Dr Julian Moger (Exeter Univeristy)
"Shedding New Light on Biomaterial: Non-linear vibrational contrast in biological microscopy"
Biography:
"My research is in the field of Biophotonics – the interface between Biology and Photonics that deals with the interaction between light and biological systems. My enthusiasm for Biophotonics began with my PhD in 1999 where I developed Doppler Optical Coherence Tomography for imaging capillary blood flow. As a Postdoctoral researcher I worked closely with the pharmaceutical industry to develop spectroscopic techniques for high-throughput screening of drug compounds. My research now focuses on the development and application of nonlinear optical microscopy to tackle compelling problems related to human health.
I currently lead the Nonlinear Biophotonics Research within the Biomedical Physics Group at Exeter. Compared to conventional linear excitation, nonlinear processes offer many advantages for biological imaging; the near-IR excitation extends the depth penetration into tissues with minimal photodamage and the nonlinear signal dependence provides intrinsic 3D optical sectioning. Moreover, utilizing the intrinsic nonlinear optical responses of selected biomolecules, it is possible to derive label-free biochemical contrast of living systems.
I have established a state-of-the-art nonlinear imaging and spectroscopy laboratory, which is strongly supported by staff with expertise in both the development and biological applications of nonlinear optics. Fundamental research in my laboratory supported by the EPSRC and BBSRC is successfully being translated into industry. I am working in close partnership with industry to apply Nonlinear Biophotonic techniques to solve problems pertaining to commercial R&D."