Principal Investigator Oliver Bruns
Next-Generation in vivo Imaging
Research
Oliver Bruns' research is dedicated to the development of excellent techniques for biomedical imaging. The advancement of new targeted contrast agents and novel imaging modalities will pave the way for personalized therapy and high precision treatments in the near future. Imaging in the short-wave infrared region (SWIR) is a new technology for biomedical applications. It provides several advantages over the visible and near-infrared regions: general lack of autofluorescence, low light absorption by blood and tissue, and reduced scattering. In this wavelength range tissues become translucent. Recent progress in detection technology and the development of probes demonstrated that, in principal, SWIR imaging enables applications which were previously not feasible with any other technique. These advantages will enable new capabilities in preclinical imaging. Most SWIR imaging setups so far are used for proof of principal demonstrations only.
Dr. Oliver Bruns
Principal Investigator, Next generation in vivo imaging
Vision: short-wave infrared region (SWIR) is the future of optical imaging
My vision is that in 10 years, SWIR imaging is going to be the gold standard for preclinical and clinical imaging. Every research center and every major clinic will have SWIR detection systems and use novel contrast agents like the ones which I plan to develop with my team and collaborators. This new generation of optical imaging techniques will enable preclinical contact-free imaging in awake and behaving mice and in the future clinical imaging with single cell sensitivity and penetration depth up to centimeters.
Factsheet
Dr. Oliver Bruns
Positions and Career
2018 - present
Principal Investigator Helmholtz Pioneer Campus, Helmholtz Zentrum München
2015 - 2017
Research Scientist (Senior Scientist), Department of Chemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
2011 - 2015
Postdoctoral Associate in the group of Prof. Moungi Bawendi at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
2009 - 2011
Senior Scientist at Heinrich-Pette-Institute Hamburg/Germany
Education
2009
PhD in Biochemistry, University Medical Center and Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Hamburg (Germany), Supervisors: Prof. Ulrike Beisiegel and Prof. Horst Weller
2000-2005
Diploma in Biochemistry / Molecular Biology, University of Hamburg (Germany)
Honors and Awards
2018
Emmy Noether Group leader DFG
2011-2013
EMBO Long-Term Fellowship
2010
DAAD fellowship (declined in favour of EMBO Long-term Fellowship)
2006-2009
‘Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes’ Fellowship
2017
Travel grant for the World Molecular Imaging Congress
2015
EMBL Advanced Training Centre Fellowship (Travel grant) and Dr. Wilhelmy-GSO-Fellowship (Travel grant)
2014
SPOT award by MIT School of Science and Travel grant by MIT PDA
2010
Karl-Heinz Hölzer Award for Interdisciplinary Medical Research (PhD-Thesis)
2008
Young Investigator Award, 77th European Atherosclerosis Congress, 2008, Istanbul, Turkey
2007
Young Investigator Award, 30th annual Meeting of European Lipoprotein Club, Tutzing, Germany
2006
Award for the best diploma thesis in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology
2004-2008
Spokesman of the Student Committee of the 'GBM' (German Biochemical Society)
Professional Memberships
Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Current Third Party Funding
DFG – Emmy Noether Program
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Helmholtz internal Program for Spin-Offs - Helmholtz Enterprise (PI Dr. Thomas Bischof)
Deputy Group Leader
Dr. Thomas Bischof
PhD Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Focus: Multispectral imaging
Doctoral Thesis: "On the origin of photons: understanding excitons and multiexcitons in colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals"
SWIR microscopy
Dr. Andriy Chmyrov
PhD in Physics, Royal Institute of Technology
Focus: microscopy and imaging
Doctoral Thesis: “Photo-induced dark states influorescence spectroscopy–investigations & applications"
Research Engineer
Samuel Adler
Peter Tsrunchev
BSc in Applied and Engineering Physics, Technical University of Munich (currently pursuing)
Focus: Particle Image Velocimetry
Bachelor Thesis: Luminosity measurements at CMS
Postdocs
Dr. Gina Fürtjes
Examinated in Medicine, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
Focus: intraoperative SWIR imaging
Doctoral Thesis: "hTERT promoter methylation in meningiomas and central nervous hemangiopericytomas"
Dr. Mara Saccomano
PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine of Göttingen
Focus: Optical Imaging and therapy in mouse models of pancreatic tumors
Doctoral Thesis: "Development and evaluation of new approaches for fluorescence-guided surgery and therapy of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) using orthotopic mouse models"
PhD Students
Bernardo Arús
MSc in Biochemistry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil/ Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Portugal
Focus: Metabolic imaging
Master Thesis: "Characterization of leptin receptor-expressing cells associated to sympathetic neurons in the adipose tissue"
Jakob Lingg
MSc in Astrophysics, Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich
Focus: Optical Design and Technology
Master Thesis: "Photometric Redshift Estimation & Testing of Chromatic Correction Mapping for EUCLID"
Tjiadina Klein
Examinated in Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig
Focus: Translating SWIR imaging to the clinic
Merle Weitzenberg
Merle Weitzenberg is a joint PhD Student between the group of Prof. Dr. Oliver Plettenburg (Leibniz University of Hannover)and the lab of Dr. Oliver Bruns
MSc in Medicinal and Natural Product Chemistry, Leibniz Universität Hannover
Focus: SWIR Fluorescent Probes
Master Thesis: "Development of Novel SWIR Fluorescent Probes for Molecular Imaging"
Research assistants
Sofia Kieffa
BSc in Health Sciences, Technical University of Munich (currently pursuing)
Focus: Application of medical and SWIR imaging
Joycelyn Yiu
BSc. in Biology and Neuroscience, Rice University, United States
Focus: Imaging data processing
Alumni
Ilaria Balba
MSc in Biomedical Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Focus: Image processing and 3D reconstruction
Master Thesis: "Passive tomography: tools for extracting three-dimensional information from monocular video"
Nina Büttner
current position: Undergrad Columbia University
Emily Cosco
Chemistry Graduate Student visiting from the Group of Ellen Sletten at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at UCLA. Her research focuses on developing organic fluorophores for SWIR imaging.
Current position: Postdoc Stanford Medicine
Asli Ergin
MSc Biomedical Computing, Technical University of Munich (currently pursuing)
Focus: Medical Image Processing
Xhenifer Guza
Current position: Image Analysis Engineer
Bunyamin Pekdemir
MSc in Biomedical Engineering, at Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Medizinische Fakultät Mannheim
M Eng. in Mechanical Engineering, at The City University of New York, The Grove School of Engineering
Focus: Radiotherapy
Master Thesis: "Combined modality of ultrasound and electromagnetic tracking –Modeling, design, and construction of a robust mounting device to enable accurate and flexible ultrasound navigated, minimally invasive interventions”
Shyam Ramakrishnan
Selected Publications
Lysosomal lipoprotein processing in endothelial cells stimulates adipose tissue thermogenic adaptation
Alexander W.Fischer, Michelle Y.Jaeckstein, Kristina Gottschling, Markus Heine, Frederike Sass, Nils Mangels, Christian Schlein, Anna Worthmann, Oliver T.Bruns, Yucheng Yuan, Hua Zhu, Ou Chen, Harald Ittrich, Stefan K. Nilsson, Patrik Stefanicka, Jozef Ukropec, Miroslav Balaz, Hua Dong, Joerg Heeren
Cell Metab. 2020 Dec 17;S1550-4131(20)30656-2. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2020.12.001.
Shortwave infrared polymethine fluorophores matched to excitation lasers enable noninvasive, multicolor in vivo imaging in real time.
Cosco, E.D., Spearman, A.I., Ramakrishnan, S., Lingg, J.G.P., Saccomano, M., Pengshung, M., Arus, B., Wong, K.C., Glasl, S., Ntziachristos, V., Warmer, M., McLaughlin, R.R., Bruns, O.T., Sletten, E.M
Nat. Chem. 2020, in print
Non-invasive monitoring of chronic liver disease via near-infrared and shortwave-infrared imaging of endogenous lipofuscin
Mari Saif, Wilhelmus J. Kwanten, Jessica A. Carr, Ivy X. Chen, Jessica M., Posada, Amitabh Srivastava, Juanye Zhang, Yi Zheng, Matthias Pinter, Sampurna Chatterjee, Samir Softic, C. Ronald Kahn, Klaus van Leyen, Oliver T. Bruns, Rakesh K. Jain, Moungi G. Bawendi
Nat Biomed Eng. 2020 Aug;4(8):801-813. doi: 10.1038/s41551-020-0569-y
More DetailsCellular and Molecular Probing of Intact Human Organs.
Zhao S, Todorov MI, Cai R, -Maskari RA, Steinke H, Kemter E, Mai H, Rong Z, Warmer M, Stanic K, Schoppe O, Paetzold JC, Gesierich B, Wong MN, Huber TB, Duering M, Bruns OT, Menze B, Lipfert J, Puelles VG, Wolf E, Bechmann I, Ertürk A.
Cell. 2020 Feb 11. pii: S0092-8674(20)30111-2. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.01.030. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 32059778
More DetailsShortwave infrared imaging with J-aggregates stabilized in hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles.
Chen, W. ; Cheng, C.A. ; Cosco, E. ; Ramakrishnan, A. ; Lingg, J.G.P. ; Bruns, O.T. ; Zink, J.I. ; Sletten, E.M.
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 141, 12475-12480 (2019)
Absorption by water increases fluorescence image contrast of biological tissue in the shortwave infrared.
Carr JA, Aellen M, Franke D, So PTC, Bruns OT, Bawendi MG.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Sep 11;115(37):9080-9085. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1803210115.
Shortwave infrared fluorescence imaging with the clinically approved near-infrared dye indocyanine green.
Carr JA, Franke D, Caram JR, Perkinson CF, Saif M, Askoxylakis V, Datta M, Fukumura D, Jain RK, Bawendi MG, Bruns OT.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Apr 24;115(17):4465-4470. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1718917115.
Initial findings of shortwave infrared otoscopy in a pediatric population.
Valdez TA, Carr JA, Kavanagh KR, Schwartz M, Blake D, Bruns O, Bawendi M.
Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2018 Nov;114:15-19. doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2018.08.024.
Brown adipose tissue thermogenic adaptation requires Nrf1-mediated proteasomal activity.
Bartelt A, Widenmaier SB, Schlein C, Johann K, Goncalves RLS, Eguchi K, Fischer AW, Parlakgül G, Snyder NA, Nguyen TB, Bruns OT, Franke D, Bawendi MG, Lynes MD, Leiria LO, Tseng YH, Inouye KE, Arruda AP, Hotamisligil GS.
Nat Med. 2018 Mar;24(3):292-303. doi: 10.1038/nm.4481.
Next-generation in vivo optical imaging with short-wave infrared quantum dots.
Bruns OT, Bischof TS, Harris DK, Franke D, Shi Y, Riedemann L, Bartelt A, Jaworski FB, Carr JA, Rowlands CJ, Wilson MWB, Chen O, Wei H, Hwang GW, Montana DM, Coropceanu I, Achorn OB, Kloepper J, Heeren J, So PTC, Fukumura D, Jensen KF, Jain RK, Bawendi MG.
Nat Biomed Eng. 2017;1. pii: 0056. doi: 10.1038/s41551-017-0056.
Brown adipose tissue activity controls triglyceride clearance.
Bartelt A, Bruns OT, Reimer R, Hohenberg H, Ittrich H, Peldschus K, Kaul MG, Tromsdorf UI, Weller H, Waurisch C, Eychmüller A, Gordts PL, Rinninger F, Bruegelmann K, Freund B, Nielsen P, Merkel M, Heeren J.
Nat Med. 2011 Feb;17(2):200-5. doi: 10.1038/nm.2297.
More Details
Real time magnetic resonance imaging and quantification of lipoprotein metabolism in vivo using nanocrystals.
Bruns OT, Ittrich H, Peldschus K, Kaul MG, Tromsdorf UI, Lauterwasser J, Nikolic MS, Mollwitz B, Merkel M, Bigall NC, Sapra S, Reimer R, Hohenberg H, Weller H, Eychmüller A, Adam G, Beisiegel U, Heeren J.
Nat Nanotechnol. 2009 Mar;4(3):193-201. doi: 10.1038/nnano.2008.405.
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Helmholtz Pioneer Campus
Helmholtz Zentrum München
Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH)
Ingolstädter Landstr. 1
85764 Neuherberg
Germany