Our mission: Develop new technologies for the imaging of biological structure and function.
The technologies being developed range from advanced tools for wide-field light microscopy and laser scanning microscopy, to optical coherence tomography and fluorescent lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). As these technologies are refined, they are made available to the members of the USC research community. Thus, the Translational Imaging Center (TIC) serves dual, complementary roles as a research center and as a user facility. To fulfill its research mission, the Translational Imaging Center houses an interdisciplinary research group, encompassing researchers in disciplines ranging from applied physics to neurobiology. The overarching research goal is to apply technologies for the intravital imaging of cells and cellular processes in living tissues.
Much of the work in the TIC is focused upon the study of tissue patterning in developing embryos and the neuronal basis of learning and behavior. Recent efforts have moved the research towards models of disease as well, including cardiovascular defects, Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration and other eye diseases. In all of these varied research topics, there is a common theme: TIC researchers employ advanced imaging tools to follow events as they take place inside an intact organism, motivating further tool development. These imaging and analysis methods yield unique longitudinal data, as well as insightful tests of proposals made from molecular or cell culture data.