PhD in Ultrafast Phototransient Imaging and Spectroscopy
Temporary
temporary
€2,770 - €3,539
30 Jan 2024
Amsterdam
About the job
We are looking for an experimental lead to develop and apply a novel ultrafast phototransient infrared microscope as part of our ERC StG funded PIRO team at the VU Amsterdam (matzlab.com). Your project combines concepts from nonlinear optics, holographic imaging, femtosecond spectroscopy with biological and biomedical samples to address outstanding challenges in biophotonics and biomolecular imaging.
You will join a team of 2 PhD students and the PI (Matz Liebel) who have already addressed some of the major milestones on our way towards implementing the phototransient microscope. Your task will be to take the crucial next steps towards realising the projects vision: to unlock currently unavailable imaging capabilities in the form of high-throughput, spectrally resolved, vibrational imaging with sub-diffraction limited spatial resolution. We will then use our technological advantage over the state-of-the art to address unmet challenges in biophotonics: from heat-transport in biological matter to diagnostic imaging and antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
The ERC PIRO project in a nutshell
Medical imaging and diagnostics require rapid, large-area, observations and quantitative, target-specific, signals. Vibrational imaging is a prime-candidate in this regard: it provides vibrational, or chemical, information without requiring costly and often difficult to use labels. However, even after decades of research it remains difficult if not impossible to simultaneously obtain this crucial information while covering meaningful observation areas.
Together, we will deliver the necessary tool for the job in the form of a novel vibrational imaging platform: a phototransient infrared holographic microscope (PIROscope). The PIROscope is inspired by an ultrafast holographic microscope that we implemented over the past years: it combines femtosecond IR-excitation with visible readout to, ultimately, retrieve spectrally resolved quantitative images with an unprecedented combination of imaging speed, spectral observation window and spatial-resolution. During PIRO we will implement the PIROscope and validate it for biomedical imaging. We will then use our edge over the state-of-the-art to take first steps towards PIRO-based diagnostics by high-resolution visualising breast cancer tissue and the metabolic activity of antibiotics-treated bacteria.
Your duties
You will join a team of 2 PhD students and the PI (Matz Liebel) who have already addressed some of the major milestones on our way towards implementing the phototransient microscope. Your task will be to take the crucial next steps towards realising the projects vision: to unlock currently unavailable imaging capabilities in the form of high-throughput, spectrally resolved, vibrational imaging with sub-diffraction limited spatial resolution. We will then use our technological advantage over the state-of-the art to address unmet challenges in biophotonics: from heat-transport in biological matter to diagnostic imaging and antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
The ERC PIRO project in a nutshell
Medical imaging and diagnostics require rapid, large-area, observations and quantitative, target-specific, signals. Vibrational imaging is a prime-candidate in this regard: it provides vibrational, or chemical, information without requiring costly and often difficult to use labels. However, even after decades of research it remains difficult if not impossible to simultaneously obtain this crucial information while covering meaningful observation areas.
Together, we will deliver the necessary tool for the job in the form of a novel vibrational imaging platform: a phototransient infrared holographic microscope (PIROscope). The PIROscope is inspired by an ultrafast holographic microscope that we implemented over the past years: it combines femtosecond IR-excitation with visible readout to, ultimately, retrieve spectrally resolved quantitative images with an unprecedented combination of imaging speed, spectral observation window and spatial-resolution. During PIRO we will implement the PIROscope and validate it for biomedical imaging. We will then use our edge over the state-of-the-art to take first steps towards PIRO-based diagnostics by high-resolution visualising breast cancer tissue and the metabolic activity of antibiotics-treated bacteria.
Your duties
- develop and optimise the PIROscope
- apply the platform to answer exciting questions in biophotonics
- implement pump-probe based ultrafast imaging schemes
- develop assays//prepare samples for PIRO imaging
- work and maintain high-power tuneable femtosecond light sources
