The Brinks lab develops technologies to understand brain function, and applies those technologies in neuroscientific research, together with Erasmus MC. We develop tools with roots in physics, biochemistry, optics, mathematics and nanofabrication and we’re interested in how brain cells work on every level, from biophysical principles to consequences in behavior and from subcellular compartments to complete organisms.
Our work focuses on optical machine-brain interfaces, using molecular and optical technology to directly transduce optical signals into changes in membrane voltage, and changes in membrane voltage into fluorescent signals. We develop optical and computational technology to achieve this deep in brain tissue with high sampling bandwidths; in long term recordings during embryonic development; and nanoscopically to investigate synaptic dynamics. This optical stimulation and data-acquisition work is complemented by the development of machine learning algorithms to analyze the multidimensional data we record and neural network models to understand and implant patterns of electrical activity in excitable tissue.
Scientific interests:
- Optogenetics
- Biophysics of the brain
- High-speed imaging
Expertise:
- Ultrafast spectroscopy
- Single molecule imaging
- Deep tissue imaging
- Multiphoton microscopy
- Fluorescence lifetime imaging
- Quantitative image analysis (classical/AI)
Models and equipment:
- Live cells and tissue; Rodent models.
- Multiphoton, FLIM, confocal, (ultra)widefield microscopes
- DMD-based patterned illumination
- (optical) electrophysiology
- Cell/tissue morphology and dynamics models
