Natallia Uzunbajakava | Senior Scientist, TNO

Natallia holds a Ph.D. and engineering degree (University of Twente), certification in Strategic Management & Innovation (CBS). Along 25 years of experience in R&D her hallmark is working at intersection of biophotonics, photobiology and skin & hair physiology, utilizing  light for diagnostics and interventions. Natallia  pioneered Raman imaging of single human cells (two awards at ‘Focus on Microscopy’). Collaboration with Dr. Botchkareva, Dr. Westgate and Dr. Dierickx revealed mechanism of low fluence photoepilation. Investigations with prof. van de Kerkhof deepened understanding of Sensitive Skin (‘Sensitive Skin Syndrome’ Eds. Honari, Andersen, Maibach 2017). Efforts within a European project CLASSIC (ID 607886) resulted in a discovery opsin-like photoreceptors in the skin and hair follicle as targets for phototherapy (Keith Foundation Best of Photobiomodulation Session, ASLMS 2017, Book Chapter in Molecular Dermatology, Eds. Botchkareva, Westgate, 2020). Dr. Uzunbajakava has over 45 publications, 3 Book Chapters, 22 Technical Notes, 27 US granted patents and applications.  She lectures frequently, contributes to IMCAS Academy and Home Use Device In her current role as Senior Scientist, Natallia E. Uzunbajakava is dedicated to advancing wearable medical devices and biosensing for the benefits of healthcare and security, leveraging recent advances in high-tech, semicon and integrated photonics domains. Passionate about bringing multiple technology and biology domains together, breaking the boundaries, creating multi-disciplinary programs and advancing progress at the interfaces of domains. She likes mentoring and supervised over 40 students, 6 PhD students and a postdoc.