Overview of our research program
Progress in biophysics is intrinsically connected with the development of novel technologies and experimental methodologies to characterize the nature of living organisms. In the past, optical techniques have played a key role in expanding our vision into the biological realm, and the frontier is equally promising. Our current research areas include:
- Metabolic Imaging using dual-channel multiphoton excited endogenous fluorescence intensity and fluorescence lifetime
- In the sensory and supporting cells of the mammalian cochlea, to determine the bio-molecular mechanisms of Antibiotic-induced hearing loss (Collaboration with Dr. Heather Jensen Smith, Department of Biomedical Sciences)
- In the Keratinocytes within the skin, to determine early changes in metabolism that occur with Squamous Cell Carcinoma (Collaboration with Dr. Laura Hansen, Department of Biomedical Sciences)
- Development of a super-resolution microscope for Neuroscience at Creighton (Collaboration with Dr. Richard Hallworth, Department of Biomedical Sciences)
- Cellular Biomechanics measurements using a dual-beam optical stretcher (Collaboration with Dr. Andrew Ekpenyong, Department of Physics)
- Fluorescence Correlation studies of GFP and Tryptophan-containing proteins, to better understand the molecular mechanisms cryopreservation (Collaboration with Dr. David Sidebottom, Physics, and Dr. Eric Haas, Chemistry)
In the Physics Department, almost all of our majors are involved in undergraduate research. Over the past 5 years, students in the Biophysical Optics Research Group have presented a total of 41 talks, posters or contributed papers at regional or national meetings, including NCUR, Sigma Xi, Posters on the Hill, Annual Meetings of the Biophysical Society and the Optical Society of America. Students are trained in all aspects of equipment design, software development, experimentation, data analysis, writing and presentation. Master's students, with even more time devoted to their independent research endeavors, also have an impressive track record. A total of 10 master's theses have been completed over a the last 10 years.
If you are a student and interested in participating in Biophysical Optics Research, please contact Dr. Nichols.