Dr Michael Tanner is a Tenure Track Research Fellow in Biomedical Photonics at Heriot-Watt University and honorary lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, working with the EPSRC Proteus IRC. He is currently establishing a research group to exploit time resolved single photon technologies and optical fibre sensors for clinical/biomedical photonics and other real world applications, with strong links to Robert Thomson and the Photonic Instrumentation group. Informal news updates can be found at https://tanner-lab.org/
Michael has a desire to bring the most advanced single photon technologies out of the darkened physics lab and into practical application, leading him to focus on transformative applications in healthcare. As a physicist with wide ranging experience in experimental systems, fibre optics, quantum technologies and fibre sensing he has developed advanced optical systems on site at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (QMRI) within the Proteus project to optimise novel fibre technologies for clinical application.
Michael has a track record in developing quantum technologies. Initially designing silicon chips for quantum information processing at the Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory and the University of Cambridge, he moved to quantum optics and single photon detector technologies with the Quantum Sensors group at Heriot-Watt University and the University of Glasgow. While developing cutting edge quantum optics experiments and new secure optical communication technologies, he applied photon counting technologies to real world sensing problems. These included time of flight depth imaging, singlet oxygen fluorescence measurements for photodynamic therapy in cancer treatment and primary temperature measurement with optic fibre. Now he applies single photon detector arrays for medical sensing, imaging and diagnosis with a focus on practical systems for translation to clinic or elsewhere.