The University of Arizona: Cross-scale optical microscopy to advance precision cancer detection and therapeutics

OSC Colloquium presented by Yang Liu Biological systems present significant cellular and molecular heterogeneity, functioning within diverse microenvironments across various time scales. Addressing this complexity requires technologies capable of simultaneously capturing the behaviors of individual cells in their natural state, over time, across a large cell population—all within their spatial context and at high temporal and spatial resolutions. In this presentation, I will introduce our recent work in developing multiscale optical microscopy systems that span from mesoscale to nanoscale. Our approach leverages the power of large-format optics and imaging sensors, coupled with computational imaging. I will demonstrate how multiscale imaging approaches can be used to detect early changes in carcinogenesis and reveal complex therapeutic responses by identifying dynamic, rare events alongside detailed sub-cellular and molecular characteristics. This technology opens new avenues for exploring biological systems, with the potential to enhance diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Bio Dr. Yang Liu is a Professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is also the deputy director for NIBIB-funded Center for Label-free Imaging and Multiscale Biophotonics (CLIMB). Before joining the University of Illinois, she was a Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Liu holds a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University. Her laboratory has been developing a wide range of optical microscopy techniques such as label-free quantitative phase microscopy, super-resolution fluorescence microscopy, and computational imaging. These advancements have been applied to improve early detection of cancer and assessment of chemotherapy in cancer cells. Dr. Liu’s recent research focuses on multi-scale multi-modal optical microscopy, bridging mesoscale to nanoscale dimensions. Her work has been continuously supported by the National Institute of Health and various foundations for the past 16 years. Dr. Liu’s scholarly contributions include 92 peer-reviewed publications and 11 US patents. She is an elected fellow of both SPIE and Optica and serves as an Associate Editor for Biomedical Optics Express. Additionally, she is conference co-chair for Quantitative Phase Imaging at SPIE Photonics West and topic co-chair in Biophotonics and Medical Optics in IEEE Photonics Conference.