Metabolic Imaging & Tissue engineering Group News

Together with Prof. Margarida Barroso (Albany Medical College, NY) and Prof. Xavier Intes (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY) we wrote a review article summarising biological aspects of applications of the fluorescence (FLIM) and phosphorescence (PLIM) lifetime imaging microscopies.  We covered most of FLIM and PLIM applications, including FLIM-FRET, macro-FLI, O2 and metabolic imaging, monitoring virus entry into the cell, imaging in organoids and tissue engineering and other areas. In addition, we outlined broad applicability of this type of microscopies not only for cancer and stem research (biomedicine) but also for fungal, plant and other 'general biology' areas.  The review published in the Journal of Cell Science can be assessed here . Twitter link  and link2

Together with Prof. Margarida Barroso (Albany Medical College), we guest edit a collection of video protocols, hosted by the Journal of Visualised Experiments ( JoVE ), and  dedicated to the quantitative live cell imaging in 3D .  We expect bringing together some leaders and innovators in various aspects of the quantitative live fluorescence microscopies applied to ex vivo animal models, organoids and 3D engineered tissue blocks. The collection, which just has been started, can be assessed here .

Our team has co-authored an article focused on studying oxygenation and cell metabolism in bioreactor mimicking perivascular stem cell niche ('niche-on-a-chip'). This study combines mathematical modelling of flow and oxygenation of mesenchymal stem cells with actual analysis of their metabolism via multiparameter analysis of NAD(P)H (two-photon FLIM), cell oxygenation (two-photon ratiometric fluorescence), mitochondrial polarisation and glucose transport. The study is a result of joint efforts of Politecnico di Milano, Trinity College Dublin, NUI Galway and Ghent Univeristy. The article published in Lab on a Chip journal can can be assessed here . Twitter link

Prof. R. Dmitriev will be presenting at HSR research symposium (Ghent University, 11-Feb-2021) and speak about new biosensors for organoid research. Full details and registration can be found here:  https://www.ugent.be/ge/hsr/en/news-events/events/2nd-hsr-research-symposium-2021

Our new lab at the Ghent University is starting. We are proud to be a part of the Department of Human Structure and Repair. Feel free to visit our webpage at the University (UGent) website . We are still in the process of re-starting the research, buying / upgrading equipment & the infrastructure, getting to know people and initiating new collaborations. We have also joined Ghent Gut Inflammation Group (GGIG.be), feel free to visit our webpage . More news to follow soon.

Our team has contributed to the Intestinal Stem Cells book, edited by Prof. P. Ordonez-Moran and published by Springer. The long-awaited book has gathered a number of experts and pioneers in the fields of intestinal stem cell biology, organoids, tissue engineering and innovative methodologies to study them. Our book chapter, written in collaboration with Jens Puschhof (Prof. Hans Clevers lab) describes  applications of FLIM and 3D FLIM for visualising stem cell niche in the small intestinal organoids. We describe imaging of oxygenation, cell and redox metabolism, labelling cell proliferation, with particular attention to 3D FLIM and multiplexed detection. The chapter link . Twitter link Link to the whole book by chapters.

From September 2020, Dr. Ruslan Dmitriev will start as Assistant Professor at Ghent University (Ghent, Belgium), where he will lead Group of Tissue engineering and Biomaterials (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences) .  This means that our group is moving to Ghent, an exciting new location, where we will grow and continue our research at the interface of cancer / stem cell biology, mitochondrial function, organoids, biosensors, FLIM and tissue engineering! More news on our blog & website function to follow.