Date : 19/09/2011

Internship proposal for : Master 1 or Master 2

Laboratory
Groupe Imagerie et Modélisation
URA CNRS 2582
Institut Pasteur
25, rue du Docteur Roux 75015 Paris
Website
Main discipline : Biophysics
Lab director : Dr Christophe Zimmer

Mentor
Dr Christophe Zimmer
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Subjects
1.: super-resolution microscopy
2.: fluorescence
3.: host-pathogen interactions

Tools and methodologies
1.: image and signal processing
2.: applied mathematics
3.: microscopy

Summary of lab's interests

Our lab combines expertise in image processing, light microscopy, and physics-based modelling. Our goal is to develop computational and experimental approaches to better understand key processes in cell biology and microbiology. In particular, we are actively interested in high-throughput and high-resolution light microscopy methods. Our methods are used in ongoing collaborative projects, for example to analyze the principles governing chromosome organization or to investigate the interactions of various pathogens (HIV, Chikungunya, Listeria..) with host cells.

Summary of project

Light microscopy is invaluable to biological research, but has traditionally been limited by a resolution of ~200-300 nm, 100-fold above molecular scales. Several methods now exist that increase resolution by roughly 10-fold. We have implemented a technique based on computational localization of single molecules (PALM/STORM), which reaches ~20-30 nm resolution and is used in several collaborations with cell biologists and virologists. The proposed project consists in developing new image analysis methods and algorithms to improve the resolution and reliability of reconstructed images in order to push this microscopy technique towards the single nanometer scale. This work is expected to empower ongoing projects on the replicative cycle of HIV, the Chikungunya virus, membrane rafts and nuclear architecture.