Professor Kimani C. Toussaint
K. C. Toussaint, Jr., Ph.D. is a Professor in the School of Engineering at Brown University with appointments in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. He is the Senior Associate Dean in the Brown University School of Engineering beginning August 1st, 2020, the Thomas J. Watson, Sr. Professor of Science in June 2023 and he is also the Director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health. Prior to joining Brown, Dr. Toussaint was on faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for 12 years, where he rose to the rank of Professor in the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering. Dr. Toussaint directs the laboratory for Photonics Research of Bio/nano Environments (PROBE Lab), an interdisciplinary research group which focuses on both developing nonlinear optical imaging techniques for quantitative assessment of biological tissues, and novel methods for harnessing plasmonic nanostructures for light-driven control of matter. He is a recipient of a 2010 NSF CAREER Award, the 2014-2015 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Associate Professor at MIT, the 2015 Illinois Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research, the 2017 Illinois Everitt Award for Teaching Excellence, the 2019 Distinguished Promotion Award, and the 2023 Hazeltine Innovation Award. Dr. Toussaint is also a Fellow of the OSA and SPIE, and Senior Member in the IEEE. In addition, he served as the PI and inaugural Director of the US National Science Foundation (NSF) Nanomanufacturing (nanoMFG) Node at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2017-2019.
Dr. Toussaint is also part of CELL-MET, a multi-institutional National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center in Cellular Metamaterials (EEC-1647837). CELL-MET aims to grow functional and clinically significant heart tissue while simultaneously developing a talented and diverse workforce to tackle future challenges in synthetic tissues engineering.
Current Members
Staff
Research Manager: Collin Polucha
Collin Polucha received his BS in Animal Science From the University of Rhode Island in 2011. He has an extensive research background as an in vivo surgeon working on many projects that include: macular degeneration, cardiovascular regeneration, tissue imaging and inner ear disorders. Collin joined the Probe Lab in 2023 in the role of lab manager.
Post Doc
Yihang fan
Yihang Fan received his B.S. (2018) and Ph.D. (2024) degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Tsinghua University. His previous research experience at Tsinghua University focused on Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) and near-field optics. He joined the PROBE Lab in 2024 as a postdoctoral research associate. His research interests are in optics and photonics including light-matter interactions in nanomaterials, nanofabrication, spectroscopy and techniques that can be applied in daily lives. Besides research, Yihang enjoys playing soccer, volleyball, badminton, and different kinds of sports, as well as watching movies and traveling
Graduate Students
Krishangi Krishna
Krishangi is a PhD student in the Biomedical Engineering department at the PROBE Lab. She received her B.E in BME from Stony Brook University. Her previous research experience involved developing a protocol to develop plastic microfluidic chips that could potentially be used for biomedical applications such as digital PCR. Currently she is researching on non-linear optics for tissue fibers. Krishangi’s other interests involve exploring new places, reading, and electronic music.
Jieliyue Sun
Jieliyue Sun is a PhD student in the Electrical and Computer Engineering program and a member of the PROBE lab. She received her Bachelor of Engineering degree in Opto-Electronics Information Science and Engineering from Zhejiang University, China in June, 2020. Her previous research experience involved developing mid-infrared photothermal microscopy for chemical histology. She is also interested in super-resolution imaging and data processing. Her hobbies include musicals, badminton, traveling and vlogging.
Rutendo Jakachira
Rutendo Jakachira is a PhD student in the Physics program and member of the PROBE Lab. She received her B.S. in Physics from Drew University in December 2019. Her previous research experience focused on using linear confocal microscopy to image diseased skin cells in vivo. She also did work in non-linear optics where she developed waveguides in glass using a femtosecond laser. Rutendo’s hobbies include exploring new restaurants, reading and traveling.
Lydia Vignale
Lydia Vignale is a PhD student in the Biomedical Engineering department and a member of the PROBE Lab. She received her B.S. in BME from Tufts University in May 2020. After graduation, she developed a portable photoacoustic endoscope to detect oxygen saturation in the pulmonary artery at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine. She also researched cancer microenvironments for drug discovery at InduPro Therapeutics before joining the PROBE Lab in 2024. Lydia’s hobbies include a variety of crafts (ranging from knitting to stained glass), board games, and spending time with her cat.
Yimeng Tong
Yimeng Tong received his B.S. in Applied Physics from the University of Washington in 2022 and his ScM. in Physics from Brown University in 2025. He joined PROBE Lab in 2025 as a BME Ph.D student. His research focuses on the physical aspect of ST optics and its applications in microscopy. Besides research, Yimeng likes playing badminton, piano, and bass recorder. He is also interested in CAD, 3D printing, digital art, and inventions.
Kyra Watts
Kyra Watts received her B.A. (2024) in Physics from Cornell University, with minors in Computer Science, Music and English. Currently, she is pursuing her M.S degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Brown University. Her previous research experience involved nanomanufacturing and computational lithography. Her current research interests are in light matter interaction in nanomaterials, nanofabrication, and optics. Outside of the lab she enjoys reading, rock climbing, playing violin and backpacking.
Undergraduates
Gannon Lemaster
Gannon Lemaster is a Junior studying Electrical Engineering. His current research focuses on the propagation of polarized beams within biomedical media using Monte Carlo simulations for equitable pulse oximetry. Outside of the lab, Gannon likes to listen to music, go on walks, and play piano.
Janet Weng
Christopher Jackson
Christopher Jackson is a Sophomore studying Biomedical Engineering and a UTRA Researcher in the Probe Lab. Within the lab he is working under Yareli Macias-Sanchez on the development of a pulse oximeter that provides accurate measurements regardless of skin color and motion. He is also a member of the cross-country and track and field teams at Brown. Outside of school, Kit enjoys photography, exploring new places, and hanging out with friends.
Constantinos Krenteras
Luke Rhoads
Alumni
Teniola Oguntolu
Qing Ding
Woowon Lee
Mohammad Mahfuzul Kabir
Hemangg Singh Rajput
Varun Kelkar
Abdul Monnaf Bhuiya
Jie Yee Chan
Hao Chen
Aakash Choubal
Naja Edwards
Yang Hu
Gopala Krishna Inavalli
Kaspar Ko
Ryan Kovarik
Tony Tung Yuen Lau
Scott Leithem
David Luedtke
Donald Magnani
David McDonald
Monal Mehta
Erik Misawa
Chukwuemeka Okoro
Rafael Ramirez
Raghu Ambekar Ramachandra Rao
Sara Rios
Brian Roxworthy
Nalwanda Shamutete
Santosh Tripathi
Mehdi Zaman
Seokkee Min
Andrew Howes
Mbaye Diouf- Assistant Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology
Joshua Burrow- Assistant Professor, Morgan State University
Mitchell Harling
Ayo Sogbesan
Evan Qiu
Wenyu Liu- Caltech PhD Candidate
Campbell Thomas
Chandler Stevenson- Princeton University PhD Candidate
Damir Kulzhanov
Shayaan Chaudhary
Stephanie Samaha
Adriana C. Salazar Coariti
Zixi Lin- Meta