Optical Microscopy and Analysis Laboratory (OMAL)

Thursday, October 27, 2011 — Core Poster Session
10:00 a.m. – Noon	South Lobby of Building 10	NCI	CORE-16

Authors

• S Lockett
• P Gudla
• K Nandy
• T Turbyville
• K Peifley
• D Chen
• A Brafman

Abstract

The mission of the Optical Microscopy and Analysis Laboratory (OMAL) is, through collaborations with NCI investigators, to further understand carcinogenesis in solid tumors and gain knowledge about the kinetics of molecular pathways in individual cells while cells remain in their tissue context. These needs require quantitative microscopy with careful attention to stochiometric labeling of samples, optimal image acquisition, computational analysis of images, and mathematical modeling of measurements. OMAL addresses these needs through collaborative research, pursuing, technology developments, and extending our capabilities and expertise to NCI and beyond. Examples of our projects are: In collaboration with Dr. Tom Misteli (CCR, NCI) we are automating the measurement of gene positions in breast cancer cell nuclei as a possible new diagnostic or prognostic test. With Dr. John Beutler and Dr. Karlyne Reilly, we are characterizing the selective inhibition by Schweinfurthin A (SA) of glioma and NF-1 cell lines. We have initiated mathematical modeling so that we can gain deeper understanding of biological processes as observed under the microscope, which will be utilized for understanding collective cell migration in the SA project. We are developing new technologies for super-resolution optical microscopy and for analyzing the dynamics of molecules in living cells.

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