Vadim Backman

Vadim Backman is an American biomedical engineer and the Sachs Family Professor of biomedical engineering at the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University. He is also a Professor of Medicine (Hematology/Oncology) and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at Feinberg School of Medicine and is the Associate Director of Research Technology and Infrastructure and Program Leader in Cancer and Physical Sciences at Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Early life

Backman was born in the former USSR in 1973 and later emigrated with his family to the United States.[citation needed]

Career

Backman received his M.S. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a PhD in medical engineering and medical physics from Harvard University and MIT. In 2001, he joined Northwestern University's faculty.[1]

Backman also serves as the Associate Director for Research Technology and Infrastructure at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern. He became an American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering Fellow in 2010 and a senior member of The Optical Society Board of Directors in 2011.[2][3]

He helped co-found four start-ups: Preora Diagnostics Inc., ASP Health Inc., Nanocytomics, and American BioOptics.[4]

Research

Since 2003, he has been working on strategies for early detection of cancer by looking for cell changes at a 20 to 50 nanometer scale.[1] In 2019, his lab developed a tool that images blood flow in such a way to see capillaries more closely and measure things like oxygenation and metabolic rate.[5] In 2020, he led a study that noted that countries with higher COVID-19 mortality rates also had higher levels of Vitamin D deficiency.[6] In 2021, Backman published a paper in Science Advances about the construction of cells on a genomic level and how this impacts their ability to deal with external stressors.[7]

Personal life

Backman collaborates with and is married to civil and environmental engineer Luisa Marcelino.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Monk, Kyle. "Where Cancer Lurks" Archived 2021-01-14 at the Wayback Machine, Northwestern University, 2018. Retrieved on 13 June 2021.
  2. ^ The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. "Vadim Backman, PhD, AIMBE College of Fellows Class of 2010" Archived 2021-06-14 at the Wayback Machine, AIMBE, 2010. Retrieved on 13 June 2021.
  3. ^ The Optical Society. "The Optical Society Announces 2011 Class of Senior Members" Archived 2016-10-31 at the Wayback Machine, The Optical Society, 2011. Retrieved on 13 June 2021.
  4. ^ Northwestern University Biomedical Engineering. "Faculty Start-up Companies" Archived 2021-01-16 at the Wayback Machine, Northwestern University, n.d. Retrieved on 13 June 2021.
  5. ^ Morris, Amanda. "New technology gives unprecedented look inside capillaries" Archived 2021-05-19 at the Wayback Machine, Northwestern University, 23 January 2019. Retrieved on 13 June 2021.
  6. ^ Northwestern Now. "Vitamin D appears to play role in COVID-19 mortality rates" Archived 2021-04-15 at the Wayback Machine, Northwestern University, 7 May 2020. Retrieved on 13 June 2021.
  7. ^ Sandalow, Brian. "Imaging Breakthrough Leads to Further Understanding of Genome Structure and Function" Archived 2021-04-15 at the Wayback Machine, Northwestern University, 4 January 2021. Retrieved on 13 June 2021.
  8. ^ Morris, Amanda. "Data Diving to Save Coral" Archived 2020-09-20 at the Wayback Machine, Northwestern University, 2016. Retrieved on 13 June 2021.