In 2011 she was appointed full professor and is now a chair in the section Biomedical Photonics and Medical Imaging at the VU. She is an expert in developing and applying state-of-the-art technologies (from color-resolved 3-pulse photon echoes, coherent infrared emission, femtosecond infrared transient spectroscopy, to nonlinear microscopy) to relevant biological problems. She has been actively involved in managerial roles, a/o as vice-dean of the Faculty of Sciences, and currently serves as program director of the bachelor Medische Natuurwetenschappen and master program Biomedical Technology and Physics.
Research description
Instant Pathology
Fast, intra-operative feedback on excised tissue or biopsies now takes at least 45 minutes, through frozen section analysis, a laborious process. With higher harmonic generation microscopy all components (cells, nuclei, connective tissue) relevant to a histology-based diagnosis can be visualized in only a few minutes for a full biopsy.
In collaboration with our spin-off company Flash Pathology BV, in a TTW-funded project, we have brought two portable HHG tissue analyzers into the clinic. Studies in the Amsterdam UMC and Prinses Maxima Center on lung tumor, ILD, brain tumor, HPB, thyroid and more are ongoing.
Skin Biomechanics
Human skin is characterised by its nonlinear, viscoelastic and anistropic behavior, with vast local and biological variations that are clinically relevant. We measure the stress-strain relation of skin and scar tissue while either periodically visualizing 3D reorganization, or visualizing 2D changes in real time with Second Harmonic Generation. In addition, we have various other clinical skin research projects
Visualizing acute tissue dynamics in 4D
Visualizing the 3D structure of tissue with sub-cellular detail is important for the study of many diseases, such as cancer, fibrosis and neurodegenerative diseases. Using second and third-harmonic generation microscopy, it is possible to observe dynamic structural processes in time, without using fluorescent labels.
AI-based analysis in support of all the above projects is developed in parallel.
Selected publications
- Van Huizen et al (2023) Rapid On-Site Pathology Visualization of COVID-19 Characteristics Using Higher Harmonic Generation Microscopy, J Respir Crit Care Med Mar 8. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202207-1259IM. Online ahead of print.
- Blokker et al (2022) Fast intraoperative histology-based diagnosis of gliomas with third harmonic generation microscopy and deep learning, Scientific Reports Vol. 12 Issue 1 Pages 11334
- van Huizen et al (2020) Compact portable multiphoton microscopy reveals histopathological hallmarks of unprocessed lung tumor tissue in real time, Translational Biophotonics n/a, e202000009.
- Konold et al (2020) Confinement in crystal lattice alters entire photocycle pathway of the Photoactive Yellow Protein, Nature Communications 11, 4248.
- Zhang et al. (2019) Quantitative Third Harmonic Generation Microscopy for Assessment of Glioma in Human Brain Tissue, Advanced Science 6.
For a complete list see Marloes’ Google Scholar page
