John C. Malone Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research Interests

• Ultrasound imaging
• Photoacoustic imaging
• Image quality improvements
• Advanced beamforming methods
• Light delivery systems
• Medical robotics
• Image-guided surgery

Muyinatu A. Lediju Bell leads a highly interdisciplinary research program that integrates optics, acoustics, robotics, electronics, and mechanics, as well as signal processing and medical device design, to engineer and deploy innovative biomedical imaging systems that simultaneously address unmet clinical needs and significantly improve the standard of patient care. As the director of the Photoacoustic and Ultrasonic Systems Engineering (PULSE) Lab, Dr. Bell develops theories, models, and simulations to investigate advanced beamforming techniques for improving ultrasonic and photoacoustic image quality. In parallel, she designs and builds novel light delivery systems for photoacoustic imaging and incorporates medical robots to improve operator maneuverability and enable standardized procedures for more personalized medicine. The technologies developed in her lab are then interfaced with patients to facilitate clinical translation. These technologies have applications in neurosurgical navigation, cardiovascular disease, women’s health, and cancer detection and treatment.

Dr. Bell obtained a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University (2012) and a BS in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Biomedical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2006). In addition, she spent a year abroad as an academic visitor at the Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden Hospital in the United Kingdom (2009-2010). Prior to joining the faculty, Dr. Bell was a postdoctoral fellow with the Engineering Research Center for Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology at Johns Hopkins University. She published over 40 scientific journal articles and conference papers, holds a patent for SLSC beamforming, and is the recipient of numerous awards, grants, and fellowships, including the prestigious NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award. She was selected by MIT Technology Review as one of the top 35 Innovators Under 35 in the year 2016.

Affiliations: Malone Center for Engineering in Healthcare, Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics (LCSR), Carnegie Center for Surgical Innovation

Selected Awards and Honors:

2016, MIT Technology Review, Innovator Under 35 (TR35)

2015, Best Paper Award Honorable Mention, IEEE International Conference on Advanced Robotics

2015, NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award

2013, Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship

2012, UNCF-Merck Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

2011, UNCF-Merck Graduate Research Dissertation Fellowship

2009, Whitaker International Fellowship