Postdoctoral Researcher in ERC Starting Project

General description of the NaNoLens project:

Optical nanoscopy has changed the “seeing is believing” paradigm. This was achieved within a limited field of view (FOV~100µm2) and required fluorescent markers. Large-FOV high-throughput live unimpaired cell imaging is crucial for biology and biomedicine. Hence, improving the space bandwidth product (SBP) using time-consuming scanning stitching is not a good solution. Lensless holographic microscopy (LHM) inherently bypasses FOV limitations by using full sensor-size hologram reconstruction for label-free object information retrieval. Its major limitation, not yet addressed, is its low lateral (~1µm) and axial (~3µm) resolution. We will overcome this fundamental problem by pioneering deep UV (DUV) lensless holotomographic nanoscopy (LHN) as a simple and compact device easily operated inside the cell chamber or outside the laboratory (in contrast to lens-based systems). Owing to DNA damage, DUV is used to sterilize and never image bio-samples. This paradigm will be shifted to provide a breakthrough 10 giga pixel SBP via a low-dose DUV optical elements-free (no cost, no radiation loss) lensless setup with a worlds-first full-angle tomographic scenario, numerical aperture > 1, and a new class of reconstruction algorithms to decrease the effective pixel (to 100 nm) and remove background noise. We will use LHN to enable the discovery of a new mechanistic understanding of extracellular vesicles expression and intake within large live cell cultures with single-vesicle resolution. EVs, nanosized lipid spheres released by virtually every cell type, are currently emerging as novel disease biomarkers and drug nanovehicles. LHN is a new research field that inherently makes this a high-risk project, but the potential gains are also high as a new era of simple ultrahigh SBP nanoimaging might be opened. This multidisciplinary project calls for near-unique expertise in computational microscopy and digital holography and cooperation with international leaders.

The NaNoLens project team members include three PhDs and two postdocs. They will collaborate closely in special holographic lab, and team up with institutional (WUT), national, and international experts. Postdoc, we are looking for, (working with and co-supervising two PhD students) will closely collaborate with current Quantitative Computational Imaging (QCI) group at WUT skilled in numerical and experimental aspects of holographic microscopy. Cooperation with international network of experts (including prof. Vicente Micó from University of Valencia and prof. Balpreet Ahluwalia from University of Tromsø) will be crucial for postdoc to master coherent and incoherent resolution enhancement strategies. Postdoc will have an exciting goal - making the novel 2D lensless nanoscope work.

Key tasks and responsibilities:

1. Conduct excellent research at the intersection of computational methods, imaging techniques and the life sciences.

2. Engage in collaborations with partners at WUT, in Warsaw/Poland and internationally.

3. Publish scientific results in top-notch optics, photonics and bioimaging journals.

4. Present excellent work at international conferences and events.

5. Work with QCI team in WUT (+ Warsaw based collaborators) environment of photonics/optical researchers and engineers and biomedical experts, and make impact on the path to increase visibility and quality of scientific outcomes.