The mission of the Center for Photonics in Biology and Medicine is to bridge advances in biomedical optics into basic biomedical research as well as clinical medicine. The Center develops novel optics technologies for characterization and imaging of biological tissue. The focus is on the nanoscale, microscale and the molecular levels.

The Center also utilizes biophotonics technologies to attain new perspectives and gain new insights into the inner workings of biological systems and their response to disease, in particular the initial stages of carcinogenesis.

Finally, the Center aims to translate these technological and biological innovations into clinical practice. Towards this goal, the Center develops clinical instrumentation and conducts large-scale, multi-site clinical trials.