Purdue BME welcomes Fiona Kolbinger, MD

Fiona Kolbinger, MD, has joined the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering as a Research Assistant Professor. Her research focuses on the intersection of computational data and image analysis methods and clinical medicine, mainly surgery and interventional medicine.

“In most projects, we try to make clinically valuable predictions from routine data and thereby augment the diagnostic capabilities of available imaging methods,” shares Kolbinger. “For example, we use routine imaging to predict complications before surgery. A big goal for many projects is clinical translation.”

Kolbinger is a physician by training. She completed her doctorate in the field of targeted cancer therapy development at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany, followed by a position as a Clinician Scientist in the General Surgery Department at the Technical University Dresden, Germany. There, she contributed to surgical patient care and built her scientific focus on the intersection of data science and clinical medicine.

“I am looking forward to the opportunity of building an interdisciplinary team and interacting with clinical collaborators inside and outside of Indiana,’ shares Kolbinger.

In her free time, Kolbinger is into long-distance cycling, running, and playing the viola. She was the first woman to win the Transcontinental Race in 2019 with a winning time of 10 days, 2 hours, and 48 minutes – more than 10 hours over the second closest.

“I am very lucky to be able to connect my hobbies and my job sometimes,” shares Kolbinger: “As a side project, I am investigating the physical and mental effects of ultra-distance cycling with a group of friends.”