Members
Yongxin (Leon) Zhao
Principle Investigator
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.
Aleksandra Klimas
Postdoctoral Associate
Aleks has worked extensively on rendering Magnify compatible with a wide array of FFPE human clinical samples, and her main scientific interests include developing new optical imaging systems for biomedical research.
Brendan Gallagher
Ph.D. Candidate
Brendan’s work involves using Magnify to study how the brain changes at the nanoscale with learning or disease. He is passionate about developing super-resolution methods to fill current gaps in neuroscience, with a focus on ensuring accessibility and ease of use for researchers.
Emma DiBernardo
Ph.D. Candidate
Emma is a graduate student in the Zhao Lab and is part of the Molecular Biophysics and Structural Biology graduate program between Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. With a background in cell culture and molecular biology, Emma’s work focuses on protein engineering, directed evolution, and developing better probes for expansion microscopy.
Zhangyu (Sharey) Cheng
Ph.D. Candidate
Sharey optimizes MAGNIFY to enable expansion on a wide range of microbial samples and compatibility to visualize different biomolecules. Her work focuses on applications to study microbiology and pathogen-host interactions.
Jason Nguyen
Ph.D. Candidate
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.
Alli Lindquist
Ph.D. Student
Alli utilizes Magnify in the field of neuroscience to characterize nanoscale-level changes in the brain, including synaptic differences that might occur during early learning stages, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Her current work is focused on developing a high-multiplex imaging tool that can be applied to Magnify, providing an avenue for the simultaneous detection of numerous biomarkers in a single sample.