Ellis - Davies Laboratory, Optical Methods & Neurophysiology

Light has been used to study cells since their discovery at the end of the 17th century. The development of modern ultrafast lasers and transgenic fluorescent proteins provides the means to monitor (sub)cellular events in vivo. Such microscopy allows us to see into the brain at chosen intervals without disturbing it. Detection is so sensitive we can repeatedly pick out single synapses. Our approach is just like like taking daily (or weekly) photographs of a plant coming into bloom: time-lapse snap-shots enable you to construct a picture of the build up of a complex system step by step, in real time. We are currently applying this method to murine models of Alzheimer's disease, in order to study the causes and consequences of neurodegeneration during disease progression.

 

A second line of research is the use of light to control cell function. We use organic chemistry to construct photochemically labile molecules (caged compounds) that disgorge their contents upon illumination, so activating a selected biological target. We are privileged to collaborate with several labs around the world that use caged compounds to study cellular function, including Kamran Khodakhah (Einstein), Erst Niggli (Bern), Phil Haydon (Tufts), George Augustine (Duke), Haruo Kasai (Tokyo), Brain MacVicar (Vancouver), Ed Levitan (Pitt), and Dwight Bergles (Hopkins).