Dr. Babak Shadgan

Principal Investigator

M.D. (Tehran Azad University)
M.Sc. [Sports Medicine] (University of London)
Ph.D. [Muscle Biophysics] (University of British Columbia)
Fellowship [Diffused Optical Tomography] (MIT/Harvard University)
Postdoctoral Fellowship [Clinical Biophotonics] (University of British Columbia)
Scholar, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Sciences (MSFHR)
Fellow, International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE)
Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, UBC
Associate Faculty, School of Biomedical Engineering, UBC
Associate Faculty, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UBC
Associate Faculty, Neuroscience Graduate Program, Faculty of Medicine, UBC, Canada
Scientific Staff, Vancouver Acute (Vancouver General Hospital)

Research Interests

Dr. Babak Shadgan is a clinician-scientist, sports medicine physician, and biomedical technology innovator whose research focuses on the development and clinical translation of advanced wearable, implantable, non-contact, and remote technologies for real-time assessment of tissue and organ physiology, metabolism, hemodynamics, oxygenation, neural conduction, and functional recovery.

His multidisciplinary research program integrates clinical medicine, biomedical engineering, biophotonics, physiological signal processing, and artificial intelligence to advance continuous physiological monitoring, early disease detection, precision rehabilitation, and targeted therapeutic interventions. His work spans spinal cord injury, musculoskeletal medicine, orthopaedics, exercise physiology, sports medicine, reconstructive surgery, transplantation, and cardiovascular health.

A major focus of Dr. Shadgan’s research is the development of implantable and wearable technologies for novel clinical applications. In collaboration with Dr. Brian Kwon and colleagues at ICORD, he pioneered a miniaturized implantable near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) sensor for continuous monitoring of spinal cord oxygenation and hemodynamics. His team is now advancing novel methods to assess spinal cord perfusion, autoregulation, and neural function, with the goal of improving neurological recovery and reducing secondary injury.

In parallel with his implantable optical sensing program, Dr. Shadgan is pioneering implantable electrodiagnostic (EDX) technologies for continuous monitoring of spinal cord neural function. His laboratory has developed a novel epidural EDX sensor that enables dynamic assessment of spinal cord conduction and electrophysiological integrity in real time. Together with implantable optical sensors that monitor oxygenation and perfusion, these technologies form the foundation of a next-generation multimodal spinal cord monitoring platform capable of simultaneously assessing both physiological and functional status. This integrated approach has the potential to transform the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of spinal cord injury by providing clinicians with continuous, actionable information on tissue viability and neural function.

His research has also led to the development of innovative monitoring systems for reconstructive surgery, organ transplantation, cardiovascular applications, and remote healthcare. In collaboration with Dr. Donald Anderson and colleagues in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, he developed optical technologies for continuous assessment of tissue viability and hemodynamics in free tissue transfers and reconstructive procedures. This work is advancing the development of intelligent monitoring systems that provide continuous, objective assessment of tissue health, enabling precision-guided postoperative management and improved outcomes in reconstructive and transplant surgery.

Beyond diagnostics, Dr. Shadgan investigates therapeutic strategies that combine physiological monitoring with personalized interventions. His laboratory has been exploring low-intensity blood flow restriction (BFR) exercise as a novel rehabilitation approach for individuals with spinal cord injury, aiming to enhance muscle strength, preserve musculoskeletal health, and improve functional outcomes while minimizing mechanical loading.

Dr. Shadgan’s second area of interest in sports medicine is injury prevention and the Olympics. An internationally recognized leader in sports and exercise medicine, Dr. Shadgan has served as Medical Officer and Medical Director for wrestling competitions at every Olympic Games since Athens 2004. He currently serves as Chair of the Medical, Prevention, and Anti-Doping Commission of United World Wrestling (UWW), where he leads international initiatives in athlete health, injury prevention, and competition safety.

His contributions have included evidence-based rule modifications to reduce catastrophic injuries, athlete safeguarding initiatives, and safer weight-management practices in combat sports worldwide. These experiences continue to inform his translational research and inspire the development of next-generation technologies that improve both athletic performance and patient care.

Dr. Shadgan is developing next-generation wearable technologies for real-time assessment of muscle metabolism and physiological performance in high-performance athletes. Using advanced optical biosensing and artificial intelligence, his research aims to non-invasively identify physiological thresholds, including the lactate threshold, a key marker of aerobic fitness, endurance capacity, and training adaptation. This work seeks to replace traditional invasive blood sampling with continuous, real-time monitoring of muscle oxygenation and metabolic responses during exercise, providing athletes and coaches with actionable information to optimize training, improve performance, monitor recovery, and reduce the risk of overtraining and injury.

Through collaborations with clinicians, engineers, scientists, industry partners, and trainees, Dr. Shadgan aims to advance precision medicine through intelligent biosensing and therapeutic systems that enhance clinical decision-making, improve patient outcomes, and ultimately improve quality of life.

Recent collaborations

Dr. Shadgan has collaborated with Dr. Pierre Guy on NIRS-based monitoring of limb hemodynamics to detect acute and chronic exertional compartment syndrome. He also leads work on detecting cardiac arrest using NIRS-based technology in collaboration with Dr. Brian Grunau and Dr. Calvin Kuo, and on free tissue transfer monitoring utilizing NIRS technology with Drs. Donald Anderson and Oleksandr Butskiy.

Major Findings

• Demonstrated that near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a viable technology for real-time assessment of tissue oxygenation, perfusion, metabolism, and hemodynamics in both healthy and injured tissues.
• Developed novel physiological biomarkers, including tissue and regional perfusion indices, for quantitative assessment of tissue perfusion, vascular autoregulation, and ischemic injury.
• Demonstrated the utility of NIRS for non-invasive diagnosis and monitoring of musculoskeletal disorders, including chronic exertional compartment syndrome, muscle ischemia, fatigue, spasticity, and exercise-induced physiological adaptations.
• Developed wearable and implantable optical technologies for continuous monitoring of tissue viability and hemodynamics in reconstructive surgery, free tissue transfer, and organ transplantation.
• Investigated low-intensity blood flow restriction (BFR) exercise as a novel rehabilitation strategy to improve muscle strength and function in individuals with spinal cord injury.
• Advanced the development of multimodal wearable biosensors and artificial intelligence–based approaches for remote physiological monitoring, respiratory assessment, and early detection of sudden cardiac arrest.
• Applied physiological monitoring technologies to sports medicine, contributing to injury prevention, athlete health surveillance, performance monitoring, and safer participation in elite sport.

Techniques Employed in the Lab

• Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)
• Near-infrared Imaging (NIRI)
• Photoplethysmography (PPG)
• Nerve conduction sensing (NCS)
• Electromyography (EMG)
• Biosensing sensors

Affiliations with Organizations

• Department of Orthopaedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
• School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia
• Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia
• Neuroscience Graduate Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
• Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI)
• Canadian National Transplant Research Program (CNTRP)
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) College of Reviewers
• Canadian Orthopaedic Association (COA)
• International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE)
• Medical & Anti-Doping Commission, United World Wrestling (UWW)

Awards

• Merit Award, Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia (2025)
• CY Frank Award, Canadian Orthopaedic Association Research Leadership Program (2024)
• Innovation &Translational Research Award, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (2024)
• Merit Award, Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia (2024)
• Outstanding Academic Performance Award, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia (2023)
• Translational Research Award, U.S. Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (2023)
• Top Canadian Orthopaedic Research Paper Award, Canadian Orthopaedic Association (2022)
• Community Champion Award, International Society for Optics and Photonics (2020)
• Wall Solutions Initiative Award, Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies (2020)
• New Faculty Research Award, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia (2019)
• Scholar Award, Michael Smith Health Research BC (2018)
• Innovator’s Challenge Award, Vancouver General Hospital and UBC Foundation (2018)
• Innovation & Translational Research Award, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (2017)
• Innovator’s Challenge Award, Lumira Capital (2017)
• Innovation Research Award, Canadian Urological Association (2017)
• Wearable Technology Innovation World Cup Award (2013)
• Canadian Institute of Health Research, Postdoctoral Fellowship (2013)
• SPIE – University of California Davis, BMEG Entrepreneurship (2012)
• Michael Smith Foundation (MSFHR), Postdoctoral Trainee Award (2011)
• D. J. Lovell Award, International Society for Optics and Photonics (2010)
• Rising Star Award, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (2009)
• Senior Graduate Trainee Award, Michael Smith Health Research BC (2007)

Research Grants

Some of Dr. Shadgan’s major research grants include:

• NSERC Discovery Grant (2026): Wearable Intelligence for Human Performance: Engineering Precision Sports Monitoring Technologies.
• CIHR Project Grant (2025): Real World Validation of Machine Learning Algorithms for a Wearable Cardiac Arrest Detection System.
• Advanced Research Fund, Health Solution Lab, Samsung Electronics (2025): Advancing Athletic Performance: Innovating the Next Generation of Sports Monitoring Technology
• VCHRI, Innovation and Translational Research Award (2024): Developing Novel Biosensors for Remote Detection of Sudden Cardiac Arrest.
• CIHR Project Grant (2023): Advanced optical monitoring of free tissue transfer hemodynamics.
• CDMRP Translational Research Award (2023): Advanced Physiologic Monitoring at the Site of Spinal Cord Injury.
• ICORD Seed Grant (2022): Developing an electrodiagnostic sensor for monitoring spinal cord nerve conduction.
• MITACS Accelerate, Research Grant (2021): Developing Novel Biosensors for Remote Detection of Cardiac Arrest.
• Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, Research Grant (2020): Development of a point-of-care multimodal biosensor for screening, detecting, and monitoring COVID-19 patients.
• ICORD Seed Grant (2019): Low-intensity blood flow restriction exercise; an intervention to improve skeletal muscle development in people with SCI.
• Rick Hansen Institute (RHI), Startup Fund (2018)
• VGH, UBC Foundation, Innovator’s Challenge (2017): Free flap monitoring using a novel noninvasive near-infrared spectroscopy system.
• Grand Challenges, Global Health (2015): Noninvasive diagnosis of bladder dysfunction using a wireless compact NIRS.
• Canadian Institute of Health Research, CIHR Operating Grant / UNBC (2013).

Trainee Awards

Year

Name

Award

Current Lab Members

Masters Students

PhD Students

Research Staff

Research Laboratory:

Implantable Biosensing Laboratory: https://biosensing.med.ubc.ca

Recent publications

• Askari, Z et al.. 2026. Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Used During Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Instrumentation, Signal Metrics, Clinical Context, and Feasibility: A Scoping Review.. Sensors (Basel). doi: 10.3390/s26072136.
• Molnár, S et al.. 2026. From mat to sand: a comparative injury surveillance study of Olympic and Beach Wrestling at the 2025 World championships.. Inj Epidemiol. doi: 10.1186/s40621-026-00664-7.
• Shadgan, B et al.. 2026. Regional tissue perfusion index (RTPI): a new optical-based metric for quantifying regional tissue perfusion.. J Clin Monit Comput. doi: 10.1007/s10877-026-01424-0.
• Nourizadeh, M et al.. 2025. Non-invasive assessment of muscle spasticity in children with cerebral palsy undergoing botulinum toxin treatment using near-infrared spectroscopy.. J Neuroeng Rehabil. doi: 10.1186/s12984-025-01853-z.
• Khurana, AS, Khodavandi, A, Amani Tehrani, I, Shadgan, B. 2025. Towards accurate penetration depth estimation in near-infrared spectroscopy: a quantitative analysis of source-detector distance dependence in porcine kidney models.. Biomed Opt Express. doi: 10.1364/BOE.572790.