In the area of research, the BioImaging Center undertakes two categories of exploration: research initiatives and individual research projects. The former tend to be large-scale investigations - generally with five-year timeframes - involving a number of internal labs and external research partners, while the latter are highly focused, shorter-term projects for which a faculty member serves as primary investigator.

A clearinghouse of discovery

The research projects provide the core intellectual building blocks for our larger research initiatives. In this way, the BioImaging Center acts as a clearinghouse of discovery, providing the means for identifying and deploying new knowledge to facilitate ongoing research. Current research initiatives include the following:

Imaging the Proteome

Studying the proteome - the full set of proteins produced by a cell - is key to understanding how the protein machinery of a cell works. In this research initiative, we are imaging in 3D, and over time (4D), individual proteins that have been tagged with a fluorescent molecule; this enables us to reproduce its structure, map its location, and follow its movements. Combining these measurements with known structural markers in the cell will allow the creation of protein interaction maps with time and space resolution.

Our research partners include the MIT Computational and Systems Biology Initiative (CSBi), a campus-wide education and research program that links biology, computer science, and engineering in a multidisciplinary approach to the systematic analysis and computational modeling of complex biological phenomena. We are also working closely with Invitrogen, a supplier of molecular biology and fluorescent research reagents.

Imaging Informatics Pipeline

Perfecting the process of obtaining and manipulating large quantities of information contained in and derived from microscopic images requires close relationships with industry. We are working with a range of equipment makers and software developers focused on biomolecular imaging applications. These include microscope manufacturers that develop platforms for acquiring images; software developers, whose products enable us to process, analyze, and visualize those images; and computer companies that provide storage, processing, and visualization capabilities.

Specific companies include Bitplane (image processing and visualization software), Scientific Volume Imaging (image processing software), Cellomics (imaging platforms and informatics), JEOL (cryoelectron microscopes), Perkin Elmer (digital imaging platforms), Silicon Graphics (visualization technology), and IBM (image-based computation and storage).