Last July, after almost 20 years at the Martinos Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. David Boas moved to Boston University to launch a Neurophotonics Center. The new center brings together faculty with different backgrounds, particularly, engineering, neuroscience and optics. “There are tremendous advantages for biomedical and photonics engineers working with neuroscientists,” says Boas. “Neuroscientists have questions and problems that engineers want to solve. Those solutions advance the field and lead to new questions and new solutions.” The synergy between the faculty is expected to bring about novel human brain imaging advances in the field in the coming years.
The center has already started disseminating fNIRS locally by organizing a one-day fNIRS symposium to be held on January 16th, 2018. The symposium will have talks from invited speakers, a contributed poster session, and panel discussions. It is open to both regional fNIRS community and beyond.
Although David’s move is a big change for the Optics people at the Martinos Center, the genuinely friendly and collaborative foundation that he laid has nourished the Martinos Optics personnel, and holds the faculty, fellows, and students under the optics umbrella together. By redoubling efforts, several new and exciting opportunities are flourishing both at the Optics @ Martinos and the BU Neurophotonics Center, and we hope to share them with the community in the coming years.
By Meryem Yucel