Positions

Assistant Professor of Surgery

Division of Surgical Oncology
Baylor College of Medicine

Addresses

Baylor College of Medicine (Lab)

One Baylor Plaza
433 DE
Houston, TX 77030
United States
nitesh.katta@bcm.edu

Education

Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of California at Irvine

Irvine, CA

PhD from The University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX

MSc from The University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX

Honors & Awards

K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Professional Interests

• Biomedical engineering
• Biophotonics
• Light-tissue interaction

Professional Statement

Dr. Nitesh Katta received his Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. He earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, where his doctoral research pioneered optical coherence tomography (OCT)–guided laser surgery for cancer. Following this, he completed his postdoctoral training at the Beckman Laser Institute (BLI), where he advanced translational biomedical optics through the development of miniature fiber-optic and optoacoustic technologies for image-guided therapies. His research at BLI spanned image-guided brain cancer surgery, laser microbiopsy, and early detection of cutaneous neurofibromas.

Dr. Katta has authored over 10 peer-reviewed publications and holds multiple patents across laser surgery, optical diagnostics, imaging, and medical device technologies. His contributions have been recognized with the Franz Hillenkamp Fellowship from SPIE, research grants from the American Society of Lasers in Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS), and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Dr. Nitesh Katta is an NIH K99/R00 Investigator at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where he develops advanced optical technologies for precision diagnostics and therapy. His research focuses on fiber-optic and optical platforms that enhance accuracy and feedback during minimally invasive surgical and interventional procedures.

Websites

Selected Publications

• Katta N, Estrada AD, McElroy AB, Gruslova A, Oglesby M, Cabe AG, Feldman MD, Fleming RD, Brenner AJ, Milner TE "Laser brain cancer surgery in a xenograft model guided by optical coherence tomography." Theranostics.; Pubmed PMID: 31281497
• Katta N, Estrada AD, McErloy AB, Milner TE "Fiber-laser platform for precision brain surgery." Biomed Opt Express.; Pubmed PMID: 35519278
• Gruslova AB, Katta N, Nolen D, Jenney S, Vela D, Buja M, Cilingiroglu M, Seddighi Y, Han HC, Milner TE, Feldman MD "Intravascular laser lithotripsy for calcium fracture in human coronary arteries." EuroIntervention.; Pubmed PMID: 38060282
• Zhang J, Rector J, Lin JQ, Young JH, Sans M, Katta N, Giese N, Yu W, Nagi C, Suliburk J, Liu J, Bensussan A, DeHoog RJ, Garza KY, Ludolph B, Sorace AG, Syed A, Zahedivash A, Milner TE, Eberlin LS "Nondestructive tissue analysis for ex vivo and in vivo cancer diagnosis using a handheld mass spectrometry system." Sci Transl Med.; Pubmed PMID: 28878011

Memberships

American Heart Association

Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers

American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery