With high-resolution optical microscopes it is possible to take highly accurate pictures of the life taking place within cells. At best, interactions of single molecules can be investigated. The problem however is that cells, especially in their natural environment — within a tissue — are not very transparent and thus not easy to image. Aberration correction, a technique developed by astronomers for observation of distant stars, has been found to improve the performance of optical microscopes in complex samples. The problem is that the state-of-the-art aberration correction techniques are themselves complex, and thus not suitable for non-expert users. In the AdaptiveSTED project we aim to develop a new aberration correction scheme, which ideally would be so simple to use and automatic that a standard users, when taking pictures with a microscope, would not even need to know of its existence.
Engineering is all about solving problems – and optical microscopy offers a lot of them. I am an Engineer with MSc (Eng.) in Information Technology (dual majors in Medical Electronics and Embedded Systems), who by a lucky accident got introduced to this intriguing field of science around 2009, at the Laboratory of Biophysics of the University of Turku (Finland). That lead to a PhD, which in turn led me here, to the pleasantly problematic AdaptiveSTED project. I am especially interested in bioimage informatics (image processing, real-time instrument control etc. ), which is what the current project for a large part is about, but I also get to build a new microscope, to solder something and to work with experts of various fields, which is a privilege, and always an excellent opportunity to learn.