Clare Elwell is a British academic who is a professor of medical physics and director of the Near Infrared Spectroscopy Group within the Biomedical Optics Research Laboratory at University College London.

[citation needed] Elwell worked under David Delpy and Mark Cope developing non-invasive tools that used near-infrared light to measure newborn brain function in the neonatal intensive care unit.

[7] Elwell has led a number of interdisciplinary teams developing optical methods for monitoring tissue oxygenation, haemodynamics and metabolism in brain and muscle.

[8] She is the lead physicist in a collaboration with neurodevelopmental psychologists at the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development at Birkbeck, University of London investigating the use of near infrared spectroscopy to deliver an early marker of autism.

[9] Elwell currently leads the Brain Imaging for Global HealTh (BRIGHT) research project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

[11] Elwell is committed to engaging the public in her research with a particular emphasis on enthusing young aspiring scientists via talks and demonstrations at schools and science festivals.