Christopher H Contag

Christopher H. Contag is the Hannah Distinguished Professor and James & Kathleen Cornelius Chair at the Department of Microbiology, Genetics, & Immunology within the College of Engineering at Michigan State University (MSU). He serves as Chairperson of his department and directs the Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering (IQ).

• Education: B.S. in Biology (1982) and Ph.D. in Microbiology (1988) from the University of Minnesota
• Postdoctoral training: University of Minnesota (1988-1989), Stanford University (1990-1995)

His research focuses on noninvasive optical imaging to study molecular processes, host-pathogen interactions, and cancer diagnostics. He has pioneered extracellular vesicle engineering for drug delivery systems and developed miniaturized confocal microscopes for in vivo pathology.

Publications span immunometabolism, smart biomaterials, and bioluminescence imaging, with recent work on EV-mediated disease preconditioning (2024) and glycolytic reprogramming in macrophages (2023).

• Scientific Recognition
  • Society for Molecular Imaging Achievement Award
  • Britton Chance Award from SPIE

He has founded three companies: Xenogen Corp (now PerkinElmer), BioEclipse Inc., and PixelGear, commercializing in vivo imaging and cancer immunotherapy technologies.

As director of MSU's Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, he leads interdisciplinary research on biomaterials, cellular imaging, and cancer prevention strategies targeting premalignant fields.