Intravital imaging as tool to bridge the gap between macroscopic in vivo imaging and microscopic tissue analysis.

Intravital two-photon microscopy (IVM) is a powerful
imaging technique that allows dynamic imaging at cellular
and subcellular resolution in living animals. By bridging the
gap between macroscopic in vivo imaging and microscopic
analysis of processed tissues, IVM can serve the
understanding of biological processes and the assessment
of new therapeutic strategies within the complex context of
living organisms. IVM is thus an indispensable technique to
address important fundamental and applied research
questions raised by VUB researchers and will highly
complement existing infrastructure. Eight VUB research
groups, including ICMI, LMCT, EFAR, BENE, DIAB, HEIM,
LMMO and IVTD have expressed high interest in the
technology in order to better assess drug delivery, therapy
responses, cellular interactions or cell regeneration in the
context of oncology, immunology, neurobiology and
neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, and liver disorders.
The absence of such technology on campus has
unfortunately refrained us from incorporating the said
applications in our current research projects but investment
in a two-photon IVM will lift our research to a more
competitive level.