Jennifer Kehlet Barton, PhD, is Professor and Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Chair of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona, where she holds joint appointments in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Optical Sciences, Radiology and Imaging Sciences, the University of Arizona Cancer Center, and the BIO5 Institute.

Barton earned her BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California, Irvine, respectively. She worked at McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) on the International Space Station program before returning to UT Austin for a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. She joined the University of Arizona in 1998 to help establish the Biomedical Engineering Graduate Interdisciplinary Program.

Barton led the transition of Biomedical Engineering into a formal department with undergraduate degree program, and served as its inaugural head. She has held additional leadership roles as Associate Vice President for Research, Interim Vice President for Research, Director of the BIO5 Institute, and Interim Vice Provost for Health Programs.

Barton’s research focuses on development of optical techniques for understanding disease processes, with an emphasis on ovarian cancer. She builds and tests miniature endoscopes that combine optical imaging technologies, particularly optical coherence tomography and fluorescence spectroscopy, and evaluates the suitability of these endoscopes for visualizing tissue structure and function. She has produced over 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 8 patents, graduated 35 PhD and MS students, and led 25 grants as PI totaling over $23M. She is recognized at the state, national, and international levels through activities such as the National Advisory Committee of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), and serving as 2024 President of SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics.