Kendra Khodabandehloo, a Boston native with Iranian-American heritage, began her academic journey at the British International School of Boston, earning an IB Diploma with a keen interest in Physics, Mathematics, and Chemistry. She pursued her passion at the University of Southampton, securing a dual M.S. in Physics with Mathematics with first-class honors.

Her research excellence shone at the Optoelectronics Research Center (ORC), where she made significant contributions to the Air Guide Photonics project. Kendra's work on hollow-core fiber technology led to the pivotal co-authored paper, “Gas Flow Within Hollow Core Optical Fibers,” recognized by OSA Publishing and IEEE and presented at the World Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, CLEO.

Returning to the US, Kendra made strides at Rice University, heading the Blood Perfusion Imaging Laboratory in her first year, developing groundbreaking wearable imaging devices. Collaborating with Houston Methodist Hospital, her innovations showed potential in revolutionizing patient care.