Joseph R. Lakowicz

Joseph R. Lakowicz, Ph.D. is a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the founding Director of the Center for Fluorescence Spectroscopy (established in 1988). His career has focused on foundational and applied advances in fluorescence spectroscopy and imaging, spanning probe development, time-resolved fluorescence, and optical biosensing. He the author of Principles of Fluorescence Spectroscopy, which is widely recognized as the standard reference text in the field.

jlakowicz@som.umaryland.edu

Title: Adjunct Professor, CAST

Education

  • Ph.D., Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, 1973
  • B.S., Chemistry, La Salle College (now La Salle University), 1970

Appointments

  • Adjunct Faculty, Center for Advanced Sensor Technology (CAST), University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), 2026–present
  • Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 1984–present (promoted to Professor in 1984; continues as faculty)
  • Associate Professor, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 1980–1984
  • Director (Founder), Center for Fluorescence Spectroscopy, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 1988–present
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, University of Minnesota, 1974–1980
  • NATO Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, 1973–1974

Research Activities 

Dr. Lakowicz’s research centers on advancing fluorescence-based measurement and imaging methods for biological systems. His contributions include development and dissemination of fluorescence lifetime and time-resolved fluorescence approaches that are now widely used across molecular detection, microscopy, and biomedical imaging. His scholarship spans fluorescence instrumentation, probe photophysics, plasmon-enhanced fluorescence concepts, and translational optical sensing strategies relevant to diagnostics and bioanalytical technology development.

Dr. Lakowicz is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Fluorescence and the Journal of Biomedical Optics, Founding Co-Editor-in-Chief of Plasmonics, Topics in Fluorescence Spectroscopy, and Co-Founding Editor of Annual Reviews in Fluorescence. He also established the intensive course Principles and Applications of Time-Resolved Fluorescence Spectroscopy, offered in the United States and Germany, designed for Ph.D.-level scientists using fluorescence in their research. These lectures are now available on YouTube. Dr. Lakowicz’s group helped drive the shift from incremental fluorescence improvements toward transformative advances enabled by metallic nanostructures. Their work on plasmon-controlled fluorescence demonstrated how engineered surfaces can modify emission rates and directionality, enabling beaming emission and sub-diffraction resolution approaches, and supporting modern fluorescence enhancement strategies used across sensing and imaging. Most recently he has pioneered sensing of biomarkers in tear fluid using lenses without internal electronic components.

External Links

Google Scholar , Wikipedia

Selected Publications

  • Lakowicz, J. R. (Ed.). (2006). Principles of fluorescence spectroscopy. Boston, MA: springer US.
  • Lakowicz, J. R., & Weber, G. (1973). Quenching of fluorescence by oxygen. Probe for structural fluctuations in macromolecules. Biochemistry, 12(21), 4161-4170.
  • Lakowicz, J. R. (2005). Radiative decay engineering 5: metal-enhanced fluorescence and plasmon emission. Analytical biochemistry, 337(2), 171-194.
  • Lakowicz, J. R. (2004). Radiative decay engineering 3. Surface plasmon-coupled directional emission. Analytical biochemistry, 324(2), 153-169.
  • Rao, G., Szmacinski, H., & Lakowicz, J. R. (1997). U.S. Patent No. 5,628,310. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  • Sivashanmugan, K., Reece, E. A., & Lakowicz, J. R. (2026). Quantitative immunoassays of matrix Metalloproteinase-9 in tears using a contact Lens. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 127433.
  • Sivashanmugan, K., Reece, E. A., & Lakowicz, J. R. (2025). On the Possibility of Fluorescent Capture Immunoassays on a Contact Lens. Biosensors, 15(5), 326.
  • Badugu, R., & Lakowicz, J. R. (2023). Plasmon-and waveguide-coupled fluorescence at the ultraviolet region. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 127(25), 12084-12095.