S.G. Mudd Building
Stanford University
"Seeing molecular vibrations: chemical imaging for biomedicine"
About the Seminar
Innovations in spectroscopy principles and microscopy technology have significantly impacted modern biology and medicine. While most of the contemporary bio-imaging modalities harness electronic transition (fluorescence), nuclear spin (magnetic resonance imaging) or radioactivity (positron emission tomography), vibrational spectroscopy has not been widely used yet. Here we will discuss an emerging chemical imaging platform, stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy, which can enhance the otherwise feeble spontaneous Raman eight orders of magnitude by virtue of stimulated emission. When coupled with stable isotopes (e.g., deuterium and 13C) or bioorthogonal chemical moieties (e.g., alkynes), SRS microscopy is well suited for probing in vivo metabolic dynamics of small bio-molecules which cannot be labeled by bulky fluorophores. Physical principle of the underlying optical spectroscopy and emerging biomedical applications such as imaging lipid metabolism, protein synthesis, DNA replication, protein degradation, RNA synthesis, glucose uptake, drug tracking and tumor metabolism will be presented.
About the Speaker
Dr. Wei Min graduated from Peking University, China, with a Bachelor's degree in 2003. He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University in 2008 studying single-molecule biophysics with Prof. Sunney Xie. After continuing his postdoctoral work in Xie group, Dr. Min joined the faculty of Department of Chemistry at Columbia University in July of 2010. Dr. Min's current research interests focus on developing novel optical spectroscopy and microscopy technology to address biomedical problems. His contribution has been recognized by a number of honors, including George Fraenkel Fund Award (2014), Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (2013), NIH Director's New Innovator Award (2012) and Faculty Finalist of Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists of the New York Academy of Sciences (2012).