Jana Kainerstorfer
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Courtesy Appointment, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Jana Kainerstorfer is the principal investigator of the Biophotonics Lab at Carnegie Mellon in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. She received her Ph.D. in physics from the University of Vienna, Austria, in partnership with the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda MD in 2010.
Kainerstorfer has an extensive background in optical imaging, with an emphasis on near-infrared spectroscopy and imaging. She has particular experience in developing instruments as well as data analysis of optical data. Her lab’s research focus is based on optical imaging for clinical applications with emphasis spanning two primary areas: instrument and measurement protocol development of non-invasive optical imaging which can yield biomarkers for disease diagnostics and monitoring; and translation of such imaging tools to answer clinical questions where microvascular imaging can be of use for understanding a pathophysiology or monitoring of disease.
Accessible and Non-Invasive Intracranial Pressure Sensing
Biomedical Optics for Monitoring Disease
Non-Invasive Monitoring of the Brain Using Near-Infrared Light
Novel Strategies for Sensing and Stimulating the Brain Noninvasively and Precisely
Education
2010 Ph.D., Physics, University of Vienna
2007 MS, Physics, University of Vienna
Affiliations
Media mentions
Kainerstorfer and Krause featured in profile about women in STEM
BME’s Jana Kainerstorfer and MSE’s Amanda Krause were featured in a CMU profile that highlights accomplished women in STEM fields.
SPIE
Kainerstorfer promoted to SPIE Fellow
BME’s Jana Kainerstorfer is part of the 2025 class of Fellows in SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. Fellows are Members of the Society who have made significant scientific and technical contributions in the multidisciplinary fields of optics, photonics, and imaging.
CMU Engineering
Recalling moments and mentors
Dean Bill Sanders says Milestone Moments encourages students and junior faculty that there are many ways to put their extraordinary talents and exceptional education to use.
CMU Engineering
30 years of cognitive shifts
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, a joint interdisciplinary neuroscience program between CMU and the University of Pittsburgh.
CMU Engineering
Exploring how melanin influences clinical oxygen measurements
CMU study explores the influence of melanin on near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), an optical tool that leverages light-tissue interaction to measure changes in hemoglobin concentration and oxygenation.
Pittsburgh Business Times
Kainerstorfer discusses AI in biotech
BME’s Jana Kainerstorfer talked about AI's growing place in the biotech industry during an October meeting of Pittsburgh’s chapter of Women in Bio. As reported by the Pittsburgh Business Times, Kainerstorfer discussed some of the biases of data collection. “Oftentimes, we don’t have a diverse enough dataset to even train an AI algorithm and show the efficacy of a device,” Kainerstorfer said, according to the outlet.
CMU Engineering
Relationships are key to the research and the researchers
Zeynep Ozkaya’s work in Jana Kainerstorfer’s biophotonicslab has helped her to better understand the signal processing principles she is learning in her electrical engineering courses.
CMU Engineering
Better than a hole in the head
Intracranial pressure sensing is the burgeoning focus of Jana Kainerstorfer’s biomedical optics lab, and her team is working to create noninvasive ICP sensing alternatives.
CMU Engineering
Grant boosts respiratory support for lung disease patients
An interdisciplinary team led by Keith Cook has been awarded $8.7 million dollars from the U.S. Army to create and integrate new technologies to sustain permanent at-home artificial lung support.
US Army CDMRP
Army grant bolsters ongoing artificial organ research
BME’s Keith Cook, Jana Kainerstorfer, and Howie Choset, along with colleagues at Vanderbilt University and Cornell University, have been awarded an $8.7 million grant from the US Army CDMRP program. The group is working to create and integrate technologies that enable artificial lungs to transition from temporary support in the ICU to permanent support at home.
BME/ECE faculty proposal selected for Facebook research grant
BME’s Jana Kainerstorfer and Sossena Wood and ECE’s Pulkit Grover have received a research ground from Facebook’s Engineering Approaches to Responsible Neural Interface Design program. Their research is focused on racially inclusive optical technology.
CMU Engineering
Wearable tech aids freedivers, cardiac patients
Carnegie Mellon University researchers are part of an international team working on wearable biomedical technology that will enhance freediver safety, as well as provide fresh treatment insights for cardiac patients.