Speaker: Dr. Izzy Jayasinghe, Lecturer in Cardiovascular Sciences and UKRI Future Leader Fellow, University of Leeds

Abstract:

This talk will outline a decade of research in Cell Biology and Biophysics which has utilised super-resolution microscopy – a family of optical imaging techniques which strive to resolve structures which were previously limited to electron microscopy exclusively. Intracellular signalling ‘nanodomains’ are some of the most commonly imaged structures over the last few decades. In muscle cells which make up the tissue of the heart, these nanodomains orchestrate a series of calcium signals which underpin the heartbeat. 

In this seminar, I will outline how the adaptation of chemical photo-switching of aromatic fluorescent labels, together with the first generation of super-resolution microscopy modalities (e.g. dSTORM) enabled us to acquire the first optically-resolved images of nanodomains, a decade ago. 

Over the last few years, there has been a wave of newer super-resolution microscopy modalities which…