ECE’s Reddy named Fellow of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy

Rohith Reddy, Ph.D., an Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the Cullen College of Engineering and a CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research, has been named a Fellow of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy (SAS).

Fellow status is awarded in recognition of his significant contributions to the Society and to the field of Spectroscopy as a whole. Reddy is part of this year’s five-member class, and he was honored at the October 2025 SciX conference in Kentucky.

“I’m truly honored to be named a Fellow of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy,” Reddy said. “Looking at the list of Fellows over the past few decades, many of whom I have admired throughout my career, it is humbling to be included among them. This recognition means a great deal to me, and I’m grateful to be part of such an inspiring community of scientists.”

Reddy currently serves on the Applied Spectroscopy Editorial Advisory Board and the SAS Publications Committee. He is a lifetime member of both the SAS and the Coblentz Society and will serve as the next President of the Coblentz Society, starting in 2026. He previously served on the Coblentz Society Board, where he led initiatives to support early-career spectroscopists, and on the SAS Nominations and Meggers Award Committees. He also served as editor of a special issue of Applied Spectroscopy focused on vibrational spectroscopy for disease monitoring.

Reddy received his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and completed his postdoctoral fellowship under Dr. Gary Tearney at Harvard Medical School. His research centers on vibrational spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging for biomedical applications , with innovations that have advanced the diagnosis and understanding of prostate, breast, bone marrow and gynecologic cancers, as well as kidney disorders and Alzheimer’s disease.

Reddy’s lab is at the forefront of innovation in biomedical imaging, developing next-generation spectroscopic instruments and advanced data-analysis algorithms that uncover disease processes with exceptional spatial and temporal resolution. As principal investigator on two National Institutes of Health (NIH) and one Department of Energy (DOE) grants totaling $7.4 million, he leads research addressing major biomedical challenges, including bone-marrow cancers, autoimmune kidney disorders, and other complex diseases.

The Reddy lab, in collaboration with David Mayerich, Associate Professor and CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research, and Chandra Mohan, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Endowed Professor at the UH are developing advanced infrared imaging systems and machine learning tools to enhance the accuracy and speed of kidney disease diagnosis.

In partnership with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the lab is also working on new hardware and analytical techniques to identify which patients are most likely to respond to blood cancer therapies. Supported by the DOE through a collaboration with the University of Colorado, Reddy’s group is pushing the boundaries of biological imaging by creating methods that significantly accelerate data acquisition. This advancement aims to bring high-resolution imaging closer to real-time applications in both research and clinical settings.

“I’m very grateful to my colleagues, collaborators, and students at the University of Houston,” Reddy said. “I’ve learned so much from them over the years, and their ideas and enthusiasm continually inspire me. Research is truly a collaborative effort, and none of this work would be possible without their contributions. While research can sometimes feel abstract, medical imaging is deeply motivating because its impact on people’s health is so tangible. Every one of us will grow old, and we all benefit from the discoveries of scientists who came before us. I hope that my research, together with my students and collaborators, will help improve lives for generations to come.”

Reddy holds B.Tech. and M.Tech. degrees from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. His numerous accolades include the Applied Spectroscopy William F. Meggers Award (2014), the FACSS Innovation Awards (2012, 2016), the Tomas Hirschfeld Award (2012), the William G. Fateley Student Award (2011), the Coblentz Student Award (2011), the SAS Graduate Student Award (2011), and multiple FACSS Student Poster Awards (2007, 2009, 2011). He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and holds seven U.S. patents. A committed faculty mentor, he provides guidance and support to emerging scientists through both SAS and the Coblentz Society, helping shape the next generation of leaders in spectroscopy.

For more information about Reddy’s lab and research, visit his website.