Biography
Matz received his DPhil in ultrafast vibrational spectroscopy from the University of Oxford in 2014. He then moved to ICFO in Spain, initially to apply the ultrafast schemes he had developed to study single molecules. These experiments required a lot of instrument development, a direction that soon became a research line of its own. Based on his work on all-optical single-protein detection and holographic fluorescence and surface enhanced Raman imaging he was awarded a prestigious JIN MINECO fellowship in 2019. The fellowship allowed him to further move into the direction of applying holographic schemes to 3D live cell and tissue imaging. To address one of the major bottlenecks of label-free imaging of biological samples, the intrinsic lack of specificity and contrast, Matz pioneered femtosecond phototransient imaging to restore some specificity. His proof-of-concept works were recognised with an ERC StG for Phototransient Infrared Holography. Matz is an Assistant Professor in the Biophotonics & Medical Imaging group at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the VU Amsterdam.
Personal Website: MatzLab | Biomolecular imaging
Research description
He develops innovative optical imaging and sensing platforms for future diagnostics. He is particularly interested in label-free or digital approaches: low-cost key-enablers for democratizing state-of-the-art healthcare globally. His work builds on an interdisciplinary toolbox ranging from molecular biology over ultrafast optics to digital holography with the key-ingredient being creativity. Currently, my playgrounds are: phototransient holography, ultrasensitive nanosizing, high-throughput surface enhanced Raman (SERS) and quantitative mass imaging.
Matz Liebel | Biophotonics & Medical Imaging section | Department of Physics and Astronomy
