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Department of Anthropology

Columbian College of Arts & Sciences

Jason M. Zara

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Jason M. Zara

Associate ProfessorDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Contact:

Email: Jason M. Zara
Office Phone: (202) 994-2402
Staughton Hall #107, 707 22nd Street, NW

Research Interests: 

Applications of Micro-Electrical-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) actuators in medicine and high-resolution medical imaging.

  • U.S. Patent # 7,999,945 "Optical Coherence Tomography / Acoustic Radiation Force Imaging Probe", Zara JM, Issued 8/16/11 . Filed by The George Washington University.
  • Divisional patent filed that was based on claims from: U.S. Patent # 7,573,627 "Amplified Bimorph Scanning Mirror", Zara JM, Mills P, Patterson P, Smith SW, Issued 8/11/09. Filed by The George Washington University.
  • U.S. Patent #7,706,039 "Scanner Apparatus Having Electromagnetic Radiation Devices Coupled to MEMS Actuators" - Smith SW, Gentry KL, Zara JM, Bobbio SM, Issued 4/27/10 . Filed by Duke University.
  • U.S. Patent # 7,573,627 "Amplified Bimorph Scanning Mirror", Zara JM, Mills P, Patterson P, Smith SW, Issued 8/11/09. Filed by The George Washington University.
  • U.S. Patent # 7,420,724 "Scanner Apparatus Having Electromagnetic Radiation Devices Coupled to MEMS Actuators" - Smith SW, Gentry KL, Zara JM, Bobbio SM, Issued 9/2/08. Filed by Duke University.
  • U.S. Patent # 6,849,910 "Systems and Methods for Improving the Performance of Sensing Devices Using Oscillatory Devices" - Oberhardt BJ, Smith SW, Zara JM, Issued 2/1/05. Filed by Memscept, Inc.
  • Interim Faculty Director of Undergraduate Recruiting - The George Washington University, School of Engineering and Applied Science (Septermber 1, 2011-present)
  • Co-Founder - Lumacoustic Systems, LLC. Start up company investigating the use of acoustic radiation force in conjunction with OCT imaging to improve the detection of epithelial cancers. (June 2009-August 2011)
  • Co-Founder and Consultant - Memscept, Inc. (Dec. 2001-December 2005)
  • Member: SPIE, IEEE, OSA

Professor Zara worked for the last 13 years in the development of novel cancer imaging tools that combine cutting edge microfabrication techniques with both ultrasound and optical imaging. Imaging modalities of interest include Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and high frequency ultrasound. In 2006, he received the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Early Career Translational Research Award for his work in microfabricated OCT scanners. He holds 3 U.S. Patents and has founded two start-up companies, including a GW spin-off, Lumacoustic Systems, LLC.

  • Oweis KJ, Berl MM, Duke E, Blackstone K, Loew MH, Gaillard WD, Zara JM, "The Forward Scanning-Contagious Voxel Algorithm: 3D Connected Components Algorithm." Dirasat, Accepted for Publication, 2011.
  • Li J, Liu X, Zhuo J, Gullapalli RP, Zara JM, "A Deformable Surface Model Based Automatic Rat Brain Extraction Method." Proceedings of the 2011 International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging, 1741-1745, 2011.
  • Lingley-Papadopoulos C, Loew MH, Zara JM, "Real-time bladder-layer recognition: an approach to optical biopsy." Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging, 1276-1279, 2007.
  • Ejofodomi O, Zderic V, Zara JM, "Soft Tissue Phantoms for Acoustic, Optical, and Elasticity Imaging." Medical Physics, 37(4): 1440-1448, 2010.
  • Zara JM, Chapter on "Optical Coherence Tomography", in textbook titled Image Guided Therapy Systems, edited by S. Vaezy and V. Zderic, published July 2009.
  • Lingley-Papadopoulos A, Loew MH, Zara JM, "Wavelet Analysis Enables System-Independent Texture Analysis of Optical Coherence Tomography Images." Journal of Biomedical Optics, 14(4): 04401, 2009.
  • Lingley-Papadopoulos A, Loew MH, Manyak MJ, Zara JM, "Computer Recognition of Cancer in the Urinary Bladder Using Optical Coherence Tomography and Texture Analysis." Journal of Biomedical Optics, 13(2): 024003-1-9, 2008. - This paper was also selected for inclusion in the April 15, 2008 issue of the Virtual Journal of Biological Physics Research.
  • Zara JM, Lingley-Papadopoulos A, "Endoscopic OCT Approaches Towards Cancer Diagnosis." IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, 14(1): 70-81, 2008.

BS Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, 1996
PhD Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, 2001