Dr. Xi Chen
Postdoctoral Associate, Cornell University
Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Candidate Seminar
Tuesday, December 5, 2023, 10:00-11:00 am
B02 CSL Auditorium and Online via Zoom
Title: Computational Scattered Light Imaging for Label-free Deep Living Systems
Abstract: Imaging deep inside living organisms with cellular resolution remains challenging as recurrent scattering by submicron-scale heterogeneous structures degrades the image-bearing capability of light. In this talk, I will present my work on imaging through turbid tissues with improved resolution and sensitivity using interferometric techniques and computational algorithms. I will first discuss how quantitative phase imaging (QPI) improves contrast and sensitivity in three-dimensional cellular structures. I will show how the phase information provided by QPI is used to retrieve the intrinsic properties of biological samples. Then, I will present a label-free imaging method using deep learning to achieve confocal-level resolution, sensitivity, and chemical specificity non-destructively on unlabeled specimens. Next, I will present an ongoing project on confocal gradient light interference microscopy (CGLIM) for in vivo mouse brain imaging with a comparison to multiphoton imaging. The talk will conclude with a discussion of my future research direction on pushing the limits of label-free optical imaging in deep living systems and artificial intelligence-assisted applications.
Dr. Xi Chen is a postdoctoral associate and K99/R00 awardee at Cornell University in Prof. Chris Xu’s group. She previously had postdoctoral training at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) in Prof. Gabriel Popescu’s Quantitative Light Imaging lab. She received her Ph.D. in Physics in 2019 under the supervision of Prof. Olga Korotkova at the University of Miami. Her research experiences include developing label-free imaging modalities, computational algorithms for studying two-dimensional and three-dimensional cellular structures and clusters, and adaptive optics for multiphoton microscopy. She has 15 peer-reviewed publications, 10 of which are first-author papers in journals including Nature Photonics, Advances in Optics and Photonics, and Light: Science & Applications. She currently works on confocal phase imaging in deep turbid tissues and wavefront sensing and correction for improving multiphoton imaging in live animals funded by her NIH k99/R00 award.
