fellow

Audrey Bowden

2024-2025
Home institution
Vanderbilt University
Country of origin (home institution)
United States
Discipline(s)
Health Sciences; Interdisciplinary Studies; Psychology, psychiatry and psychoanalysis
Theme(s)
Health
Fellowship dates
Biography

Audrey Bowden is associate professor of biomedical engineering at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee (US). Her research focuses on the development of light-based technologies to assess health, detect diseases, and monitor treatment. She is particularly passionate about developing technologies to improve healthcare access and raise the standard of care for people in rural and disadvantaged communities. Her work routinely involves transdisciplinary engagement with medical doctors, scientists, engineers, and sometimes even theater professionals.

Audrey received her PhD from Duke University (US), where she was a member of the University Scholars Program, an interdisciplinary and intergenerational community committee dedicated to learning about the world and each other. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University (US) and launched her independent research career as an assistant professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University (US). Her love for travel and food of all cultures connects to the year she spent in Singapore as an international fellow, where she taught computer science at Ngee Ann Polytechnique.

Research Project
Luminous Links: Exploring Light’s Role Across Science, Society, and Sensation

Luminous Links aims to showcase the importance and beauty of light—as a scientific and artistic concept—in our lives. During her fellowship at the Collegium, Audrey Bowden will organize an event featuring a series of presentations and interactive sessions with scientists, artists, and other members of society. These sessions will guide us toward a deeper understanding and appreciation of how light makes our lives better.

Research Interests:

light science; photonics; science communication; public engagement; science and art.