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Darayash Burjor Tata was born in Bombay, India, in 1959. He later pursued his scientific education and professional career in the United States, developing a research program focused on the interaction of physical energy, biological membranes, therapeutic agents, and cancer cells. His parents were Pervin and Burjor Tata.
Tata received a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from City College of New York in 1983 and a Master of Science degree in physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1987. He completed doctoral research in biophysics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, earning a Ph.D. in 1991. His dissertation, Analyses and Predictions of Ultrasound Interactions with Model Biomembrane Systems via Two-State Transition Model, examined low-intensity ultrasound interactions with model biomembranes and developed theoretical models of membrane relaxation and phase-transition behavior. He subsequently completed postdoctoral training connected with Stanford University, the University of Vermont, and the Mayo Clinic.
Tata began his research career in the early 1990s with postdoctoral work in cancer biology and biophysics. His postdoctoral training included work in radiation oncology at Stanford University, pharmacology at the University of Vermont, and urology research at the Mayo Clinic. During this period, he investigated ultrasound absorption in biological membranes and anticancer drugs, ultrasound-mediated gene transfer, and the use of physical energy to enhance cancer treatment. From 1998 to 2004, he served as an assistant professor. In 2004 he joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, where he became a senior biomedical engineering staff fellow and senior research scientist. His FDA work involved translational quantitative analysis of noninvasive cancer-detection and treatment technologies, including laser-induced fluorescence, Raman and infrared spectroscopy, ultrasound, and X-ray imaging, and included scientific evaluation of technologies proposed for clinical use. Tata later joined the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health, where he has served as a program director in the Cancer Imaging Program's Image-Guided Intervention Branch. He has managed cancer-imaging research portfolios, including the Quantitative Imaging Network, and has supported the development, validation, translation, and commercialization of quantitative imaging tools for diagnosis, image-guided intervention, treatment planning, and prediction of therapeutic response.
Developed selective clinical ultrasound signals capable of mediating differential gene transfer and expression in human cancer cell lines.
Conducted research on optical diagnostic tissue characterization through the analysis of native tissue fluorescence.
Investigated the use of diagnostic X-rays and rare-earth particles to activate photodynamic drugs.
Demonstrated research applications in which therapeutic ultrasound enhanced the action of anticancer drugs.
Investigated therapeutic mechanisms associated with low-intensity light exposure and photobiomodulation.
Advanced applications of near-infrared frequency up-converters for activation of photodynamic drugs.
Contributed to translational development and evaluation of quantitative imaging methods for cancer detection, image-guided intervention, and prediction of treatment response.
(Co-edited with Ronald W. Waynant. The Springer volume pre...)
2008(Co-authored with Floyd Dunn; published in the Journal of ...)
1992(Co-authored with Floyd Dunn and Donald J. Tindall; report...)
1997(Co-authored with George M. Hahn and Floyd Dunn; examined ...)
1993(Co-authored with Ella F. Jones, John M. Buatti, Hui-Kuo S...)
2020(U.S. Patent 10,117,942, granted to Anu Puri, Robert P. Bl...)
2018Tata is the son of Pervin and Burjor Tata. His professional collaborations have included research with Floyd Dunn, Donald J. Tindall, Ronald W. Waynant, and other investigators in ultrasound, photobiomodulation, biomedical engineering, and cancer imaging.
