Aside from the well-recognized avenues of biomedical optics for diagnostics, therapeutics and analytics/microscopy, a number of novel and highly promising approaches are under development. These new techniques often rely on the confluence of two or more diverse fields, drawing on their complementarity in order to overcome the inherent complexity and heterogeneity of biological tissues. Examples include mid-infrared spectroscopy, laser induced breakdown spectroscopy, holography, phase and polarization imaging, photodiagnostics in monitoring and guiding therapies in real time (“theranostics”), and the use of MRI to constrain optical tomographic reconstructions. These approaches are driven by task-specific (functional or cost) requirements of a particular application. Moreover, a number of new ideas are being investigated based on new methodologies, physical basis, instrument development, integration of techniques and data analysis. This conference will present a highly interdisciplinary discussion forum of interest to instrument designers, sensor builders, basic and applied clinical researchers, and other scientists interested in exploring novel directions in biophotonics.