel Grant Awardee

2010 Incubic/Milton Chang Travel Grant Awardee

2010 Emil Wolf Oustanding Student Paper award (FiO, 2010)

2010 First place, poster contest, Fitzpatrick Institute of Photonics Annual Meeting

2005 Charles. E. Braun Award in chemistry

2004 Merck Index Award for outstanding junior in chemistry

2003 Donald C. Gregg Award for performance in organic chemistry