Rohit Bhargava

Rohit Bhargava

Director, Cancer Center at Illinois

Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering

Areas of Research

3D Imaging, 3D Printing, AI, Data Mining, and Machine Learning, Bioengineering, Biomedical Imaging Technology, Breast Cancer, Cancer Diagnostics, Cancer Imaging, Cancer Survivors, Cancer Treatment (General), Colon/Colorectal Cancer, Disease Prevention and Control, Imaging, Nanoparticles, Nanotechnology, Prostate Cancer, Tumor Microenvironment, Ultrasound

Research Program and Theme

Cancer Technology and Data Science | Cancer Imaging

Research Focus

Rohit Bhargava, CCIL Director, has pioneered the development of infrared spectroscopic imaging, starting from his doctoral thesis, which was the first in this field. Bhargava has developed several new capabilities in IR instrumentation, provided new methods to analyze spectral data, and developed high-throughput methods for pathology. Bhargava runs the Chemical Imaging and Structures Laboratory. His research team has performed large-scale studies on prostate, breast, colon, brain, and skin tissue samples. His lab has also focused on fundamental science by developing optical theory for spectroscopy. It has created cell culture methods for 3D tumor mimicking systems – building a 3D printer to develop biomedical scaffolds and engineering cancer models. Instruments developed in his laboratory provide new means to characterize and define cancer using chemical imaging, leading to the emergence of the field of digital molecular pathology.

Education

  • Ph.D., Macromolecular Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2000

Campus Affiliations

Select Honors and Recognitions

  • Optica Fellow, 2022
  • AIMBE Fellow, 2016
  • Ellis R. Lippincott Award, 2021
  • AAAS Fellow, 2020