Tuan Vo-Dinh

Dr. Tuan Vo-Dinh is the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, holding joint appointments in the Pratt School of Engineering and the Department of Chemistry (Trinity College of Arts & Sciences). He directs the Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics, leading interdisciplinary research in biophotonics, nanophotonics, and plasmonics. His work focuses on developing advanced biosensors, SERS nanoprobes, and theranostic platforms for cancer diagnostics and environmental monitoring. Dr. Vo-Dinh earned a B.S. from EPFL Lausanne (1971) and a Ph.D. from ETH Zurich (1975).

• Education:
  • Ph.D. in Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), 1975
  • B.S. in Chemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL Lausanne), 1971
• Research Interests:
  • Biophotonics, plasmonics, and biosensor development
  • Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for medical diagnostics
  • Gold nanostars and nanorattles for theranostics
  • Point-of-care diagnostics and global health technologies

His lab has pioneered innovations like plasmonic molecular sentinels, smartphone-integrated biosensors, and acoustic tomography. Notable awards include the 2022 SPIE President’s Award and 2019 Sir George Stokes Award. Dr. Vo-Dinh has advised over 100 students and holds multiple NIH/DOE grants for cancer detection and bioenergy research. His Fitzpatrick Institute fosters collaborations across engineering, chemistry, and medicine.

• Labs/Teams:
  • Fitzpatrick Institute for Photonics
  • Vo-Dinh Lab (Biomedical Engineering/Chemistry)
  • Collaborations with Duke Cancer Institute and French Family Science Center