UNS: All-Optical Interrogation System for Cardiac Dynamics

PI: Entcheva， emilia提案：1511353 PI将开发并验证一种新的动态时空解析全光心脏动力学方法。光遗传驱动的独特优势将与同步高分辨率光学成像相结合，为量化心脏不稳定性和预测心律失常提供一种概念上的新方法。他们将展示一个通过光遗传学手段在时空中进行非接触探测生物功能的总体框架，该框架不仅可以应用于光遗传学工具存在的细胞信号传导、基因表达研究中，还可以应用于光遗传学工具中对可兴奋细胞中的膜电位进行扰动和观察。全光学方法可以直接整合体外和体内的实时反馈控制，这可以对生物功能和控制能力产生新的见解。为了扩大拟议工作的教育影响，PI是一名专注于早期学员的导师，将：1)与石溪大学的BioPREP项目合作，招募来自贫困背景的学术优秀的社区大学生，帮助他们在STEM领域发展；2)将开发的技术整合到一门新的正式课程中，以定量光遗传学方法研究生物功能，这门课程不仅将在石溪大学以常规形式提供，还将通过Coursera教育平台在线提供。对教育成果的评估将通过社交媒体跟踪受训学生的职业道路来完成。

PI: Entcheva, EmiliaProposal: 1511353The PI will develop and validate a new dynamic space-time resolved all-optical approach to cardiac dynamics. The unique advantages of optogenetic actuation will be combined with simultaneous high-resolution optical imaging to offer a conceptually new way of quantifying cardiac instabilities and predict arrhythmias.They will demonstrate a general framework for contactless probing of biological function in space-time by optogenetic means that can be applied not only to perturbing and observing membrane potential in excitable cells, but also for the study of cell signaling, gene expression, for which optogenetic tools exist. The all-optical methodology allows for straightforward integration of real-time feedback control in vitro and in vivo, which can yield new insights into biological function and ability to control it. To broaden the educational impact of the proposed work, the PI, a dedicated mentor of early-stage trainees, will: 1) collaborate with the BioPREP program at Stony Brook to recruit academically-strong community college students from underprivileged background, helping them pursue a career in STEM; and 2) will integrate the developed techniques into a new formal course on quantitative optogenetic approaches to the study of biological functions, which will be offered not only at Stony Brook in a regular format, but also online via the Coursera educational platform. The evaluation of educational outcomes will be done by tracking of the career paths of trained students via social media.