Professor Paul Beard is a distinguished expert in Biomedical Photoacoustics at University College London (UCL). He completed his BSc in Physics at UCL and, after a stint at Marconi Underwater Systems Ltd, returned to UCL to earn his PhD in Medical Physics in 1996. He founded and now leads the Photoacoustic Imaging Group within the Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, focusing on the development of a novel, non-invasive imaging method that uses laser-generated acoustic waves to visualize the structure and function of soft tissues. This cutting-edge technique holds promise for clinical applications, including the assessment of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and skin abnormalities, as well as for research in basic life sciences. His group's research covers a wide range of photoacoustic technologies, from instrumentation and signal modelling to image reconstruction algorithms and spectroscopic methods. Professor Beard's work spans several disciplines, including atomic, molecular, and optical physics, biomedical engineering, ophthalmology, materials engineering, and electronics.