Members

I am a chemist-trained biomedical engineer with expertise in many fields of engineering and science, from protein engineering to neuroscience to chemistry to optics. I have developed the GECO family (Science 2011) and QuasAr (Nature Methods 2014; Nature Communication 2014), two widely distributed tools utilized by thousands of neurobiology labs worldwide. Additionally, I invented various imaging tools based on Expansion Microscopy (Nature Biotechnology 2017 and 2022; Nature Protocol 2020; Advanced Science 2022). These allow for nanoscale imaging of biological specimens as well as clinical biopsies. My team at CMU is focused on creating an ultra-high-resolution biomolecule atlas of the brain using new technologies, and discovering novel diagnostics and therapeutics over time. We are also developing computational tools such as deep learning algorithms, which enable precise profiling of biomarkers within human or mouse tissue sections with nanoscale detail for diagnostic tests. My research program works closely with biologists, chemists, computer scientists, and clinicians across multiple international labs to bring innovative solutions into practical use in thousands of laboratories around the globe. 

Jason uses Magnify in his research to process clinical tumor samples from patients with various stages of muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). With the versatility and compatibility of MAGNIFY with different sample formats, this approach can be extended to solve and improve diagnostics of other types of cancer, which will be helpful in aiding physicians to provide better treatments in clinical settings. In addition, the extra information gained from this process can be used to further understand the prognosis and progression of cancer in each patient.