Prof. Achilefu holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Nancy, France and was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Bioorganic/Inorganic Chemistry at Oxford University. He is the Director, Optical Radiology Laboratory, Professor of Radiology, Biomedical Engineering, and Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, Michel M. Ter-Pogossian Endowed Chair in Radiology, Vice Chair, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology. He has published more than 300 scientific papers. In 2014, Samuel received the prestigious St. Louis Award for creating and developing a set of high-tech cancer-visualizing goggles with the aim of helping surgeons see cancer cells in real-time while operating on patients.