Janet Sorrells

Research

Janet Sorrells' research is focused on the development of new technologies in label-free nonlinear optical microscopy, involving multiphoton fluorescence, coherent Raman scattering, and harmonic generation. Technological advances are needed in order to improve the applicability of these methods to study currently inaccessible phenomena in biology and medicine. Current projects involve improving spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution in nonlinear optical microscopy to explore the gut and tumor microenvironments. In her prior work, Sorrells developed a method for fast photon counting and time-tagging to enable rapid multiphoton fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) of autofluorescent cofactors NAD(P)H and FAD.

Biography

Janet Sorrells joined the Department of Electrical & Systems Engineering in fall 2024. She received her PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Summer 2024. She received her MS in Bioengineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2020 and her BS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Rochester in 2018. 

Sorrells has received numerous honors for her work, including an NSF graduate research fellowship, the McGinnis Medical Innovation Fellowship, the JenLab Young Investigator award, the 2023 Illinois Innovation Award, and the NIH Director's Early Independence Award in 2025.