Technique - (9) STED / STORM / FLIM super-resolution microscopy

Type: Experimental

Description: Stimulated emission depletion (STED), stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM), structured illumination, and fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) for sub-diffraction biological imaging.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics & Astronomy – Photon Science Institute | Bioimaging and Microscopy Group (Dickinson Group) @ Manchester
Summary:

Dickinson's group develops advanced optical microscopy methods for biological and biomedical imaging. Research directions: (1) STORM super-resolution microscopy β€” stochastic optical reconstruction for nanoscale imaging of biological structures at ~20 nm lateral resolution; imaging cytoskeletal dynamics, cellular organelles, and pathological structures; (2) Optical coherence tomography (OCT) β€” depth-resolved, label-free imaging for biomedical diagnostics (retinal, cardiovascular tissues); (3) Laser speckle imaging β€” blood flow and perfusion measurements in tissues; (4) Multiphoton microscopy β€” second harmonic generation (SHG) and two-photon for collagen structure imaging in connective tissues and cancer. Part of the Manchester Photon Science Institute biophotonics theme.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics – Photonics Group | Biophotonics Group – Photonics Department (French) @ Imperial
Summary:

French is Professor and former Head of the Photonics Group (2001–2013). His group at Imperial (with Dunsby and Neil) develops multidimensional fluorescence imaging technology for life sciences and clinical applications. Research portfolio: (1) FLIM β€” wide-field time-gated FLIM using gated optical intensifiers and TCSPC for single-cell FRET-based biosensing of protein-protein interactions, cell signalling (kinase activity), and drug-target engagement in multi-well plates; (2) Super-resolved microscopy β€” STED, easySTORM (lower-cost STORM), and SIM+FLIM for mapping molecular function to biological nanostructure below the diffraction limit; (3) FLIM endoscopy β€” flexible wide-field FLIM endoscopes for label-free cancer diagnostics (autofluorescence lifetime) and osteoarthritis cartilage; (4) Open-source imaging β€” automated multiwell plate FLIM reader for high-content drug screening. Satellite lab at Francis Crick Institute.

Department(s)/lab(s): BioNanoscience / Kavli Institute of Nanoscience | Kristin Grußmayer Lab β€” Super-Resolution Microscopy @ TU Delft
Summary:

Kristin Grußmayer (Assistant Professor, BioNanoscience, 2021) develops super-resolution microscopy tools. Research: (1) SOFI (super-resolution optical fluctuation imaging) β€” camera-based super-resolution using photon statistics; (2) multi-plane super-resolution and quantitative phase imaging β€” combined modalities for 3D sub-diffraction imaging; (3) new fluorescence probe classes for SMLM; (4) AI-driven smart microscopy for automated phenotype detection. Marie Curie Fellow (EPFL, Lasser group). Group established 2021.

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Department(s)/lab(s): Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology | Laser Analytics Group @ Cambridge
Summary:

Kaminski's Laser Analytics Group develops laser-based super-resolution and fluorescence-lifetime imaging methods (STED, SIM, dSTORM, FLIM) and applies them, with long-time collaborator Gabriele Kaminski Schierle, to visualise amyloid protein aggregation in live cells and organisms as a route to understanding neurodegenerative disease; the group also directs the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sensor Technologies.

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Department(s)/lab(s): Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology | Molecular Neuroscience Group @ Cambridge
Summary:

Kaminski Schierle heads the Molecular Neuroscience Group, applying super-resolution and functional fluorescence imaging (developed with Clemens Kaminski) to gain molecular-level understanding of protein misfolding in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease models, including live-cell and whole-organism (C. elegans) imaging of amyloid aggregation.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics | Photonics Group (Biophotonics) @ Imperial
Summary:

McGinty develops fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) instrumentation, including endoscopic and widefield FLIM systems, for applications in cancer diagnosis and metabolic/functional imaging.

Department(s)/lab(s): Physics | Photonics Group (Biophotonics) @ Imperial
Summary:

Neil works on advanced optical microscopy techniques including structured-illumination and super-resolved (STED/SIM) imaging, and wavefront-based aberration correction, within Imperial's Photonics/Biophotonics group.

Department(s)/lab(s): Biochemistry | Schermelleh Group / Micron Bioimaging Facility @ Oxford
Summary:

Schermelleh develops and applies 3D structured-illumination and correlative super-resolution/cryo-EM microscopy to study spatial genome architecture, investigating how biophysical forces, epigenetic memory and cohesin activity shape cell-type-specific transcription programmes at the nanoscale; he directs the Micron Oxford Advanced Bioimaging Facility.

Department(s)/lab(s): Imaging Physics (ImPhys) | Stallinga Lab @ TU Delft
Summary:

Sjoerd Stallinga develops computational methods and hardware for super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. Research: (1) 3D single-molecule localization microscopy (3D SMLM) in living cells and tissue; (2) structured illumination microscopy (SIM) with noise-controlled reconstruction; (3) Fisher information framework for SMLM localization precision; (4) optical metrology for nanoscale structure characterization. ERC Advanced Grant for 3D super-resolution in living tissue.