We are applying tools of physics, optics, and computer science to produce super-resolution multi-color 3D imaging of nanoscale structures inside living cells.
Peter focuses on the development of techniques of super-resolution microscopy and adpative optics for biological research and biomedical applications.
"I was born in Mumbai, India. I was raised around the world — in Kazakhstan, Algeria, England, India..."
STORM: a type of Super-Resolution Microscopy
STORM stands for STochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy, a localization-based super-resolution imaging technique, first developed in 2006. It was designed to penetrate the 250 nanometer (nm) resolution limit of classical optical microscopy. That limit exists because 250 nm is approximately half the wavelength of visible light. Any point of light smaller in diameter than 250 nm will still appear to be at least 250 nm in diameter. And because of that "diffraction limit," any light-emitting tags (fluorophores) spaced any closer than 250 nm, will be indistinguishable from one another. To address this fundamental physical limitation, STORM, and similar techniques (PALM, FSTORM) rely on “photo-switchable fluorophores.” These are photon-emitting molecules that can be controlled so that only a small scattered fraction of them are “on” at any given time. Each one that is “on” and at least 250 nm from its nearest neighbor can then be accurately localized and plotted without interference. The point source of the light is assumed to be at the very center of the circular diffraction pattern it produces.
