Mihaela Balu, an associate professor of dermatology and biomedical engineering at the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine), has developed a device aimed at improving early detection of melanoma without the need for biopsy. The device uses a low-power infrared laser to scan beneath the skin’s surface at a cellular level and is currently in clinical trials.
Balu attributes much of her team’s progress to federal funding support. “Those grants give us the ability to attract the best talent, and it’s important to have talented, passionate, dedicated people driving the research,” she says. Funding from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense has been crucial for her work. She notes that defense funding is particularly relevant because “they have soldiers in the field exposed to sun.”
Her multidisciplinary team includes physicists, a biologist, a chemist, and another biomedical engineer. Balu explains that this range of expertise is valuable in their research environment: “It allows us to track the performance of the devices we build, evaluate their limitations and get them back to the lab for design improvements.”
The new device—called the fast, large-area, multiphoton exoscope (FLAME)—is brought into clinical research rooms and attached via a metal ring taped to a patient’s skin for stability. It excites molecules with its laser technology to generate detailed images under the skin. Currently, each scan takes about 10 to 15 minutes; however, Balu’s team aims to reduce this time further. She adds: “We don’t have technicians running studies; we run the devices on patients ourselves. It’s the only way to understand what needs to be improved.”
The ultimate goal is noninvasive diagnosis of skin conditions and better monitoring of therapies such as immunotherapies for metastatic melanoma. “We’re tracking the response at a cellular level to see when treatment is working or not,” says Balu. “That allows us to give feedback so therapies can be tailored to each individual.” This approach could mean fewer doctor visits for patients as well as earlier detection and more personalized treatment plans.
This year marks another step forward for Balu’s research group as they move their device into two new dedicated research rooms at UCI Health — Irvine campus after previously working out of limited space.
Reflecting on her career path and achievements at UC Irvine—which has maintained its ranking among America’s top public universities for over ten years—Balu states: “I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to build my work and my career here. I love the multidisciplinary culture and collaborative environment.”
