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Faculty & Staff
New user? Please contact our center director, Simon Watkins. Already a user and interested in starting or expanding a project? Discuss it with your primary contact.
The CBI is a center within the Department of Cell Biology ↗.
Faculty
Simon Watkins
Director of CBI and your first point of contact.
Optical Microscopy has formed the core of my research career which has led to the development of the CBI as one of the largest research centers in the US specializing in the development and application of computer aided microscopy. My personal interests are to build, test, and use cutting edge optical tools for all types of research microscopic imaging in cells, tissues and animals from the single molecule to the whole animal, the goal being to build highly flexible, maximally effective imaging solutions, to be used by academic researchers. As a professor of Cell Biology a major focus of my research has been to develop, build, and apply computer aided microscopes and analysis tools for imaging subcellular events at all levels of resolution within fixed and living systems. These include high speed Total internal Reflection Fluorescence microscopes able to image at 1000 frames/second, high speed confocal prototype systems able to scan very large tissue sections with submicron resolution at very high speed. My achievements in this field had led to my promotion to Distinguished Professor in 2014. Most recently we have been developing very high speed deep tissue imaging solutions to collect quantitative images at the diffraction limit of entire tissues including brain, and building automated multi-spectral upright solutions combined with deep learning methods to dissect spectrally complex multiplex samples. If you want to discuss how the CBI works, start building a relationship with the center, or just want to find out more about what we do and how we work with colleagues just send me a mail
Claudette St. Croix
Runs the live tissue/multiphoton component of CBI, contact for planning experiments involving live animal imaging
I am a tenured Professor of Cell Biology and Associate Director of the Center for Biologic Imaging (CBI). My research program combines my background and expertise in cell biology and molecular physiology with an elite-level knowledge of state-of-the-art optical imaging and advanced image analysis. Research themes include the development and use of novel fluorescence-based probes and in vivo imaging technologies. My leadership role as Associate Director of the CBI has led to a larger role in directing programmatic funding and collaborative efforts between School of Medicine investigators and the CBI, with an emphasis on advanced tools including complex image processing, multiparametric live cell microscopy, focused light intravital small animal imaging, and super-resolution microscopy methods. I have well-established, active and productive collaborations with NIH funded investigators that use an array of elite level imaging modalities to study molecular signaling events in living cells, tissue and animal models.
Alan Watson
Runs the tissue clearing and ribbon scanning component of CBI, contact for planning experiments involving clearing and large area scans.
Systems approaches to biologic questions are becoming more important as scientists strive to understand how their favorite molecule or cell fits into the broader picture of organismal development, tissue organization or pathogenesis. Exciting technologies have emerged that enable whole organs and even organisms to be imaged at very high resolutions such that individual cells can be easily located among billions. This facilitates the tracing of neuronal circuits, reconstruction of neuronal activity across whole brains, characterization of immune microenvironments and following the spread of pathogens among others. My interests include the development of platforms to facilitate rapid high-resolution volumetric imaging of whole tissues. The success of these platforms depends upon a wide variety of technologies which include tissue preparation methods, high-speed imaging systems and infrastructure to collect, store and process tera- even peta-scale imaging data. I am fascinated by the way that these technologies influence how biologists ask questions, and I am excited by making our tools accessible to the basic biologist. Towards these goals, we have developed the high-speed ribbon scanning confocal microscope (RSCM) into a platform for high-resolution cleared tissue imaging. Together with tissue clearing approaches, we can digitally reconstruct centimeter thick tissue with submicron detail. Consequently, the data acquired from large tissues can reach many terabytes which requires developing visualization and processing environments that handle exceptionally large datasets. To support the RSCM and other high throughput imaging platforms, my lab has led the Center for Biologic Imaging in the development of a high-performance computing infrastructure which includes petabytes of file storage, specialized cluster / grid computing platforms, and software which makes interacting with these resources simple for people with no experience using otherwise complex computational tools.
Patricia Loughran
Research Associate Professor and Department of Surgery Liaison
Dr. Loughran is a Research Associate Professor of Surgery with a long-standing interest in the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating protein expression, localization and binding partners in models of inflammation and infection. Additional interests include the signaling and resultant protein modifications involved in the removal of cellular protein(s) or organelles to minimize damage within the host organism as it modulates stress(es). All of this work relies on cutting edge microscopy and single-cell approaches to define the host phenotype response to trauma and its inverse relationship to a sustained upregulation of inflammatory pathways and suppression of immune defenses.Within the Center for Biologic Imaging, Dr. Loughran serves as the faculty liaison for the Department of Surgery. In this role, she collaborates with investigators to generate and interpret quantitative optical microscopy and qualitative electron microscopy data that support departmental publications, grant applications, and translational research initiatives.
Iana Vasylieva
Research Instructor
At CBI, our high-throughput imaging platforms generate exceptionally large and complex datasets, often reaching dozens of terabytes. My work focuses on automating the data acquisition and analysis pipelines needed to handle this scale. Because these datasets demand specialized high-performance computing solutions, I develop tools that enable efficient and reproducible quantitative analysis. Drawing on my experience in web development, I aim to make these advanced computational methods easily accessible to collaborators through intuitive browser-based interfaces and workflow systems. Across collaborations at Pitt and beyond, I assist investigators in tackling a wide range of big-data challenges in volumetric whole-organ imaging. Through our involvement in the Brain Image Library, we support BRAIN Initiative researchers in transferring, managing, and analyzing microscopy datasets — from mouse to whole human brains — reaching petabyte scales. We help drive discoveries about brain function and disease, including addiction, neurodegeneration, and encephalitis, at the level of the entire brain.
Staff
Mark Ross
Light Lab Manager Immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy.
✉ mross@pitt.edu
LM lab: 412-648-9796 · EM lab: 412-648-8865 · Fax: 412-648-2797
