Short Course 2026
Multiscale Biophotonics: A Platform for Interdisciplinary Research Training and Career Development, August 4th - August 14th 2026
This new annual series of Multiscale Biophotonics short courses builds on our previous Computational Biophotonics courses from 2013-2018. Expanding from a 5-day to an 11-day program, it offers comprehensive training in technical, operational, and professional skills for Biophotonics researchers. Trainees will receive technical and professional mentorship to achieve research and professional goals. The technical component of the course comprises lectures and technology demonstrations in biological microscopy, biophotonics simulation software, ex vivo optical property determination, speckle imaging, wide-field spectroscopic imaging, and diffuse optics. Hands-on labs provide operational skills training, while professional skills training focuses on team science to enhance the trainee’s ability to lead and work within multidisciplinary teams. Panel discussions support professional development, and technical and professional mentors will assist the trainees with a year-long problem-based learning project and provide career guidance.
Click here to submit an application to attend Domestic academic applicants selected to attend are eligible to receive an NIH fellowship that will cover transportation, lodging, and registration costs associated with attending the course.
VTS GUI Application
The GUI for the short course can be downloaded here
Resources
The Short Course Flyer can be found here
The complete Short Course Schedule can be found here
A list of Short Course References can be found here
The complete list of Short Course Videos and Lecture Materials will be accessible below after the event.
List of Short Course participants
Day 1 -- Tuesday, 4 August 2026
Multiscale Biophotonics Introduction
Lecture 1: Course Overview & Trainee Introductions, Prof. Vasan Venugopalan pdf » view online video
Lecture 2: Biophotonics Fundamentals, Prof. Vasan Venugopalan pdf » view online video
Technology Demonstration 1a: Introduction to the Virtual Tissue Simulator, Dr. Carole Hayakawa pdf
Technology Demonstration 1b: Introduction to the Mie Simulator GUI, Dr. Janaka Ranasinghesagara pdf
Laboratory A (Computation) Part 1: Tissue Absorption and Scattering Spectra pdf
Laboratory A (Computation) Part 2: Mie Scattering pdf
Evening Presentation: Student Trainee Introductions
Day 2 -- Wednesday, 5 August 2026
Biological Microscopy
Lecture 3: Optical Microscopy in Cells and Tissues, Prof. Eric Potma pdf » view online video
Lecture 4: Nonlinear Microscopy from the Ground Up, Prof. Fei Xia pdf » view online video
Technology Demonstration 2: Chemical Imaging and Laboratory for Fluorescence Dynamics Tours
Laboratory B (Computation): Analysis of Laser Scanning Microscopy Images
Day 3 -- Thursday, 6 August 2026
Team Science & Career Development
Career Development: Introduction to Scientific Publishing, Ms. Gwen Weerts pdf » view online video
Team Science: Group Ideation, Prof. Dan Stokols pdf » view online video
Career Development: Role of Generative AI in Scientific Publishing, Ms. Gwen Weerts pdf » view online video
Evening Presentation: Prof. Kristen Kelly MD, UCI Dept. of Dermatology pdf » view online video
Day 4 -- Friday, 7 August 2026
Monte Carlo Methods
Lecture 5: Monte Carlo Methods: Fundamentals, Prof. Scott Prahl pdf » view online video
Lecture 6: Monte Carlo Methods: Extensions and Applications, Dr. Carole Hayakawa pdf » view online video
Lunch Activity: BLI Lab Tours: Ultrasound Theranostics Lab
Technology Demonstration 3: Virtual Photonics Open Source Software, Ms. Lisa Glover pdf
Laboratory C (Computation): Monte Carlo Simulations: Error Analysis & Spatial and Angular Distributions pdf
Day 5 -- Saturday, 8 August 2026
Optical Dosimetry, Ex Vivo Tissue Property Measurement & PBL Proposal Generation
Lecture 7: Light Fields Generated by Collimated Beams, Prof. Vasan Venugopalan pdf » view online video
Lecture 8: Ex Vivo Measurement of Tissue Optical Properties Using Inverse Adding Doubling, Prof. Scott Prahl pdf » view online video
Laboratory D (Hybrid): Integrating Sphere Data Acquisition & Data Analysis pdf
Day 6 -- Sunday, 9 August 2026
Free Day
Day 7 -- Monday, 10 August 2026
Photo-/Opto-Acoustic Imaging & Wide Field Imaging & Spectroscopy
Lecture 9: Photo-/Opti-Acoustic Imaging, Prof. Shawn Xiang pdf » view online video
Lecture 10: Spatially-Resolved and Spatial Frequency Domain Imaging, Prof. Darren Roblyer pdf » view online video
Technology Demonstration 4: SFDI Instrumentation
Laboratory E (Hybrid) Part 1: Signal Analysis and Tissue Property Recovery from Spatially Resolved and SFD Optical Signals pdf
Laboratory E (Hybrid) Part 2: Optical Property Recovery using SFDI Instrumentation pdf
Evening Presentation: Dr. Sean White, Director of Research & Technology, Medtronic pdf » view online video
Day 8 -- Tuesday, 11 August 2026
Diffuse Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy
Lecture 11: Diffuse Optics Instrumentation and Biomedical Application, Prof. Darren Roblyer pdf » view online video
Lecture 12: Analysis of Diffuse Optical Signals, Prof. Vasan Venugopalan pdf » view online video
Laboratory F (Hybrid) Part 1: Signal Analysis and Tissue Property Recovery from Temporally Resolved and Temporal-Frequency Domain Optical Signals pdf
Laboratory F (Hybrid) Part 2: Optical Property Recovery using FDPM Instrumentation pdf
Day 9 -- Wednesday, 12 August 2026
Problem Based Learning & Career Development
Problem Based Learning: Small Group Exercise, Proposal Refinement, Profs. Vasan Venugopalan & Bernard Choi pdf
Morning Activity: Point of Care Molecular Diagnostics and Ultrasound Theranostics Labs
Evening Presentation: Prof. Yama Akbari MD/PhD, UCI Dept. of Neurology and Neurologic Surgery pdf » view online video
Day 10 -- Thursday, 13 August 2026
Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy (DCS) & Laser Speckle Imaging (LSI)
Lecture 13: Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy (DCS), Prof. Erin Buckley pdf » view online video
Lecture 14: Laser Speckle Imaging (LSI), Prof. Bernard Choi pdf » view online video
Technology Demonstration 5: Laser Speckle Imaging Instrumentation
Laboratory G (Hybrid): Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy and Laser Speckle Imaging of Flow pdf