Concept proved – sights set on practical applications
“In fact, we were able to work out many fundamental aspects of the technology and lay the foundations for further development at MIT. The application for Emmy Noether funding was also along those lines,” Oliver Bruns explains. “Backed by this funding, we now aim to bring SWIR imaging to the next level and put it into the hands of biologists and clinicians at the Helmholtz Pioneer Campus.”
Many scientists are eager to look over his shoulder. Three professors from the United States – Prof. Ellen Sletten (UCLA), Prof. Ou Chen (Brown University) and Prof. Tulio Valdez (Stanford University) - have been named as Mercator fellows and are invited to join the Pioneer Campus to work with his group. This is a prestigious exchange program funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) supporting the Emmy Noether proposal of Oliver Bruns.
“In this context, Tulio Valdez and Maly Cosco from the group of Ellen Sletten were working as guests in our laboratory,” Oliver Bruns says. “The exchange with them and other colleagues is the creative driving force behind our research and shows that our work has attracted considerable international attention.”
Visiting from University of California, Los Angeles: Emily Cosco; © Helmholtz Zentrum München/Carolin Jacklin
Background
The Emmy Noether Programme gives exceptionally qualified early career researchers the chance to qualify for the post of professor at a university by leading an independent junior research group for a period of six years.
As German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München pursues the goal of developing personalized medical approaches for the prevention and therapy of major common diseases such as diabetes mellitus, allergies and lung diseases. To achieve this, it investigates the interaction of genetics, environmental factors and lifestyle. The Helmholtz Zentrum München has about 2,300 staff members and is headquartered in Neuherberg in the north of Munich. Helmholtz Zentrum München is a member of the Helmholtz Association, a community of 19 scientific-technical and medical-biological research centers with a total of about 37,000 staff members.