Parsin Haji Reza
Research Chair in Biomedical Imaging | Director - PhotoMedicine Labs | Associate Professor
Email: phajirez@uwaterloo.ca
Location: E7 6416
Phone: 519-888-4567 x40172
Status: Active
Biography
Dr. Parsin Haji Reza (Ph.D., P.Eng.) is a teacher, award-winning researcher, experienced entrepreneur, and published novelist. With a longstanding commitment to advancing biomedical optics and medical imaging, he has worked to bridge the gap between academic research and practical applications in industry and healthcare.
Dr. Haji Reza’s research spans revolutionary imaging and sensing modalities that enable non-invasive, high-resolution visualization of cellular, molecular, and subcellular structures and functions. By integrating fundamental physical principles with advanced optical and photonic engineering, he investigates how controlled perturbations and carefully tuned conditions can reveal otherwise inaccessible optical signatures. This approach has led to the development of entirely new frameworks in biomedical diagnostics, pushing the boundaries of imaging technologies and expanding possibilities in both clinical and laboratory settings.
His transformative work drives advancements in disease detection, therapeutic assessment, and precision diagnostics, offering far-reaching clinical implications. With a strategic, interdisciplinary approach to leadership, he has fostered a collaborative environment by forging partnerships across academic, industrial, and clinical sectors, ensuring that the innovations born in his lab transition seamlessly into meaningful real-world applications.
Named one of Canada’s Innovation Leaders, Dr. Haji Reza has successfully navigated some of the country’s most competitive funding environments. He is one of only sixteen applicants nationwide to receive the prestigious NSERC Horizon grant and has earned multiple CFI and NFRF (National tri-agency New Frontiers in Research Fund) awards—grants known for their approximately 4% success rate. Notably, his most recent CIHR grant for ophthalmology research was ranked #1 in its biomedical engineering committee. Since 2018, Dr. Haji Reza’s pioneering work as Principal Investigator has attracted more than $30 million in funding (~$12 million pending), reflecting his impact across both scientific and industry sectors.
For over 10 years, he has been involved with a range of early-stage companies spanning hardware, software, mobile applications, and AI. Within these ventures, he has held diverse leadership roles—including Founder, Chairman, Board Member, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Scientific Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and strategic and technical advisor—demonstrating a nuanced understanding of technology transfer, commercialization, and team-building across multiple domains.
His academic contributions include authoring over 50 peer-reviewed journal papers and securing more than 16 patent families, with over 60 patents awarded or pending across Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. He has been acknowledged for excellence in teaching, research, and mentorship through honors such as the Faculty of Engineering Distinguished Performance Award, the Engineering Research Excellence Award, and the Outstanding Performance Award. During the pandemic, his commitment to supporting student mental health was recognized with the Engineering Society Friend of Natalie Award.
Dr. Haji Reza actively chairs various international conferences and serves as a standing member and occasional interim chair of the CIHR Medical Imaging Committee. Since October 2022, Dr. Haji Reza has served as a Research Chair in Biomedical Imaging at the University of Waterloo. His focus on clinical impact led to his appointment as translational medical staff at the Wills Eye Hospital. He is currently leading the development of the new Center of Imaging and Precision Photomedicine at the University of Waterloo, which has received institutional approval for $12 million in initial funding.
Beyond his scientific and entrepreneurial endeavors, Dr. Haji Reza finds fulfillment in mentoring students, strategizing new commercialization approaches, and engaging with the arts—writing, music, and short films—as well as exploring philosophical perspectives. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a steady commitment to transforming scientific insights into practical, human-centered solutions, inspiring emerging innovators to envision and develop accessible, technology-driven healthcare for communities worldwide.
Dr. Haji Reza’s research spans revolutionary imaging and sensing modalities that enable non-invasive, high-resolution visualization of cellular, molecular, and subcellular structures and functions. By integrating fundamental physical principles with advanced optical and photonic engineering, he investigates how controlled perturbations and carefully tuned conditions can reveal otherwise inaccessible optical signatures. This approach has led to the development of entirely new frameworks in biomedical diagnostics, pushing the boundaries of imaging technologies and expanding possibilities in both clinical and laboratory settings.
His transformative work drives advancements in disease detection, therapeutic assessment, and precision diagnostics, offering far-reaching clinical implications. With a strategic, interdisciplinary approach to leadership, he has fostered a collaborative environment by forging partnerships across academic, industrial, and clinical sectors, ensuring that the innovations born in his lab transition seamlessly into meaningful real-world applications.
Named one of Canada’s Innovation Leaders, Dr. Haji Reza has successfully navigated some of the country’s most competitive funding environments. He is one of only sixteen applicants nationwide to receive the prestigious NSERC Horizon grant and has earned multiple CFI and NFRF (National tri-agency New Frontiers in Research Fund) awards—grants known for their approximately 4% success rate. Notably, his most recent CIHR grant for ophthalmology research was ranked #1 in its biomedical engineering committee. Since 2018, Dr. Haji Reza’s pioneering work as Principal Investigator has attracted more than $30 million in funding (~$12 million pending), reflecting his impact across both scientific and industry sectors.
For over 10 years, he has been involved with a range of early-stage companies spanning hardware, software, mobile applications, and AI. Within these ventures, he has held diverse leadership roles—including Founder, Chairman, Board Member, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Scientific Officer, Chief Technology Officer, and strategic and technical advisor—demonstrating a nuanced understanding of technology transfer, commercialization, and team-building across multiple domains.
His academic contributions include authoring over 50 peer-reviewed journal papers and securing more than 16 patent families, with over 60 patents awarded or pending across Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. He has been acknowledged for excellence in teaching, research, and mentorship through honors such as the Faculty of Engineering Distinguished Performance Award, the Engineering Research Excellence Award, and the Outstanding Performance Award. During the pandemic, his commitment to supporting student mental health was recognized with the Engineering Society Friend of Natalie Award.
Dr. Haji Reza actively chairs various international conferences and serves as a standing member and occasional interim chair of the CIHR Medical Imaging Committee. Since October 2022, Dr. Haji Reza has served as a Research Chair in Biomedical Imaging at the University of Waterloo. His focus on clinical impact led to his appointment as translational medical staff at the Wills Eye Hospital. He is currently leading the development of the new Center of Imaging and Precision Photomedicine at the University of Waterloo, which has received institutional approval for $12 million in initial funding.
Beyond his scientific and entrepreneurial endeavors, Dr. Haji Reza finds fulfillment in mentoring students, strategizing new commercialization approaches, and engaging with the arts—writing, music, and short films—as well as exploring philosophical perspectives. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a steady commitment to transforming scientific insights into practical, human-centered solutions, inspiring emerging innovators to envision and develop accessible, technology-driven healthcare for communities worldwide.
Research Interests
- Medical imaging
- Image processing
- Machine learning
- Medical devices
- Nano-fabrication
- Photoacoustic remote sensing (PARS) microscopy
- Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT)
- Multi-scale functional and molecular photoacoustic tomography
- Ultrasound imaging
- All optical and non-contact detection systems
- Photoacoustic wavefront shaping
- Optical coherence tomography (OCT)
- Multi-photon microscopy
- Novel multi-modality optical imaging techniques
- Design and fabrication of micro-endoscopy systems
- Super-resolution imaging techniques
- Real-time and 3D biomedical imaging
- Novel optical and fiber-based components
- Novel laser systems for biomedical applications
- Optical sensors
- Biomedical Engineering
- Optics
- Photonics
Education
- 2015, Doctorate Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada
- 2010, Bachelor's (Honors) Electronics Majoring in Optical Engineering, Multimedia University, Malaysia
Teaching*
- BME 386 - The Physics of Medical Imaging
- Taught in 2024
* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.
Selected/Recent Publications
- Zohreh Hosseinaee, Nicholas Pellegrino, Nima Abbasi, Tara Amiri, James A. Tummon Simmons, Paul Fieguth, and Parsin Haji Reza, In-vivo functional and structural retinal imaging using multiwavelength photoacoustic remote sensing microscopy, Scientific Reports, 1, 2022
- Z. Hosseinaee, B. R. Ecclestone, N. Pellegrino, L. Khalili, L. Mukhangaliyeva, P. Fieguth, P. HajiReza, Functional photoacoustic remote sensing microscopy using a stabilized temperature-regulated stimulated Raman scattering light source, Optics Express, 29745, 2021
- Zohreh Hosseinaee, Nima Abbasi, Nicholas Pellegrino, Layla Khalili, Lyazzat Mukhangaliyeva, and Parsin Haji Reza, Functional and structural ophthalmic imaging using noncontact multimodal photoacoustic remote sensing microscopy and optical coherence tomography, Scientific Reports, , 2021
- John Mackey, Benjamin R, Ecclestone, Deepak Dinakaran, Gilbert Bigras, Parsin Haji Reza, H&E-like histology of unstained fresh and formalin fixed breast tissue with Photo Acoustic Remote Sensing (PARS) microscopy, Journal of Medical Oncology, e12590, 2021
- Benjamin R. Ecclestone, Zohreh Hosseinaee, Nima Abbasi, Kevan Bell, Deepak Dinakaran, John R. Mackey & Parsin Haji Reza, Three-dimensional virtual histology in unprocessed resected tissues with photoacoustic remote sensing (PARS) microscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT), Scientific Reports, 1, 2021
- Kevan Bell, Lyazzat Mukhangaliyeva, Layla Khalili, and Parsin Haji Reza, Hyperspectral absorption microscopy using photoacoustic remote sensing, Optics Express, 24338, 2021
- Zohreh Hosseinaee, James A. Tummon Simmons, Parsin Haji Reza, Dual-modal photoacoustic imaging and optical coherence tomography [Review], Frontiers in Physics, , 2021
- Benjamin R. Ecclestone, Deepak Dinakaran, Parsin Haji Reza, Single Acquisition Label-free Histology-like Imaging with Dual Contrast Photoacoustic Remote Sensing Microscopy, Journal of Biomedical Optics, 056007, 2021
- Benjamin R. Ecclestone, Saad Abbasi, Kevan Bell, Deepak Dinakaran, Gilbert Bigras, John R. Mackey, Parsin Haji Reza, Towards virtual biopsies of gastrointestinal tissues using photoacoustic remote sensing microscopy, QMIS, 1070, 2021
- Benjamin R. Ecclestone, Kevan Bell, Saad Abbasi, Deepak Dinakaran, Muba Taher, John R. Mackey, and Parsin Haji Reza, Histopathology for Mohs micrographic surgery with photoacoustic remote sensing microscopy, Biomed. Opt. Express, 654, 2021
In The News
Graduate studies
- Currently considering applications from graduate students. A completed online application is required for admission; start the application process now.
- Has Sole-Supervisory Privilege Status (SSPS) status