Professor Stephen Matcher

PhD, BSc

School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Professor of Biophotonics

Head and shoulders photograph of Professor Stephen Matcher
Profile picture of Head and shoulders photograph of Professor Stephen Matcher
s.j.matcher@sheffield.ac.uk
Profile

I graduated from Imperial College London with a BSc in Physics and subsequently a PhD in optical astronomy, where I used high-speed, low-light-level imaging to overcome atmospheric turbulence and achieve diffraction-limited ground-based imaging.

I translated my expertise in low-light-level imaging into medicine at University College London, where I developed near-infrared spectroscopy techniques to study tissue oxygen delivery, especially in newborn infants at risk from birth asphyxia.

I joined the staff of the Physics department at the University of Exeter, where I established research programmes in visible light spectroscopy of skin and optical coherence tomography (OCT).

In 2006 I joined the ±¬ÁÏTV where I am currently Professor of Biophotonics.

My chief research interest lies in the development and application of novel biophotonic imaging tools to aid the characterisation of native and engineered biological tissues.

I work extensively with optical coherence tomography (OCT), including novel variants such as polarization-sensitive OCT for the non-invasive assessment of collagen organization and OCT angiography for the measurement of tissue vascularization.

I also develop novel microscopy tools based on second harmonic generation (SHG) and novel clinical sensors based on fluorescence.

I am currently collaborating with clinical colleagues to improve the detection of bacterial and fungal eye infections, to provide tools for the early prediction of pre-term birth to develop non-invasive tools, to characterise skin barrier function and assess inflammatory skin disorders such as atopic dermatitis and to determine the biomechanical factors affecting the interaction between skin and man-made objects.

Research interests
  • Biophotonics
  • Medical Imaging
  • OCT
Publications

Journal articles

  • Cork MJ, Ong PY, Danby SG, Byers RA, Matcher SJ, Katibi OS, Brown K, Andrew PV, Pinnock A, Poyner A , Johnson L et al (2026) . Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
  • Maiti R, Lu Z, Li W, Matcher SJ, Carré M & Lewis R (2026) . Journal of Tribology.
  • Sasi GS, Matcher SJ & Chauvet AAP (2025) . Plant Methods, 21.
  • Danby SG, Matcher S, Byers R, Taylor R, Sahib S, Andrew P, Brown K, Kay L, Wright C, Pinnock A , Chittock J et al (2025) . JEADV Clinical Practice, 4(1), 103-116.
  • Cork MJ, Leung D, Ong P, Danby S, Ramirez-Gama M, Garcia S, Patricia T, Byers R, Matcher S, Zahn J , Bologna G et al (2024) . British Journal of Dermatology, 191(Supplement_1), i30-i30.
  • Duan MQ, Byers RA, Danby SG, Sahib S, Cha A, Zang C, Werth J, Adiri R, Taylor RN, Cork MJ & Matcher SJ (2023) . Biomedical Optics Express, 14(8), 4126-4136.
  • Revin DG, Byers RA, Duan MQ, Li W & Matcher SJ (2023) . Biomedical Optics Express, 14(8), 3914-3923.
  • Chauvet AAP & Matcher SJ () . Frontiers in Plant Science, 16.

Conference proceedings

  • Hooper FS, Revin DG, Theofrastou E, Soni NK, Yuan R, Hearnden V, Anumba DOC & Matcher SJ (2025) . Polarized Light and Optical Angular Momentum for Biomedical Diagnostics 2025, Vol. 13322 (pp 1332206). San Francisco, California, United States, 25 January 2025 - 25 January 2025.
  • Soni NK, Revin D, Ahmad J & Matcher SJ (2025) . Optical Coherence Tomography and Coherence Domain Optical Methods in Biomedicine XXIX (pp 95-95), 25 January 2025 - 31 January 2025.
  • Yuan R, Byers RA, Revin DG & Matcher SJ (2024) . Biomedical Spectroscopy, Microscopy, and Imaging III (pp 79-79), 7 April 2024 - 12 April 2024.
  • Duan M, Revin DG & Matcher SJ (2024) . Biomedical Spectroscopy, Microscopy, and Imaging III (pp 44-44), 7 April 2024 - 12 April 2024.
  • Yuan R, Revin DG, Byers RA & Matcher SJ (2024) . Biomedical Spectroscopy, Microscopy, and Imaging III (pp 36-36), 7 April 2024 - 12 April 2024.
  • Ahmad J, Soni NK, Revin DG & Matcher SJ (2024) . Biomedical Spectroscopy, Microscopy, and Imaging III (pp 35-35), 7 April 2024 - 12 April 2024.
  • Hooper FS, Yuan R, Revin DG, Anumba DO & Matcher SJ (2023) . Optical Coherence Imaging Techniques and Imaging in Scattering Media V, Vol. 12632 (pp 64-64). Munich, Germany, 25 June 2023 - 25 June 2023.
Teaching activities
  • Module leader (BIE291 Biomedical Instrumentation)
  • Module instructor (EEE228 Design Project)
Professional activities and memberships
  • Bioengineering personal tutor
  • Foundation Year personal tutor

Links

      Semiconductor Materials and Devices Research Group