Date: Friday, Nov 3rd, 2023, 2:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Our conference focuses on providing a multi-functional forum for research exchange, entrepreneurial development, and career navigation in photon, photonics, and imaging-focused fields while encouraging collaborations and introducing new students to our chapter.
Location: Brauer Hall 012 + Green Hall Collaboration Space
Agenda
| Duration | Sessions |
| 2:00 -2:15 | SPECTRA student chapter introduction |
| 2:15 – 3:15 | Keynote Lecture: Irving Bigio, PhD, Professor Department of Biomedical Engineering & Electrical and Computer Engineering Boston University |
| 3:15 – 3:45 | Student talks |
| 3:45 – 4:00 | Break with drinks and snacks |
| 4:00 – 4:30 | Industry Panel: PhD Internships |
| 4:30 – 5:15 | Industry Talk (joint with LinQ): Jordan Russell, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate Department of Physics Washington University in St Louis |
| 5:15 – 6:30 | Poster session (joint with LinQ) + Reception — award, food, and drinks |
Keynote Lecture
2:15 – 3:15 pm, Brauer Hall 012
Imaging the Structural Details of Myelin in Neurodegenerative Diseases with Optical Birefringence Microscopy
As neurons fire in the brain, axons enable high-speed conduction of the electrical signals from the neuron somas to distal locations, forming synaptic connections with other cells. In the central nervous system, oligodendrocytes generate myelin sheaths that wrap and insulate axons to increase the speed and energy efficiency of conduction. Degeneration or breakdown of the myelin sheath is a factor in a large array of neurological disorders. These include multiple sclerosis, stroke, and age-related neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease, as well as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). To elucidate the role of myelin in such diseases, imaging of myelin must be at high-resolution (~300 nm) to resolve structural details at early stages of breakdown on the individual axon level; and this imaging must be performed over large volumes of brain tissue to enable quantification of the prevalence of myelin structural defects. We have been advancing the application of optical birefringence microscopy to provide rapid, high-throughput and label-free imaging of myelin in large cross sections of brain tissues from both humans and non-human primate models. Our collaborations with leading neuroscientists is aimed at facilitating their development of more effective treatments and disease management.
Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Boston University
Irving J. Bigio is Professor at Boston University, with appointments in Biomedical Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Physics, and the BU School of Medicine. He has authored over 200 scientific publications on laser physics, nonlinear optics and biomedical optics, including the award-winning textbook (with co-author Sergio Fantini): Quantitative Biomedical Optics. Dr. Bigio has pioneered the development of a number of biomedical optics technologies, and tested them in preclinical and clinical studies. Clinical diagnostic methods based on elastic-scattering spectroscopy and sub-diffuse reflectance spectroscopy are now being developed commercially for clinical practice. More recently his lab has been advancing quantitative birefringence microscopy to image the underlying pathologies associated with a variety of neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Bigio is a Fellow of Optica, the SPIE, and the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.
Student Talks
3:15 – 3:45 pm, Brauer Hall 012
Noninvasive evaluation of mouse embryo development using Time-lapse Optical Coherence Tomography
Fei Wang, PhD Candidate, Biomedical Engineering
The selection of the high-quality embryos before implantation is an essential step to enhance the possibility for a healthy birth delivery in in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Most of non-invasive evaluation of embryo quality (NiEEQ) techniques use 2D bright field (BF) imaging for stage’s time as predictive markers. Optical coherence microscopy (OCM) provides 3D high-resolution imaging noninvasively. The revealed microstructures can provide an accurate stage classification and additional volumetric features. Here, we acquired time-lapse OCM images with co-registered BF imaging on thawed cryopreserved mouse embryos under proper environmental control. We identified crucial developmental milestones, performed blastocyst grading, timing of stages, volume measurements and hatching site analysis. Our preliminary result suggests a relationship between the timing between developmental stages and the early blastocyst quality based on Gardner grading system. With a larger dataset, OCM-based time-lapse technology holds the potential to enrich early embryo development insights and streamline embryo selection within IVF clinics.
Characterizing the growth and disruption of amyloid fibers via orientations of transiently binding fluorophores
Brian Sun, MD/PhD, MSTP
Amyloid-beta aggregates are characteristic signatures of Alzheimer’s Disease, but the complex relationship between aggregate structure and toxicity remains a mystery to biomedical scientists. Super-resolution microscopy can characterize the growth and decay remodeling of Aβ42 fibrils, but not the dynamic structure of the underlying β-sheet assemblies. Here, we apply time-lapse single-molecule orientation localization microscopy (SMOLM) to quantify the relationship between β-sheet assembly orientations and Aβ42 remodeling. We hypothesize that β-sheet assemblies become better aligned as structures grow and more disorganized as structures decay.
Industry Panel: PhD internships
4:00 – 4:30 pm, Brauer Hall 012
Industry Talk
(joint session with LinQ)
4:00 – 5:15 pm, Brauer Hall 012
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Physics
Washington University in St Louis
Dr. Russell’s research is currently focused on the development of quantum noise-limited amplifiers.
He is a member of the Axion Dark Matter eXperiment’s (ADMX) cold electronics team lead by James Buckley at WUSTL, which is responsible for the design, fabrication, and testing of superconducting quantum noise-limited parametric amplifiers and other cryogenic devices.
He is also a co-founder of Gateway Quantum Electronics, a WUSTL spin-out dedicated to the development and commercialization of quantum computing and sensing hardware.
Poster Session and Reception
(joint session with LinQ)
4:00 – 5:15 pm, Green Hall 2nd Floor Collaboration Space
Awards, Food, Drinks will be provided.
Three students with the most student votes in their poster presentations will be awarded the Best Poster Presentation Awards.
Contact information: Megan Michie(megan.michie@wustl.edu), Morgan Fogarty(m.fogarty@wustl.edu) and Dr. Matthew Lew (mdlew@wustl.edu)