Imaging and recognition of organelles in unlabeled living cells

Dr. Kaiqin Chu, Professor at Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Science & Technology China.

Imaging and recognition of organelles in unlabeled living cells.

Abstract:

Traditional visualization of organelle networks and their interplay is through fluorescence microscopy. However due to the photo-toxicity, photobleaching, and limited channels, only a few types (<5) of organelles can be seen at once and for a short period of time. Recent developments in phase contrast microscopy have enabled label-free visualizations of large organelles such as the nucleus. However, due to their low phase contrast, structures such as ER networks, and complex dynamics such as the fusion and fission of mitochondria, still require fluorescence labels. In this talk, we report a quantitative phase microscope with ultra-oblique illumination that enables visualization of those fine structures and their dynamics without labeling and with high contrast and imaging speed. Further we will present videos of the dynamic remodeling of mitochondria networks over several hours, through several fusion and fission cycles, where the raw data is obtained through our phase microscope and the mitochondria network is segmented with a trained U-Net, demonstrating the advantages of long term imaging of live cells with label-free microscopy.

Biography:

Kaqin obtained her Ph.D. in Optics from the University of Rochester in 2009, followed by postdoctoral training at the Center for Biophotonics, University of California, Davis. Since 2015, she has been with University of Science and Technology as a professor, first in the department of Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation and now in the Suzhou Institute for Advanced Research. Her research interests are in developing high resolution label-free microscopy for biomedical applications, as well as pioneering low-cost medical devices.