Ioan graduated from Babes-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca (Romania), PhD at London South Bank University (Photophysics Research Group), followed by postdoctoral research at Imperial College London and Edinburgh University. He started his academic career as a lecturer in 2006 at the University of Nottingham where he established the Biophotonics Group and was appointed full professor in 2015. His research focuses on optical microscopy and spectroscopy techniques for label-free molecular imaging of biomaterials, cells and tissues. His team has developed numerous links with clinicians, cancer research academics, international leaders in optics and microscopy, as well as partnerships with industry. Ioan has developed novel selective-sampling Raman spectroscopy techniques  to allows fast scanning of tissue specimens, allowing diagnosis of cancer during surgery. Recently he has dedicated his work in developing this technology to translate it to the clinic. In 2024 he has completed the first tests of this technology for skin cancers and sentinel lymph node in breast cancer surgery, paving the way for broader implementation of the technology into healthcare.

Ioan has published 126 peer-reviewed papers and has a h-index of 37 (webofscience). He is a fellow of the Institute of Physics and Society of Applied Spectroscopy, and senior member of Optica.