FU
GROUP
Precision Chemical Imaging of Living Biological Systems
What We Do
The Fu lab develops quantitative chemical imaging tools to study various pathophysiological processes of living biological specimens at single-cell resolution. These tools involve state-of-the-art laser engineering, innovation in ultrasensitive signal detection, and novel machine learning/deep learning based data analysis. Leveraging these powerful tools, the Fu lab aims to drive biomedical applications in three areas: 1) developing more sensitive and accurate diagnostic methods; 2) understanding brain metabolism and brain dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases; 3) quantifying drug transport and drug metabolism in complex tissue environments to understand drug resistance.
Imaging method development
We focus on nonlinear optical spectroscopy-based label-free, precision chemical imaging method development, particularly stimulated Raman scattering microscopy and transient absorption microscopy.
Hardware development
We build state-of-the-art multimodal optical imaging microscopes to achieve high resolution, high sensitivity, quantitative chemical imaging of a wide variety of biological samples from cell cultures to living animals.
Data science tool development
We develop advanced computational algorithms to process multidimensional chemical imaging data and extract meaningful and interpretable information about the sample through image segmentation, classification, and prediction.
Cancer diagnosis
We collaborate with UW surgeons and pathologists and investigate the potential application of SRS in a wide range of intraoperative cancer diagnosis applications, including breast, brain, bone, and thyroid cancer.
Brain structure and function
We leverage the capabilities of our label-free chemical imaging technology to investigate brain structure and function. In particular, we are interested in exploring the role of capillaries in oxygen delivery and the contribution of dysfunctional capillaries to neurodegenerative diseases.
Drug transport and drug response
We develop quantitative chemical imaging tools to quantify single-cell drug exposure and single-cell drug response, with the goal of understanding transport-related drug resistance mechanisms and developing better drug screening methods.
Group News
Chisa passes her second year exam!
Congrats to Chisa, who passed her second year exam on February 29th. Good work!
Erin and Emily attend Photonics West
Erin and Emily recently attended Photonics West 2024 in San Francisco. There, Erin presented her and Brian's recently published work on cellular drug uptake measurements.
Fiona publishes on cell growth measurement and lipid characterization in liver tissues!
Fiona recently published two articles! Ratiometric SRS imaging and deuterium labeling were utilized to quantify single cell growth measurements in both 2D and 3D cultures. This method was used to assess the effects of multiple chemotherapeutic drugs on growth and...
Brian & Erin publish their work on intracellular drug uptake measurements
Brian and Erin published an article titled "Facilitated Transport of EGFR Inhibitors Plays an Important Role in Their Cellular Uptake" in Analytical Chemistry! In this work, hyperspectral SRS imaging is utilized to directly visualize and quantify the EGFR inhibitors...
Fiona published her work on dual-band SRS
Fiona published her paper on dual-band SRS microscopy in the Journal of Physical Chemistry B. Congratulations, Fiona! In this work, a custom build OPO was used to generate two tunable femtosecond output, which enabled simultaneous SRS imaging of two separate spectral...
Congratulations to Fiona
Fiona successfully passed the General exam and is now on her way to PhD. Congratulations, Fiona!
Congratulations to Emily and Erin!
Emily and Erin successfully passed their second year exam. Congratulations!
Introduce a Girl to Green Technology event
Fiona, Erin, Emily, and Dan participated in the Introduce a Girl to Green Technology event organized by Women in Chemical Engineering at UW. They demonstrated the color separation of light using $0.02 clear prism plastic pick. They also showed the magnification of...
Photonics West conference
Dan, Fiona, and Brian attended the Photonics West conference in San Francisco. They presented recent works on deep learning, liver imaging, and drug formulation imaging.
Welcome Chisa, Jon, and Katie to the group!
The FU lab welcomes Chisa Zensho, Jon Kim, and Katie Wu to the group. Chisa is a first year PhD student from Purdue University. Jon and Katie are first year Master students from the University of Washington.