When
Where
Title
Holographic Optogenetics: Label-Free Regulation of Human Cardiomyocytes for a Better Understanding of Cardiac Disease, including Life-Threatening Arrhythmias
Abstract
Light has the potential to detect and prevent diseases, improve diagnostics, or treat them early and gently. A current area of biomedicine is the investigation of heart diseases that can lead to life-threatening arrhythmias due to disrupted propagation of the contraction wavefront in cardiac tissue. The emerging field of optogenetics combines genetic and optical tools to enable the control of cellular processes and offers the advantages of high spatial and temporal resolution. However, the system integration of optogenetic strategies for controlling spatial wavefront properties remains a challenge, as sensing and actuating must be combined with a real-time control loop. We present a strategy for the optogenetic control of cardiac contraction properties in vitro using functional syncytia derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). The aim is to detect and terminate abnormal, life-threatening contraction patterns. This is crucial for understanding, diagnosing, and treating cardiac arrhythmias. Furthermore, optogenetics contributes to the understanding of neurodegenerative diseases and offers promising avenues for restoring sight and hearing in blind and deaf people.
Bio
Jürgen W Czarske (8 Fellowships: OPTICA, SPIE, IET, IOP, EOS, COS, Saxon Academy of Sciences, Scientific Society Laser Technique) leads the BIOLAS (Biomedical Computational Laser Systems) center of TU Dresden and is Member of Fraunhofer Society, Excellence Cluster Physics of Life, Else Kröner- Fresenius Center for Digital Health and BrainLinks & BrainTools. Prof Czarske´s awards include the 2019 OPTICA Joseph-Fraunhofer-Award/ Robert-M. -Burley-Prize in Optical Engineering and 2024 SPIE Dennis Gabor Award in Diffractive Optics. He is Vice President of International Commission for Optics, ICO, and was the general chair of the world congress ICO-25 with 3 Nobel laureates. He was a nominator for the Nobel Prize in Physics.