Current Courses
Physics 1202:  Introduction to Physics in Medicine (Fall 2009)

Research Interests

Laser-tissue interactions
Biomedical optics
Infrared laser tissue ablation
Mid-infrared optical fiber probes
Medical applications of high-power fiber lasers
Optical coherence tomography
Minimally invasive laser surgical applications
Image-guided surgical interventions

Education

Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL (1998)
M.S., Physics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY (1994)
B. A., Physics, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA (1992)                                                                                                                

Professional Experience

Assistant Professor, Department of Physics and Optical Science, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, (2006 – Present)

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Urology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (2006 – Present)

Assistant Professor, Urology Department, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, (2000 – 2006)

Director, Biophotonics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, (2000 – 2006)

Frank McClure Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD (1998 – 2000)

Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for Advanced Science and Technology in Medicine, Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD (1998 – 2000)

Awards/Honors

Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program New Idea Award (2008-2011)

Young Investigator Award, Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program (2003-2006)

Young Investigator Award, Whitaker Biomedical Engineering Grant (2003-2006, Declined)

Professional Career Development Award, National Kidney Foundation of Maryland (2002-2003)

Frank McClure Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship, Johns Hopkins University (1998-2000)

Best Student Paper, American Society for Laser Medicine & Surgery, San Diego, CA (1998)

Walter P. Murphy Graduate Fellowship, Northwestern University (1995-1996)

United States Department of Education Graduate Fellowship, R.P.I. (1992-1993)

Professional Organizations

American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS)
Society of Photo-Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology
Engineering in Urology Society

Professional Service

Associate Editor, Lasers in Medical Science (2009 - )

Program Committee, International Symposium on Biomedical Optics (SPIE),          Urology: Diagnostics and Therapeutics Session, San Jose, CA (2006 – Present)

Co-Chair, American Society of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine Annual Conference.  Lasers in Urology Session.  Dallas, TX (2007)

Editorial Board, Lasers in Surgery and Medicine (2003 – Present)

Research Funding

Carolinas Medical Center / UNC-Charlotte Collaborative Grant (Jan 2009 - Dec 2009) (Co-PI’s: Fried / Irby) “Thulium fiber laser lithotripsy for treatment of kidney stones”

Family Health International (Jan 2009 - Dec 2011) (PI-Fried) “Noninvasive approaches to male sterilization”

UNC-Charlotte Faculty Research Grant (Jan 2009 - May 2010) (PI-Fried) “Safer and more efficient fragmentation of kidney stones using a thulium fiber laser”

Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program Idea Development Award (PC073709) (Mar 31, 2008 - Feb. 30, 2011) (PI-Fried)

"Novel optical methods for identification, imaging, and preservation of the cavernous nerves responsible for penile erections during prostate cancer surgery"

UNC-Charlotte Wachovia Summer Stipends Program (May 15 - Aug. 15, 2008) (PI-Fried) “Treatment of female stress urinary incontinence in a porcine model, in vivo, using a novel endoscopic laser probe”

UNC-Charlotte Faculty Research Grant (Jan. 15, 2007 – May 30, 2008) (PI – Fried)
"Novel optical imaging system for identification of the prostate nerves responsible for erectile function"

National Institutes of Health Phase II SBIR (Oct. 2005 – Sept. 2007) (PI – Tran)
“Oxide glass fiber optimized for short pulse IR lasers”

Johns Hopkins Fund for Medical Discovery (Sept 2004 – June 2006)
“Tunable thulium fiber laser for tissue ablation”

Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program Young Investigator Award (Feb. 2003 – Jan. 2006)

“Erbium:YAG laser incision of urethral strictures for treatment of urinary incontinence after prostate cancer surgery”

American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (Oct. 2003 – Sept. 2004)
“Hybrid germanium / silica optical fibers for Erbium:YAG laser lithotripsy”

National Kidney Foundation of Maryland Mini Grant (July 2002 – June 2003)
“A micro-inkjet device for marking of surgical margins during laparoscopic surgery”

National Kidney Foundation of Maryland Professional Development Award (July 2002 – June 2003)
“Precise incision of ureteral strictures using an Erbium:YAG laser”

National Institutes of Health Phase I SBIR (June 2002 – March 2003) (PI – Tran)
“Oxide glass fiber optimized for short pulse IR lasers”

American Institute for Ultrasound in Medicine (June 2002 – Dec 2003)
“Noninvasive vasectomy using a therapeutic focused ultrasound clip”

National Science Foundation (Oct. 1998 – Sept. 2001) (PI – Walsh)
“Laser welding of tissue:  modeling and experiments”

American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (June 1998 – Aug. 1998)

“Cryogen spray cooling during laser skin welding”

Publications

Patents

Fried NM, Tsitlik A, Berger RD, Lardo AC, Calkins H, Halperin HR. Circumferential pulmonary vein ablation using a laser and fiberoptic balloon catheter. United States Patent # 7,137,395, November 21, 2006. Johns Hopkins University.

Fried NM and Walsh JT. Method for welding tissue using pulsed radiation and a dye. United States Patent # 6,221,068 B1, April 24, 2001.  Northwestern University.

Manuscripts

2009

Chitchian S, Fiddy MA, Fried NM. Denoising during optical coherence tomography of the prostate nerves via wavelet shrinkage using dual-tree complex wavelet transform. Journal of Biomedical Optics 14(1):014031, 2009.

Scott NJ, Cilip CM, Fried NM. Thulium fiber laser ablation of urinary stones through small-core optical fibers. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics 15(2):435-440, 2009.

Cilip NM, Jarow JP, Fried NM. Noninvasive laser vasectomy: preliminary ex vivo tissue studies. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 41(3):203-7, 2009.

Scott NJ, Cilip CM, Fried NM. Thulium fiber laser lithotripsy. Proc. SPIE 7161:71611E, 2009. Cilip NM, Jarow JP, Fried NM. Noninvasive laser coagulation of the canine vas deferens, ex vivo. Proc. SPIE 7161: 71611O, 2009.

Tozburun S, Fried NM. Design of a compact laparoscopic probe for optical stimulation of the cavernous nerves. Proc. SPIE 7161:716113, 2009.

Chitchian S, Fiddy M, Fried NM. Speckle reduction during all-fiber common-path optical coherence tomography of the cavernous nerves. Proc. SPIE 7168:71682N, 2009.

Chitchian S, Fiddy M, Fried NM. Denoising during optical coherence tomography of the prostate nerves via bivariate shrinkage using dual-tree complex wavelet transform. Proc. SPIE 7161:716112, 2009.

2008

Fried NM, Lagoda GA, Scott NJ, Su LM, Burnett AL. Laser stimulation of the cavernous nerves in the rat prostate, in vivo: optimization of wavelength, pulse energy, and pulse repetition rate. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2777-80, 2008.

Chitchian S, Fiddy M, Fried NM. Wavelet denoising during optical coherence tomography of the prostate nerves using the complex wavelet transform. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 3016-9, 2008.

Cilip CM, Scott NJ, Trammell S, Fried NM. Noninvasive thermal coagulation of deep subsurface tissue structures using a laser probe with integrated contact cooling Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 3657-60, 2008.

Shein P, Cilip CM, Quinto G, Behrens A, Fried NM. Selective laser suture lysis with a compact, low-cost, red diode laser. Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 4358-60, 2008.

Fried NM, Matlaga BR. “Laser/light applications in urology”, Ch. 41, In Lasers in Dermatology and Medicine, ed. Nouri K. Springer. In press.

Scott NJ, Trammell SR, Wittmann P, Behrens A, Tchapyjnikov A, Levin K, Tran D, Fried NM, Erbium:YAG laser emulsification of grade 4+ porcine and human cataracts using a germanium oxide fiber probe. OSA BIOMED. In press.

Casperson AL, Barton RA, Scott NJ, Fried NM. Holmium:YAG versus Thulium fiber laser for high-power vaporization of prostate tissue. Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics IV 6842:0Y:1-5 (SPIE, San Jose, 2008).

Scott NJ, Barton RA, Casperson AL, Tchapyjnikov A, Levin K, Tran D, Fried NM. Mid-IR germanium oxide fibers for Erbium:YAG and Erbium:YSGG contact laser tissue ablation in endourology. Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics IV 6842:12:1-7 (SPIE, San Jose, 2008).

Fried NM, Lagoda GA, Scott NJ, Su LM, Burnett AL. Optical stimulation of the cavernous nerves in the rat prostate. Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics IV 6842:13:1-6 (SPIE, San Jose, 2008).

Fried NM, Lagoda GA, Scott NJ, Su LM, Burnett AL. Non-contact stimulation of the cavernous nerves in the rat prostate using a tunable-wavelength thulium fiber laser. Journal of Endourology 22(3):409-413, 2008.

Rais-Bahrami S, Levinson AW, Fried NM, Lagoda GA, Hristov A, Chuang Y, Burnett AL, Su LM. Optical coherence tomography of cavernous nerves: a step toward real-time intraoperative imaging during nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy. Urology. (Online, Feb 15, 2008)

2007

Scott NJ, Barton RA, Casperson AL, Tchapyjnikov A, Levin K, Tran D, Fried NM. Mid-IR germanium oxide fibers for contact erbium laser tissue ablation in endoscopic surgery. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics. 13(6):1709-1714, 2007.

Fried NM, Rais-Bahrami S, Lagoda GA, Chuang AY, Su LM, Burnett AL. Identification and imaging of the nerves responsible for erectile function in rat prostate, in vivo, using optical nerve stimulation and optical coherence tomography. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics 13(6):1641-1645, 2007.

Fried NM, Munoz JA. Laser incision of urethral strictures. Biophotonics International 14(6):33-35, 2007.

Fried NM, Rais-Bahrami S, Lagoda GA, Chuang Y, Burnett AL, Su LM. Imaging the cavernous nerves in rat prostate using optical coherence tomography. Lasers Surg Med 39(1):36-41, 2007.

Fried NM. New laser treatment approaches for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Current Urology Reports 8(1):47-52, 2007.

Fried NM, Rais-Bahrami S, Lagoda GA, Chuang Y, Burnett AL, Su LM. Optical coherence tomography of the rat cavernous nerves. Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics III 6424:0W:1-8 (SPIE, San Jose, 2007).

Polletto TJ, Ngo AK, Tchapyjnikov A, Levin K, Tran D, Fried NM. Transmission of high Er:YAG laser pulse energies through germanium oxide fibers with sapphire tips. Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics III 6424:016:1-5 (SPIE, San Jose, 2007).

Munoz JA, Riemer JD, Hayes GB, Negus D, Fried NM. Er:YAG laser incision of urethral strictures: early clinical results. Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics III 64241:F:1-4 (SPIE, San Jose, 2007).

Fried NM, Noguera G, Castro-Combs J, Behrens A. Variable depth thermal lesions in rabbit corneas using a tunable thulium fiber laser. Ophthalmic Technologies XVII 6426:131:1-6. (SPIE, San Jose, 2007).

2006

Polletto TJ, Ngo AK, Tchapyjnikov A, Levin K, Tran D, Fried NM. Comparison of germanium oxide fibers with silica and sapphire fiber tips for transmission of Erbium:YAG laser radiation. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 38(8):787-791, 2006.

Ngo AK, Fried NM. Side-firing germanium oxide optical fibers for use with the Erbium:YAG laser. Journal of Endourology 20(7):475-478, 2006.

Fried NM. Lasers in urology: What’s New?, What’s Next? Contemporary Urology October:12-19, 2006.

Fried NM. Therapeutic applications of lasers in urology: an update. Expert Review of Medical Devices 3(1):81-94, 2006.

Ngo AK, Sharma U, Kang JU, Fried NM. Laser welding of urinary tissues using a tunable Thulium fiber laser. Photonic Therapeutics & Diagnostics II 60781B:1-8 (SPIE, San Jose, 2006).

Chung CC, Permpongkosol S, Varkarakis IM, Lima G, Franco N, Hayman MH, Nichol T, Fried NM. Laser probes for noninvasive coagulation of subsurface tissues. Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics II 607822:1-5 (SPIE, San Jose, 2006).

Ngo AK, Fried NM. Delivery of Erbium:YAG laser radiation through side-firing germanium oxide fibers. Optical Fibers & Sensors for Medical Application VI 60830O:1-5 (SPIE, San Jose, 2006).

2005

Sharma U, Fried NM, Kang JU.  All-fiber common-path optical coherence tomography:  sensitivity optimization and system analysis.  IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics on Biophotonics  11(4):799-805, 2005.

Fried NM.  Thulium fiber laser lithotripsy:  an in vitro analysis of stone fragmentation using a modulated 110-watt Thulium fiber laser at 1.94 mm.  Lasers in Surgery and Medicine  37(1):53-58, 2005.

Varkarakis IM, Inagaki T, Allaf ME, Chan TY, Rogers CG, Wright EJ, Fried NM.  Comparison of Erbium:YAG and Holmium:YAG lasers for incision of the urethra and bladder neck in a chronic porcine model.  Urology  65(1):191-195, 2005.

Fried NM.  High-power laser vaporization of the canine prostate using a 110-watt Thulium fiber laser at 1.91 mm.  Lasers in Surgery and Medicine  36(1):52-56, 2005.

Fried NM, Murray KE.  High-power thulium fiber laser ablation of urological tissues at 1.94 mm.  Journal of Endourology  19(1):25-31, 2005.

Fried NM, Yang Y, Lee K, Tafti HA.  Transmission of free-running and Q-switched Er:YAG and Er:YSGG laser energy through germanium oxide / silica fibers.  Optical Fibers and Sensors for Medical Applications 5  5691:115-119 (SPIE, San Jose, 2005).

Varkarakis  IM, Inagaki T, Allaf ME, Chan TY,Rogers CG, Wright EJ, Fried NM.  Erbium vs. Holmium laser incision of the urethra and bladder neck.  Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics  5686:171-175 (SPIE, San Jose, 2005).

Fried NM, Murray KE.  High-power Thulium fiber laser ablation of the canine prostate.  Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics  5686:176-182 (SPIE, San Jose, 2005).

Ramli R, Chung CC, Fried NM, Franco N, Hayman M.  Nd:YAG laser irradiation in combination with contact tissue cooling for creation of subsurface thermal lesions.  Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics  5686:183-187 (SPIE, San Jose, 2005).

Sharma U, Kang JU, Fried NM.  Fizeau optical coherence tomography:  sensitivity optimization and system analysis.  CLEO 2005, CFA5, Baltimore, MD.

2004

Chaney CA, Yang Y, Fried NM. Hybrid germanium / silica optical fibers for endoscopic delivery of erbium:YAG laser radiation. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 24:5-11, 2004.

Ramli R, Chung CC, Fried NM, Franco N, Hayman MH.  Subsurface tissue lesions created using an Nd:YAG laser with a sapphire contact cooling probe.  Lasers in Surgery and Medicine  35:392-396, 2004.

Fried NM, Yang Y, Chaney CA, Fried D.  Transmission of Q-switched Erbium:YSGG and Erbium:YAG laser radiation through germanium oxide and sapphire optical fibers at high pulse energies.  Lasers in Medical Science  19(3):155-160, 2004.

Levin K, Tran D, Tchapijnikov A, Fried NM.  Specialty fiber expands infrared laser applications.  Biophotonics International  11(4):41-43, 2004.

Yang Y, Chaney CA, Fried NM.  Erbium:YAG laser lithotripsy using hybrid germanium / silica optical fibers.  Journal of Endourology  18(9):830-835, 2004.

Fried NM, Tesfaye Z, Ong AM, Rha KH, Hejazi P. Variable pulsewidth erbium:YAG laser ablation of the ureter and urethra in vitro and in vivo: optimization of the laser fluence, pulse duration, and pulse repetition rate.  Lasers in Surgery 14  5312: 105-111 (SPIE, San Jose, 2004).

Ramli R, Durand D, Fried NM. Deep subsurface thermal lesions in tissue using an Nd:YAG laser and cryogen spray cooling: preliminary in vitro results.  Lasers in Surgery 14  5312: 112-116 (SPIE, San Jose, 2004).

Chaney CA, Yang Y, Fried NM. Assembly and testing of germanium / silica optical fibers for flexible endoscopic delivery of erbium:YAG laser radiation.  Optical Fibers and Sensors for Medical Applications 4  5317: 1-8 (SPIE, San Jose, 2004).

Fried NM, Yang Y, Chaney C, Fried D. Transmission of free-running and q-switched Er:YSGG laser radiation through sapphire and germanium fibers. Optical Fibers and Sensors for Medical Applications 4  5317: 9-12 (SPIE, San Jose, 2004).

Sharma U, Fried NM, Kang JU, Bush J.  Optical coherence tomography based on an all-fiber autocorrelator using probe-end reflection as reference. CLEO 2004, CWJ3, San Francisco, CA.

 2003

Fried NM, Tesfaye Z, Ong AM, Rha KH, Hejazi P. Optimization of the erbium:YAG laser for precise incision of ureteral and urethral tissues: in vitro and in vivo results. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine  33:108-114, 2003.

Solomon SB, Nicol TL, Chan DY, Fjield T, Fried NM, Kavoussi LR.  Histologic evaluation of high intensity focused ultrasound in rabbit muscle.Investigative Radiology  38(5):293-301, 2003.

Ramli R, Durand D, Fried NM. Subsurface tissue lesions using an Nd:YAG laser and cryogen cooling. Journal of Endourology  17(10):923-926, 2003.

Fried NM, Roberts WW, Sinelnikov YD, Wright EJ, Solomon SB. Comparison of the vas deferens and epididymis as targets for noninvasive male sterilization using focused ultrasound. 2nd International Symposium on Therapeutic Ultrasound (Seattle, WA), pp. 155-162, 2003.

2002

Roberts WW, Chan DY, Fried NM, Wright EJ, Nicol T, Jarrett TW, Kavoussi LR, Solomon SB. High intensity focused ultrasound ablation of the vas deferens in a canine model. Journal of Urology 167:2613-2617, 2002.

Fried NM, Roberts WW, Sinelnikov YD, Wright EJ, Solomon SB. Focused ultrasound ablation of epididymis: Thermal measurements in a canine model. Fertility and Sterility 78(3):609-613, 2002.

Roberts WW, Wright EJ, Fried NM, Nichol T, Jarrett TW, Kavoussi LR, Solomon SB.  High intensity focused ultrasound ablation of the epididymis in a canine model: a potential alternative to vasectomy. Journal of Endourology 16(8):621-625, 2002.

Fried NM, Sinelnikov YD, Roberts WW, Solomon SB. Incisionless vasectomy using focused ultrasound.  Lasers in Surgery 12  4609:115-121, (SPIE: San Jose, 2002).

Fried NM, Long GM. Erbium:YAG laser ablation of urethral and ureteral tissues. Lasers in Surgery 12  4609:122-127, (SPIE, San Jose, 2002).

2001

Fried NM, Sinelnikov Y, Pant B, Roberts WW, Solomon SB. Noninvasive vasectomy using a focused ultrasound clip: thermal measurements and simulations. IEEE Transactions in Biomedical Engineering  48(12)1453-1459, 2001.

Fried NM, Tsitlik A, Rent K, Berger RD, Lardo AC, Calkins H, Halperin HR. Laser ablation of the pulmonary veins using a fiberoptic balloon catheter: implications for treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 28:197-203, 2001.

Fried NM, Fried D. Comparison of Er:YAG and 9.6-mm TE CO2 lasers for ablation of skull tissue. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 28:335-343, 2001.

Fried NM. Potential applications of the Er:YAG laser in endourology.  Journal
of Endourology  15(9):889-894, 2001.

 2000

Fried NM, Walsh JT. Cryogen spray cooling during laser tissue welding. Physics in Medicine and Biology 45: 753-763, 2000.

Fried NM, Walsh JT. Laser skin welding: in vivo tensile strength and wound healing results. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 27: 55-65, 2000.

Fried NM, Lardo AC, Berger RD, Calkins H, Halperin HR. Linear lesions in myocardium created by laser using diffusing optical fibers: in vitro and in vivo results. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 27: 295-304, 2000.

Fried NM, Fried D. Laser ablation of skull tissue using transverse excited 9.6-mm CO2 lasers with pulse durations of 1-100 ms. Lasers in Surgery 10  3914: 128-136, (SPIE, San Jose, 2000).

Fried NM, Lardo AC, Berger RD, Calkins H, Halperin HR. Linear lesions in heart tissue using diffused laser radiation. Lasers in Surgery 10  3907: 544-551, SPIE, San Jose, 2000).

1999

Fried NM, Hung VC, Walsh JT. Laser tissue welding: laser spot size and beam profile studies. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics 5(4): 1004-1012, 1999.

Fried NM, Choi B, Welch AJ, Walsh JT. Radiometric surface temperature measurements during dye-assisted laser skin closure: in vitro and in vivo results. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 25: 291-303, 1999.

Fried NM, Hung VC, Walsh JT. Laser spot size and beam profile studies for tissue welding applications. Lasers in Surgery 9  3590: 111-119 (SPIE, San Jose, 1999).

Fried NM, Choi B, Welch AJ, Walsh JT. Temperature measurements during laser skin welding.Lasers in Surgery 9  3590: 120-127, (SPIE, San Jose, 1999).

Fried NM, Walsh JT. Dynamic cooling during laser skin welding. Lasers in Surgery 9  3590: 128-133, (SPIE, San Jose, 1999).

1998

Fried NM, Walsh JT. Dye-assisted laser skin closure with pulsed radiation: an in vitro study of weld strength and thermal damage. Journal of Biomedical Optics 3: 401-408, 1998.

Fried NM.  Dye-assisted photothermal tissue welding.  Ph.D. Thesis, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 1998.

Fried NM. A physical approach to laser tissue welding. Dialogues in Pediatric Urology 21:4-6, 1998.

Fried NM, Walsh JT. Skin welding using pulsed radiation and a dye. Lasers in Surgery 8  3245: 262-267, (SPIE, San Jose, 1998).