Ilko K. Ilev has over 30 years of extensive experience and distinguished accomplishments in leading science research institutions in the U.S., Europe, and Japan in the areas of biophotonics, laser medicine, biomedical optics, nanobiophotonics, and laser and optical radiation safety (LORS) evaluation of biophotonics technologies and medical devices. Since 1998, he has been with the Center for Devices and Radiological Health at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), serving as a senior biomedical research service scientist and chairing the FDA LORS Research Program and FDA Laser Safety Committee.

Ilev has published more than 460 papers in highly ranked peer-reviewed journals and proceedings. Along with multiple original publications, he holds 14 patents. For his outstanding contributions to the field of laser and biomedical optics, he has been elected as a fellow of major scientific societies: the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; Optica, or the Optical Society of America; the International Society for Optics and Photonics; the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering; and the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery.