Dr. Kanwarpal Singh: Bridging Circuits and the Human Body with Biomedical Optics

Mia Yao
Feb 23
2 min read

Biomedical engineering is the intersection of medicine and technology, it does not directly treat patients at hospitals, but they design and optimize technologies that diagnose and treat patients. In other words, they are one of the foundations of modern medicine.

In today’s world, there are numerous techniques used for medical imaging. Many biomedical engineers are trying to combine all these techniques together into a form that is portable and accessible. Dr. Kanwarpal Singh, one of the leading scientists with much research focusing on developing new endoscopic devices, will have an “office hour” with us today to tell his stories and inspire students to explore their passion for scientific discovery.

Dr. Kanwarpal Singh

AFFILIATION

Dr. Kanwarpal Singh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at McMaster University, where he is also leading a research lab in the Faculty of Engineering.

ACADEMIC & TEACHING BACKGROUND

Undergraduate study:

In 2002, Dr. Kanwarpal Singh completed his undergraduate studies with a Bachelor of Science, specializing in Computer Applications at Kurukshetra University, India.

Graduate study:

In 2006, Dr. Singh completed his Master of Technology at Devi Ahilya University, India, where he focused on specialized and advanced technical knowledge and research.

In 2012, Dr. Kanwarpal Singh continued on to complete his PhD at Institut national de la recherche scientifique, University of Quebec, where his project focused on monitoring glaucoma growth using coherence tomography.

Post-doctoral training:

Following the completion of his PhD, Dr. Singh became a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School until 2018, where he worked on the development of high-resolution optical coherence tomography systems.

Teaching and Researching career:

He then led an independent research group (Microendoscopy) at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Germany. There, his research focused on the development of miniaturized flexible endoscopic devices for in vivo imaging.

In 2023, Dr. Singh joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McMaster University, as an assistant professor on the tenure track.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Dr. Singh’s lab focuses on developing novel endoscopic devices to image internal organs of the body. The lab’s areas of expertise include optical coherence tomography, hyperspectral imaging, confocal microscopy, endoscopy, multiphoton microscopy.

AWARDS & LEADERSHIP

Innovation challenge award, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada (2012)
Innovation Award, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Québec, Canada (2012)
STELLA travel grant Italy (2011)
Incubic/Milton Chang travel grant, Optical Society of America (2009)
Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS) travel grant (2009)

EPISODE OVERVIEW

In this episode, we follow Dr. Kanwarpal Singh as he discussed his education journey in India and Canada, starting a research group in Germany, and finding his career in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at McMaster University. Furthermore, Dr. Singh shared his unique project of using coherence tomography to monitor glaucoma as a part of his master’s degree, as well as his insights from running an independent research group.