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Leader in Integrated ICT Hardware & Systems

Andrea Pacheco

Analog Devices

Together with sponsor Catalyst Analog Devices, Tyndall celebrates the winners and finalists of the 2019 Postgraduate Publication of the Year .

Dr. Fatima Gunning, Senior Staff Researcher & Acting Head of Graduate Studies at Tyndall, praised the entries, saying: "This was an exceptionally competitive year with outstanding articles and publications in a cross-section of high-impact journals showcasing Tyndall’s research breadth and excellence."

Mike Morrissey, Technology Manager, Analog Devices echoed this: 

“The long-term and strategic partnership between Analog Devices and Tyndall provides continuity of innovative research capability as well as access to a diverse and world-class talent pipeline. We are delighted to sponsor the Postgraduate Publication of the Year as it exemplifies the excellent deep-tech research Tyndall is renowned for and is aligned with core technologies of mutual interest for communications, energy, agri-tech and advanced manufacturing”

To help inspire other postgraduate students, both in Tyndall and those around the globe, we decided to profile this generation's future research leaders.

Andrea Pacheco

Andrea Pacheco

Runner-up

  • What encouraged you to submit your application to Postgraduate Publication of the Year?
  • The good news we received in October from Biomedical Optics EXPRESS about our paper listed among the Top Downloaded Articles on Tissue Optics and Spectroscopy in the period 2017-9019.
  • What inspired you to choose the subject of your paper?
  • While I was looking for a silicone phantom recipe to do my  Ph.D. studies I realized there was a nonexistent recipe for my wavelengths of interest. I decided to work on a multispectral phantom recipe that everyone could use, regardless of the specific applications of their research.  I wanted to provide a recipe to the biophotonics community that I wish I had when I started my Ph.D. This recipe has formed the basis of my  Ph.D. The success of downloads also demonstrates that the research community was longing for this sort of approach too.
  • What’s your paper about and how did you prepare for it? What role did research excellence play in your approach?
  • The article presents a very detailed protocol of a novel recipe to prepare reliable tissue phantoms covering a wide range of wavelengths within the tissue optical window. It offers the possibility to mimic absorption and scattering properties relevant to the majority of human organs. Formerly published phantom recipes were limited to a single wavelength making it very difficult to be beneficial to other researchers in the biophotonics community. We provided a ready to use protocol that can be adapted to the necessities of the user, therefore we hastened the development of techniques in the field and saved time to the community members.The recipe protocol is useful for biophotonics applications and is the pillar of the production of anthropomorphic multilayer phantoms that we have developed in Biophotonics@Tyndall. Phantoms are essential to carry on realistic bench top experiments and test existent prototypes of clinical devices. These phantoms considerably reduce costs and time associated with preclinical trials.
  • The selection for Postgraduate Publication of the Year is extremely competitive. What is your advice for those aspiring for nomination next year?
  • Think about the actual needs of the community in your field and be hands on to solve them. To find other researchers using the tools that you created is a great reward!
  • What is the single most significant support Tyndall has been able to offer you in achieving your research goals? 
  • Tyndall has been supportive and open to establishing collaborations across different centres both in Ireland and abroad. This enables quick development by combining the skills of our own students with the diverse understanding and technological strengths in optics and photonics around the globe.

Research Publication Link

“Solid phantom recipe for diffuse optics in biophotonics applications: a step towards anatomically correct 3D tissue phantoms”, Sanathana Konugolu Venkata Sekar, Andrea Pacheco, Pierluigi Martella, Haiyang Li, Pranav Lanka, Antonio Pifferi, Stegan Andersson-Engels, Biomedical Optics Express 2090, vol. 10, No.4, 1 April 2019