Multiscale Microscopy

Our epifluorescence live-cell microscopy system enables direct observation of immune cell behavior under controlled in vitro conditions. This platform is essential for analyzing immune cell migration, synapse formation, and tumor cell responses in real time. Precise environmental control ensures stable temperature, CO₂ levels and humidity, preserving cell viability during extended observation periods. Automated multi-position acquisition and multiplexed fluorescence imaging allow us to study how factors such temperature, metabolic stress, or immunomodulatory agents influence cell–cell interactions and functional outcomes, including apoptosis and senescence. This approach provides single-cell resolution of heterogeneity within immune and tumor populations and offers mechanistic insights into how immune responses shape tumor control or evasion. As such, the system serves as an important bridge between molecular perturbation studies and more complex in vivo models of immunity and inflammation.

Our light-sheet microscopy platform provides large-volume three-dimensional imaging of cleared organs or whole mice, offering a comprehensive view of immune–tumor interactions across the intact body. This technology combines optical tissue clearing with multiplexed immunostaining to map immune cell distribution, structural features, and tumor architecture with high spatial resolution. It is particularly suited for identifying spatial patterns of inflammation, such as tertiary lymphoid structures or immune infiltration in distant metastases. Light-sheet imaging enables quantitative assessment of rare events, including micro-metastases and isolated immune clusters, which may be overlooked in traditional sectioning. By correlating single-cell and intravital findings with organ- and organism-level data, we examine how local interactions scale across tissue compartments. This integrative approach supports the development of therapeutic strategies that target immune niches and improve systemic tumor control.

Our intravital multiphoton microscopy platform enables real-time imaging of immune cell dynamics within living tissues. This technique is particularly valuable for studying how T cells and other immune populations interact with the tumor microenvironment, including migration through stromal barriers and engagement with target cells. Intravital imaging reveals temporal aspects often missed in static analyses: dwell times, contact frequencies, and the structural context provided by collagen fibers or vasculature. Applications include tracking CTL infiltration into solid tumors and visualizing regulatory mechanisms of immune suppression. The system also permits functional readouts, such as calcium signaling or apoptosis, via fluorescent reporters. Intravital multiphoton microscopy thus advances our understanding of how immunity and inflammation shape tumor progression and response to therapy under physiological conditions in live tissues.