Scientific Program Overview
The scientific program of ICOB2026 will explore the most pressing challenges and transformative opportunities in biophotonics for medicine and healthcare. A series of focused sessions—led by internationally renowned experts—will address unmet needs in diagnostics, the application of biophotonics in oncology, neurology, and infectious diseases, as well as advances in AI integration and in vivo diagnostics. In addition, a forward-looking session will reflect on future directions for medical diagnostics and the evolving role of biophotonics in personalized and preventive healthcare.
The sessions are curated by the members of the ICOB2026 Scientific Program Committee, who are also serving as session chairs. Together, they represent a broad spectrum of expertise across disciplines and continents.
The full scientific program will be released in autumn 2025.
Preliminary Program
Wednesday, March 18th 2026
6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
We welcome all participants on the first evening. Meet old and new colleagues over snacks and drinks. You will receive your congress materials at the registration counter.
Thursday, March 19th 2026
9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Welcome Notes by
Igor Lednev
Director of CeBAI, University at Albany, SUNY, United States
and
Jürgen Popp
Co-Director of CeBAI, Scientific Director at Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Jena/DE
Keynote Lecture by
Ji-Xin Cheng
Boston University, MA, USA
11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Chair: Orlando Guntinas-Lichius, Jena, Germany
11:00 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.
Surgical Applications of Multi-modal Spectroscopy – beyond diagnostics!
Jaishankar Raman, University of Melbourne, Australia
11:20 a.m. – 11:40 a.m.
Intraoperative surgical decision making based on real-time biophotonics
Orlando Guntinas-Lichius, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
11:40 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Illuminating the Gaps: Biophotonics for real-time, non-invasive solutions in reconstructive surgery
Prabhu Senthil-Kumar, Virginia Commonwealth University, VA, USA
1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Chair: Bhavya Sharma, Knoxville, United States
1.15 p.m – 1.35 p.m.
Chemical histopathology with practical infrared spectroscopic imaging instrumentation and algorithms
Rohit Bhargava, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
1.35 p.m – 1.55 p.m.
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1.55 p.m – 2.15 p.m.
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Anita Mahadevan-Janssen, Vanderbilt University, TN, USA
3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Chair: Igor Lednev, Albany, United States
3.00 p.m – 3.20 p.m.
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Sumeet Mahajan, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
3.20 p.m – 3.40 p.m.
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Andy Berglund, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, USA
3:40 p.m – 4.00 p.m.
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Igor Lednev, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, USA
4:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Poster Session
Friday, March 20th 2026
9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
Chair: Prabha Balakrishnan Prabhakaran, Albany, United States
9:00 a.m. – 9:20 a.m.
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9:20 a.m. – 9:40 a.m.
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Marianna Spanaki Varelas, Albany Medical Center, NY, USA
9:40 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
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10:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Chairs: Thenkurussi (Kesh) Kesavadas, Albany, United States and Young Mee Jung, Kangwon National University, South Korea
10:45 a.m. – 11:05 a.m.
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Dong-Ku Kang, Incheon National University, Korea
11:05 a.m. – 11:25 a.m.
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Young Mee Jung, Kangwon National University, South Korea
11:25 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
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1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Chair: Juergen Popp, Jena, Germany
1:30 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.
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N.N.
1:50 p.m. – 2:10 p.m.
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Rupsa Datta, Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison, USA
2:10 p.m. – 2:30 a.m.
Trends and opportunities in Raman based infection diagnostics
Anja Silge, Leibniz IPHT, Jena, Germany
3:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Chair: Nathaniel Cady, Albany, United States
3:15 p.m. – 3:35 p.m.
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Benjamin Miller, University of Rochester, NY, USA
3:35 p.m. – 3:55 p.m.
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David Erickson, Cornell University, NY, USA
3:55 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
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Lewis Carpenter, AIM Photonics, NY, USA
6:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Join us for the Conference Dinner — an evening of great food, lively conversation, and relaxed networking with fellow participants. All registered attendees are warmly invited. Further details will be published on the conference website shortly. We look forward to celebrating together!
Saturday, March 21st 2026
9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Keynote Lecture by
Kirill Larin
University of Houston, TX, USA
9:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Chair: Jaishankar Raman, Melbourne, Australia
9:45 a.m. – 10:05 a.m.
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Shekhar Kumta, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Northern Hospital, Australia
10:05 a.m. – 10:25 a.m.
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Paul Stoddart, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
10:25 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
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James Grant, University of Melbourne, Australia
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Moderator: Thenkurussi (Kesh) Kesavadas, Albany, United States
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1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Program Committee // Session Chairs
Igor Lednev
Director of CeBAI
University at Albany, SUNY, United States
Juergen Popp
Director of the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology, Germany
Co-Director of CeBAI
Young Mee Jung
Director of the Institute for Molecular Science and Fusion Technology at the Kangwon National University, South Korea
Bhavya Sharma
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, United States
Orlando Guntinas-Lichius
Jena University Hospital, Germany
Prabha Balakrishnan Prabhakaran
Director of AI Plus
University at Albany, SUNY, United States
Thenkurussi (Kesh) Kesavadas
Vice President for Research & Economic Development
University at Albany, SUNY, United States
Jaishankar Raman
University of Melbourne, Australia
Nathaniel Cady
University at Albany, SUNY, United States
Date
18 – 21 March 2026
Congress Management
Ewelina Mistek-Morabito
University at Albany, SUNY, United States