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Junjie Yao

Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Biomedical Engineering
Room 1427, Fitzpatrick CIEMAS, 101 Science Drive, PO Box 90281, Durham, NC 27708
Hudson Hall Annex 261, Durham, NC 27708
Office hours Monday to Friday: 9:30 am to 6:00 pm (walk-in welcome)  

Research Interests


Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) technologies, and translating PAT advances into diagnostic and therapeutic applications, especially in functional brain imaging and early cancer theranostics.

Selected Grants


DART.3-Revolutionizing Neuropsychiatric Treatment through Noninvasive, Programmable Cell-Type-Specific Neuropharmacology

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2027

CAREER: Mapping deep brain functions with super-resolution protoacoustic imaging

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2022 - 2027

High-throughput Imaging-integrated Vascular Model for Understanding Thromboembolism and Therapeutics Screening

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Brigham and Women's Hospital · 2023 - 2026

3D super-resolution cavitation mapping in laser lithotripsy

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2026

Precise Photoacoustic Imaging Guidance in Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by North Carolina Biotechnology Center · 2024 - 2026

DART.3-Revolutionizing Neuropsychiatric Treatment through Noninvasive, Programmable Cell-Type-Specific Neuropharmacology

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2027

CAREER: Mapping deep brain functions with super-resolution protoacoustic imaging

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2022 - 2027

High-throughput Imaging-integrated Vascular Model for Understanding Thromboembolism and Therapeutics Screening

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Brigham and Women's Hospital · 2023 - 2026

3D super-resolution cavitation mapping in laser lithotripsy

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2026

Precise Photoacoustic Imaging Guidance in Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by North Carolina Biotechnology Center · 2024 - 2026

Innovations in Shock Wave Lithotripsy Technology

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases · 1997 - 2026

Investigating In Vivo Lipid Cardiometabolic Alterations with Incretin Target Engagement Using a Novel Photoacoustic Tomography

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Eli Lilly and Company · 2024 - 2026

Targeted neuromodulation to enhance recovery of the aged brain after ischemic stroke

ResearchSignificant Contributor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2022 - 2025

High-resolution High-speed Photoacoustic and Ultrasound Imaging of Small Vessels Functions in Ischemic Stroke

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2025

Mixtures and maternal health: the effects of forever chemicals in the context of cART

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Battelle · 2024 - 2025

3D Functional Photoacoustic Imaging of Human Brain with a Stretchable Ultrasound Matrix Array

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Pennsylvania State University · 2021 - 2024

Sub-Diffraction Deep Photoacoustic Imaging with NIR photochromic Probes

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Albert Einstein College of Medicine · 2021 - 2024

Head-mounted Photoacoustic Imaging of Deep-brain Neural Activities in Freely Behaving Animals

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2020 - 2024

High-Throughput Volumetric Photoacoustic Imaging of Living Vascularized Organoids

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2023

Transcranial photoacoustic imaging using a virtual array

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Pennsylvania State University · 2020 - 2023

Whole-organ bioreactor with integrated nondestructive 3D molecular imaging

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by SonoVol, Inc. · 2019 - 2022

Photoacoustic-Imaging-Guided Intravascular Sonothrombolysis

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by North Carolina State University · 2019 - 2021

Development of a Longitudinal Molecular Imaging Platform to Support Immuno-Oncology Research

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by SonoVol, Inc. · 2019 - 2020

A turnkey research platform to accelerate clinical translation of focused-ultrasound (FUS) oncology therapies

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by SonoVol, Inc. · 2019 - 2020

Evaluation of the accuracy of computer-guided laser delivery versus a human-operator for cutaneous applications

ResearchCollaborator · Awarded by American Society for Dermatologic Surgery · 2019 - 2020

Training in Medical Imaging

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2003 - 2020