Christine P. Hendon

Christine P. Hendon

Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering; Vice Dean of Diversity and Strategic Partnerships; Provost's Senior Faculty Teaching Scholar

Christine P. Hendon develops biomedical optics technologies for biomedicine to guide interventional procedures and to provide insights into the structure-function relationship of biological normal, diseased, and treated tissues.

She has worked on developing next-generation optical coherence tomography systems and integrated therapeutic catheters with near infrared spectroscopy, along with real-time processing algorithms to extract physiological information.  Hendon collaborates extensively with investigators from Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Medical Center. Her group has developed integrative optics and therapeutic probes for improving the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. 

Of particular interest to Hendon is the use of optical imaging modalities for improving therapeutic procedures. The research goals of the Structure-Function Imaging Laboratory are to develop platform optical imaging systems to enable structure-function analysis of biological organ systems.  Towards this goal, the Lab develops optical coherence tomography (OCT) and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) systems and automated processing tools to correlate tissue microstructure to electrical conduction and mechanical contraction. The main clinical driver within this work is addressing unmet needs in cardiac electrophysiology. Hendon works closely with cardiac electrophysiologist, pathologist, and other engineers as they strive to develop catheters and algorithms that will enable improved guidance and monitoring of arrhythmia therapy.

Hendon received a BS in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2004 and a PhD in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University, in 2010. She was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2017.

Research Areas

  • Photonics
  • Bioelectronics
  • Biomedical Imaging
  • Biomedical Optics
  • Image Processing
  • Women's Health
  • Cardiovascular Imaging
  • Cardiac Electrophysiology

Additional Information

  • Professional Affiliations
    • National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
    • The International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE)
    • Optica (OSA)
  • Honors & Awards
    • Columbia University Provost Teaching Scholar, 2022-2023
    • Columbia University Provost Service Award, 2022
    • SPIE Fellow, 2021
    • Optica Fellow, 2021
    • Election to the College of Fellows for American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), 2020
    • Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), 2017
    • Rodriguez Family Junior Faculty Development Award, Columbia University SEAS, 2015
    • NSF CAREER Award, 2015
    • NIH DP2 New Innovators, 2014
    • MIT Technology Review: 35 Innovators under 35, 2013
    • Forbes 30 under 30 for Science and Healthcare, 2012
  • Professional Experience
    • Vice Dean of Diversity and Strategic Partnerships, Columbia Engineering, July 2023 - present
    • Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, January 2018 - present
    • Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, September 2012 – December 2017
  • Education
    • PhD, Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University
    • MS, Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University
    • BS, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology