Helena Hurbon

MS I
College of Medicine – Tucson
Year Entered Program: 
2023
Degrees Received: 

BS, Physics, Eckerd College, 2018

BS, Biomedical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, 2020

MA, Human Rights Practice, University of Arizona, 2021

About Me: 

I was born in Connecticut and moved to Arizona when I was seven. I grew up in Tucson and have always loved the mountains, beautiful weather, and vibrant culture. I am thankful for the opportunity to be part of the UACOM-T MD/PhD program.

I enjoy research because it allows me to explore solutions to difficult problems. During undergrad, I participated in the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates at the University of South Florida and Moffitt Cancer Center in the Department of Mathematical Oncology where I used differential equations to model radiation dosing methods on tumor growth. During my time at Washington University in St. Louis, I joined Dr. Mikhail Berezin’s lab where we studied the use of hyperspectral imaging for medical applications and designed a software to analyze large hyperspectral datasets. Through NSF funding, we founded a successful startup company, HSpeQ. Having been exposed to various elements of the scientific and entrepreneurial process, I am motivated to translate research to real-world medical applications to help patients live healthier and more fulfilled lives.

Outside of the classroom and lab, I love spending time with my partner, Adrian, and our dog, Apollo. You can find us walking, biking, or rollerblading on the loop, at local breweries testing sours and ciders, or watching 90’s sitcoms.

Honors & Awards: 

The Harold P. Brown Engineering Fellowship, Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Ellis Award for Outstanding Achievement in Physics, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL

The Ronald Wilson Award for Significant Contribution to the College, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL

Natural Science Collegium Scholarship and Service Award, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL

Leadership in Residence Life, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL

Robert T. & Fran V.R. Sheen Endowed Science Scholarship, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL

Spetka Family Endowed Scholarship for Study Abroad, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL

Professional Societies:

American Medical Association

American Medical Women's Association

American Physician Scientist Association

Selected Publications: 

Mishra, D., Wang, J., Wang, S. T., Cao, Q., Hurbon, H., Akers, W., & Berezin, M. Y. (2021, April). Selection of Hyperspectral Endmember Extraction Algorithm for Tumor Delineation in Animal Models. In Optical Molecular Probes, Imaging and Drug Delivery (pp. OF2E-2). Optical Society of America.

Mishra D, Hurbon H, Wang J, Wang S. Du T, Wu Q, Kim D, Basir S, Cao Q, Zhang H, Yu K, Zhang Y, Huang Y, Garnett R, Gerasimchuk-Djordjevic M, Berezin MY, IDCube Lite: Free Interactive Discovery Cube software for multi and hyperspectral applications, Journal of Spectral Imaging, 2021.

Hurbon, H., Topel, K., Kim, M., Park, W., & Illindala, R. (2021, May). SpanAbility Design Brief. In Assistive Technology (Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 175-175). 530 Walnut Street, STE 850, Philiadelphia, PA 19106 USA: Taylor & Francis Inc.

Du, T., Mishra, D.K., Shmuylovich, L., Yu, A., Hurbon, H., Wang, S.T. and Berezin, M.Y. (2020), Hyperspectral imaging and characterization of allergic contact dermatitis in the short‐wave infrared. J. Biophotonics. Accepted Author Manuscript. doi:10.1002/jbio.202000040

Posters and Presentations:

Hridoy Biswas, Helena Hurbon, Deependra Mishra, John Wang, and Mikhail Y. Berezin "Hyperspectral imaging in SWIR: Applications of geospatial approaches to biological imaging (Conference Presentation)", Proc. SPIE PC12398, Reporters, Markers, Dyes, Nanoparticles, and Molecular Probes for Biomedical Applications XIV, PC1239803 (17 March 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2654982

Visualization of blood vessels using a contrast maximization algorithm in the hyperspectral domain. Author block: Deependra Mishra; John Wang; Steven Wang; Qian Cao; Helena Hurbon; Qian Wu; Hairong Zhang; Roman Garnett; Mikhail Berezin; (2021) Washington University, St. Louis, MO, United States.

Cao, Q., Mishra, D., Wang, J., Wang, S., Hurbon, H., & Berezin, M. Y. (2021, March). HSKL: A Machine Learning Framework for Hyperspectral Image Analysis. In 2021 11th Workshop on Hyperspectral Imaging and Signal Processing: Evolution in Remote Sensing (WHISPERS) (pp. 1-5). IEEE.

Shmuylovich, L., D. K. Mishra, H. Hurbon, A. Yu, T. Du, T. Wang, and M. Berezin. "843 Seeing water in the skin: Hyperspectral imaging in the short-wave infrared." Journal of Investigative Dermatology 140, no. 7 (2020): S110.

Hurbon, H., Enderling, H., & Moros, E. (2018). Qualitative Comparison of the Cytotoxic and Immunologic Consequences of Spatially Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Radiation Dosing. Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 63.