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Sina Farsiu

Anderson-Rupp Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Biomedical Engineering
Box 3802 Med Ctr, Durham, NC 27710
CIEMAS 2575, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


I am the director of the Vision and Image Processing (VIP) Laboratory. Along with my colleagues, we investigate how to improve early diagnostic methods and find new imaging biomarkers of ocular and neurological diseases in adults (e.g. age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, Glaucoma, Alzheimer) and children (e.g. retinopathy or prematurity). We also develop automatic artificial intelligence machine learning and deep learning algorithms to detect/segment/quantify anatomical/pathological structures seen on medical images.

On another front, we study efficient signal processing based methods to overcome the theoretical and practical limitations that constrain the achievable resolution of any imaging device. Our approach, which is based on adaptive extraction and robust fusion of relevant information from the expensive and sophisticated as well as simple and cheap sensors, has found wide applications in improving the quality of imaging systems such as ophthalmic SD-OCT, digital X-ray mammography, electronic and optical microscopes, and commercial digital camcorders. We are also interested in pursuing statistical signal processing based projects, including super-resolution, demosaicing, deblurring, denoising, motion estimation, compressive sensing/adaptive sampling, and sensor fusion.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Anderson-Rupp Professor of Biomedical Engineering · 2023 - Present Biomedical Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering
Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering · 2021 - Present Biomedical Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering
Professor in Computer Science · 2021 - Present Computer Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering · 2022 - Present Electrical and Computer Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences · 2012 - Present Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, University Institutes and Centers

In the News


Published March 1, 2019
AI Technique Opens Door for Accelerated Progress in Neuroscience Research
Published November 20, 2018
A smartphone and new software could help save infants born preterm
Published August 10, 2016
New handheld device could allow for easy retina imaging in children

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Recent Publications


Factors Associated with Vision Outcomes in Microbial Keratitis: A Multisite Prospective Cohort Study.

Journal Article Ophthalmology · July 2025 PurposeTo investigate factors associated with 90-day vision in patients with microbial keratitis (MK).DesignMulticenter prospective cohort study recruited patients with MK from the United States and India from July 23, 2020, through May 1 ... Full text Cite

Symptoms as an Indicator of Microbial Keratitis Severity and Its Association With Visual Acuity.

Journal Article Eye & contact lens · June 2025 ObjectiveMicrobial keratitis (MK) is a vision-threatening and often painful corneal infection. This study aims to quantify severity of symptoms of MK at presentation and investigate their association with visual acuity (VA).MethodsThe Aut ... Full text Cite

Deep compressed multichannel adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscope.

Journal Article Sci Adv · May 9, 2025 Adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO) reveals individual retinal cells and their function, microvasculature, and micropathologies in vivo. As compared to the single-channel offset pinhole and two-channel split-detector nonconfocal AOSLO des ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Defining the underlying causes of retinal degeneration in CRB1 disease

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by Foundation Fighting Blindness, Inc · 2024 - 2029

Quantitative assessment of glaucomatous conventional outflow dynamics

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2029

Automated Quantitative Ulcer Analysis (AQUA): Diagnosing Organism Types

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of Michigan · 2024 - 2028

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Education, Training & Certifications


University of Tehran (Iran) · 2001 M.S.
Sharif University of Technology (Iran) · 1999 B.S.