CAREER: Multi-aperture 3D microscopy for cellular-scale measurement over macroscopic volumes

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An award is made to Duke University to perform research and create associated educational material surrounding novel digital optical microscopes. This project will specifically develop microscopic imaging technologies that can capture and rapidly process 3D video at high speeds over large volumes. Building upon research within data-driven optimization methods, this project will also create new software to rapidly display 3D videos at high resolution. Educational material in the form of online and hands-on lessons about the operation and application of 3D digital microscopes will be created and disseminated through outreach programs and within curriculum, with the aim of raising the scientific literacy of high-school and undergraduate students.This project will specifically focus on the development of computational microscopes that are comprised of multi-scale optical arrays. Such systems use a series of micro-cameras to capture dozens of unique perspectives of dynamic specimens of interest across a 1 cm3 volume at cellular-scale resolution. Co-optimized software then fuses the acquired data into composite 3D video frames for subsequent interpretation and analysis. This project aims to showcase its new technology by experimentally monitoring the natural 3D locomotion of model organisms at cellular resolution, while recording whole-brain fluorescence neural activity during such free movement. Such novel capabilities will likely accelerate model organism-based research within the fields of neuroscience, and the mapping of cellular networks within macroscopic cleared tissue volumes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.