Steven Graham Adie
VerifiedCornell University · Aerospace Engineering
Active 2005–2026
About
Dr. Steven Graham Adie is an Associate Professor at the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University, where he is based in Weill Hall, Room 113. He joined Cornell in 2013 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His postdoctoral research focused on optical coherence tomography (OCT), including computational image formation, dynamic optical coherence elastography (OCE), and translational OCT research for image-guided surgery in breast cancer. Dr. Adie earned his Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from The University of Western Australia. Prior to his academic career, he worked in the R&D division of a startup developing solid-state laser systems for LASIK eye surgery. His research program centers on the development and application of OCT-based imaging for both basic science investigations and clinical applications. OCT is an imaging modality capable of 3D label-free imaging of tissue structure and function in vivo, functioning as the optical analogue of ultrasound with higher resolution. In his lab, Dr. Adie develops OCT instrumentation and imaging techniques to optimize resolution and contrast, including methods for optical coherence elastography to image tissue mechanical properties. His work explores new image formation paradigms for cellular-resolution volumetric OCT, leveraging computational approaches that combine the advantages of digital holography and confocal microscopy. His research aims to better understand disease development and progression, particularly the role of mechanical properties in carcinogenesis, through multidisciplinary collaborations. Additionally, Dr. Adie focuses on translating OCT's non-invasive, label-free imaging capabilities into clinical settings by designing portable systems and testing image-based biomarkers for disease diagnosis and treatment monitoring.
Research topics
- Optics
- Computer science
- Medicine
- Materials science
- Physics
Selected publications
Ultradeep optical coherence tomography in scattering media
2026-03-05
articleSenior authorActa Biomaterialia · 2026-02-27
articleOpen access2026-03-05
articleSenior author2025-04-03
articleSenior authorDeep tissue imaging is achieved with a long-wavelength conjugate SD-OCT (Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography) combined with balanced detection. The use of long wavelength and conjugate configuration serves to reduce scattering and counteract spectrometer roll off, respectively, in SD-OCT, thereby enhancing imaging depth. A 1550nm OCT system is designed with the use of supercontinuum source (SuperK FIANIUM FIU-6 OCT) and Cobra 1600 spectrometer with bandwidth 1450-1690 nm. Balanced detection is employed to mitigate the excess noise associated with the supercontinuum source and to minimize the autocorrelation noise artefacts. This advanced technique leveraging long wavelength and BD in conjugate SD-OCT has allowed us to achieve optical imaging depths exceeding 4 mm in chicken breast tissue and scotch tape.
Study of ventricular morphogenesis and cardiac dynamics in a live chick embryonic heart slice
2025-03-19
articleSenior authorDefects in trabecular development are associated with congenital heart disease and cardiomyopathies. However, a full understanding of trabecular development and their function in ventricular morphogenesis remains elusive. Cardiac dynamics and development were studied in a live, chick embryo, heart slice that preserves beats and contractility for >24 hours. High-resolution, longitudinal imaging of the trabeculated and compact myocardium was performed with a combined Optical Coherence Microscopy (OCM), and confocal microscopy platform. Three dimensional volumes over multiple cardiac phases of the beating heart slice were reconstructed from BM-mode OCM acquisitions of the beating heart slices. The feasibility of performing structural and functional cellular tracking of trabecular growth was also explored by combining OCM with confocal fluorescence imaging. Longitudinal imaging was performed every 2 hours over 24 hours to track growth. High-resolution examination of trabecular structure and growth could be performed by the use of this live-slice culture and combined imaging approach.
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2025-06-27
preprintOpen accessCalcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is a degenerative disease with wide prevalence in the aging population and a low survival rate after onset of symptoms, yet there are no effective pharmacological treatments. Many patients present to the clinic with symptoms at end-stages of CAVD, when the disease may be irreversible. The ability to identify and live-trace calcific lesion emergence in-vivo would allow for the identification of disease biomarkers and discovery of therapeutic targets at earlier, more treatable stages. In this work, we establish a new multimodal in-vitro CAVD platform consisting of lineage traced-VEC and VIC cells in a 3D model combined with live optical coherence and fluorescence microscopy to unravel VEC, VIC, and matrix transitional events during calcific lesion formation. We discover that fissuring of the endothelial monolayer combined with the formation of dense aggregates in adjacent regions is a key biomarker of the onset of lesion formation. This coincides with the formation of dense VIC and ECM conglomerates under endothelial aggregates, an additional biomarker of pathogenesis. Further, we discover that fibrotic tissue compaction is correlated with but not necessary for lesion formation. Additionally, we identify RhoA activation in disease-treated samples. We demonstrate that RhoA inhibition through ROCK, but not Rac1 inhibition, prevents delamination of the endothelial monolayer, fibrotic remodeling, and emergence of calcific lesions. Together, this work establishes a new longitudinal live-imaging platform that identifies emergent cell and matrix biological signatures of CAVD onset and enables the evaluation of therapeutic interventions.
Dual spectrometer-based ultra-broadband spectral domain optical coherence tomography at 1450nm
2025-03-19
articleSenior authorImaging deep in scattering samples with high resolution is potentially useful in a wide range of biomedical applications. In order to accomplish this, we utilize two off-the-shelf spectrometers centered at ~1300 nm and ~1550 nm along with a simple fiber-based interferometer and a supercontinuum source to synthesize an effective bandwidth of ~400 nm centered at ~1450 nm. A portion of the spectrum was missing and was filled-in using the gapped-data amplitude and phase estimation method. The axial resolution when using only the 1300 nm or 1550 nm spectrometer was 10.3 μm or 14.8 μm respectively, while the combined spectra yielded a 5.4 μm resolution in air while still maintaining a ~3.5 mm imaging range.
2024-03-13
articleSenior authorLongitudinal imaging of a 3D model of calcific aortic valve disease, which consisted of co-cultured GFP+ Valve Endothelial Cells (VEC) and Valve Interstitial Cells (VIC), was performed with a combined Optical Coherence Microscopy (OCM), confocal reflectance and fluorescence microscopy system. The acquired confocal volumes depicted the VEC morphological changes and migration as well as collagen fiber alignment. With the aid of computational refocusing and multi-volume processing, the OCM datasets could visualize VIC cell bodies, matrix remodeling, nodule formation and calcific deposits. The complementary information derived using this combined approach could help unravel the cellular mechanisms leading to aortic valve calcification.
2024-03-13
articleSenior authorA combined 1300 nm Optical Coherence Microscopy (OCM) and 488 nm confocal reflectance/ fluorescence microscopy system was designed to perform high-resolution, high-specificity imaging of collagen-embedded spheroids. Spheroids of Hyaluronic Acid (HA) synthase-overexpressing breast epithelial cells alone, or co-cultured with adipose stromal cells were imaged. The volumes, acquired either after fixing and staining or longitudinally with labeling, enabled the visualization of the spheroid morphology, luminal structures, cellular organization, and collagen matrix remodeling. The morphology and internal lumen structures of spheroids, as large as 500 μm in diameter, could be obtained from the OCM volumes, even in the presence of dense collagen matrix surrounding the spheroids. The confocal stacks provided superior specificity to discriminate cells from the compacted collagen along the spheroid’s periphery, up to a depth of ~120 μm. The combined use of OCM and confocal imaging on these spheroid models has added to our understanding of how HA may contribute to tumor initiation and invasion.
Extended Imaging Depth via Long-wavelength Conjugate Spectral-domain OCT
2024-01-01
articleSenior authorThis article presents ultra-deep imaging in spectral domain OCT based on a combination of long-wavelength super-continuum source and conjugate configuration. Using this technique, we demonstrate deep tissue imaging up to 5.1mm optical depth in chicken breast tissue.
Recent grants
Volumetric Traction Force Tomography of Collective Cell Migration Dynamics
NIH · $434k · 2016–2019
NIH · $1.7M · 2019–2024
THREE-DIMENSIONAL MECHANO-MICROSCOPY OF THE STEM CELL NICHE
NIH · $611k · 2018–2021
NSF · $500k · 2018–2023
Development of Hybrid Adaptive Optics for Multimodal Microscopy Deep in the Mouse Brain
NIH · $491k · 2017–2020
Frequent coauthors
- 74 shared
SA Boppart
Diagnostic Photonics (United States)
- 74 shared
KA Cradock
Carle Foundation Hospital
- 68 shared
Stephen A. Boppart
University of Illinois System
- 65 shared
PS Carney
Carle Foundation Hospital
- 65 shared
DT McCormick
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- 49 shared
LK Jacobs
Diagnostic Photonics (United States)
- 49 shared
DA Darga
University of Illinois System
- 49 shared
Partha Ray
Education
- 2007
PhD, School of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering
University of Western Australia
- 1997
Bachelor of Science (Hons), Chemical Physics
University of Western Australia
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