Scientific program > Invited speakers

Prof. Nicholas Kotov 

University of Michigan, United States

He is known for his pioneering contributions to biomimetic nanostructures. In this large interdisciplinary research fields, he has been working on the topics of layered biomimetic nanocomposites, self-assembly of nanoparticles, and chiral nanostructures. He has founded several start-up companies producing nanomaterials for transparent armor, energy storage, and biomedical applications. Nico Technologies Inc. utilized rolling contact LbL manufacturing (also known as Turbo LbL) to manufacture high strength transparent composites from clay, graphene, and carbon nanotubes. He found a venture-backed company 3B Biomatrix that implemented bone-mimicking LbL coatings for drug discovery in three-dimensional cell cultures.

Topic: Latest advances in materials application & life sciences

Prof Hermann Schillers 

University of Münster, Germany

He is associate Professor at University of Munster and his research are focused on the structure, function and dynamics of CFTR. He created an “Atomic Force”-Microscopy Lab to investigate biological membranes and the mechanical properties of living cells. The other focus of its research interest is on the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis. He was able to establish the trans epithelial nasal potential difference measurements (NPD) for diagnostics and teaching. Furthermore, he developed a blood-based method for the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis which is actually tested in a multicenter clinical trial.

Topic: Optical microscopies & spectroscopies

Dr. Teuta Pilizota  

University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

His researches are focused on developing novel tools for quantitative observations of changes in physiological parameters in single bacterial cells. By integrating state-of-the-art fluorescence imaging techniques, microfluidic devices, optical trapping techniques and microbiology methodologies, we are striving to understand the direct influence different stress response networks have on each other and on the survival of bacterial cells. Optical tweezers and traps developers that she uses to look at the interplay between electrochemical and mechanical energy in organisms. 

Topic: Simulations and machine learning

Prof Jamie Hobbs 

Sheffield University, United Kingdom

Jamie Hobbs is a Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Sheffield, UK. Following a first degree in Physics and a PhD in Polymer Physics at the University of Bristol, UK, his research shifted to the development and application of atomic force microscopy for studying soft matter systems. On moving to Sheffield to take up a lectureship in 2004, he started to collaborate with biologists. Now his group uses and develops AFM for understanding living systems. A main focus is on understanding the bacterial cell wall and how antibiotic challenge leads to cell death and the development of drug resistance, funded by The Wellcome Trust and UKRI. He also leads research projects using AFM to probe the mechanobiology of the bone metastatic niche in breast cancer, and plant morphogenesis. This work is underpinned by the development of AFM for force sensitivity, high resolution and scan speed.

Topic: Optical microscopies & spectroscopies

Prof Takayuki Uchihashi

Nagoya University, Japan

He is a biophysicist specializing in the development and use of measurement techniques for understanding the functional mechanism of proteins. In the last two decades he has been developing high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) techniques to directly visualize protein molecules in action at high spatiotemporal resolution. His group has made extensive efforts and various improvements to the HS-AFM making it now highly advanced for practical use. The exquisite dynamic images filmed in recent studies have been continuously demonstrating that this new microscopy is a powerful tool capable of revealing the process and structure dynamics of biological molecules in stunning detail. HS-AFM is expected to transform structural biology and biophysics as well as revolutionize our understanding of biological molecules.

Topic: Scanning probe microscopy & force spectroscopy

Prof. Catherine Picart

University of Grenoble, France

She is the Head of the Department of Health at CEA Grenoble (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) in the area of fundamental research, a professor at the Institut polytechnique de Grenoble École nationale supérieure de physique, électronique, matériaux (PHELMA) and researcher at the Laboratoire des Matériaux et du Génie Physique (LMGP). Her research projects have been awarded European Research Council funding four times (2009, 2012, 2015 and 2017). She has had numerous responsibilities at national and international level, notably as an expert in biophysics and biomaterials for the French National University Council and the French National Centre for Scientific Research or European funding agencies organizations. She is the author or co-author of more than a hundred publications, including articles in major scientific journals and two American/European patents.

Topic: Latest advances in materials application & life sciences

Prof. Jörg Enderlein  

University of Göttingen, Germany

His works are focused on Single Molecule Spectroscopy and Super resolution Microscopy, from basic aspects to biophysical applications. He has developed an optical method that allows them to view individual cells and cell tissues more precisely and with super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. He also new optical methods in recent years, such as stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy, which enables three-dimensional resolution in the nanometer range.

Topic: Optical microscopies & spectroscopies

Adam Foster

 Aalto University, Finland

Adam Foster is a computational physicist applying his expertise in first principles simulations to a wide range of areas including self-assembly of materials, solid-liquid interfaces, often in conjunction with scanning probe microscopy research. He is a leader at the WPI Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) and of the Surface and Interfaces at the Nanoscale at Aalto University in Finland. With his group, he developed various atomistic and quantum mechanical simulation methods to study surface and interface physics at the nanoscale, with particular emphasis on working closely with experimentalists and technologists. His research are focused on nanoscale studies of friction, nanomanipulation, nanocatalysis, microelectronics, molecular electronics, self-assembly, solid-liquid interfaces, and are often partnered with state-of-art Scanning Probe Microscopy.

Topic: Simulations and machine learning

Dr Nuria Gavara

Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, Spain

She is known for his researches in mechanobiology and in the mechanical behaviour of cells in particular. Its lab has several running projects focused on image-based diagnostics and drug screening. She developed new data analysis tools for image quantification and AFM cell mechanics. She is an expert in machine learning algorithms for diagnostic and screening in biomedicine. She uses an inter-disciplinary approach combining state-of-the art microscopy techniques such as atomic force microscopy, confocal microscopy, traction force microscopy, advanced image analysis, machine learning, molecular biology and biomaterials science to address biological issue such as cancer. Most of his projects involve implementing novel technical approaches based on the previously cited methods, either by costumizing hardware components or by developing new pipelines for data acquisition and analysis.

Topic: Scanning probe microscopy & force spectroscopy

Prof. Georg Fantner

Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland

Georg Fantner is currently associate Professor at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and the Head of the Laboratory For Bio and Nano Instrumentation (LBNI) which is at the crossroads between instrumentation, microfabrication, and nanoscale biology. He is expert in time resolved nanocharacterization of biological systems. His special interest is in measuring fundamental processes on bacterial cells, such as cell growth, division and the impact of. To understand the relationship between nanoscale structure and microbiological function we augment AFM information with advanced optical microscopy such as confocal microscopy, super resolution microscopy as well as with time-lapse fluorescent microscopy His recent works focuses on new modes for high-speed AFM imaging of molecular processes, as well as long-term time lapse imaging of cellular processes. Prof. Fantner hold several patents in the field of nanotechnology and is the co-founder of two nanotechnology companies.

Topic: Scanning probe microscopy & force spectroscopy

Prof. Paolo Scrimin

University of Padova, Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova, Italy

Trained as a physical organic chemist, Paolo Scimin has focused his interests on the mimicry of biological transformations, in particular enzymatic processes. He has pionnered the use of allosteric control by metal ions in tunic catalytic sites and coined the term "nanozymes" back in 2004 to indicate nanosystems endowed with catalytic properties like those of natural enzymes. With these systems, he has obtained nanonucleases operating with a mechanism not much different from that of topoisomerases. He has also shown how these systems can be successfully used in the detoxification of nerve agents. He is in the editorial board of EurJOC, Advances in Physical Organic Chemistry and section Editor-in-chief of Nanomaterials.Prod.

 Topic : Latest advances in materials application & life sciences

          Dr. Yoojin Oh 

         Institute of Biophysics – Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria

Independent group leader at Johannes Kepler University. Her research focuses on nanometric properties of bio-materials (proteins, bacteria, biofilm, virus, pathogen), applying a portfolio of scanning probe microscopic technique. Particularly, she has investigated pathogenic systems with single molecule biophysics methods to establish interdisciplinary medically-oriented research, by incorporating biophysics, physics, microscopy, and microbiology. Her main interest of research is to understand the detailed molecular mechanisms underlying bacterial interaction and the development of biofilm pathogenicity. She employs SPM-based techniques to understand microbial systems that highlight the promising role of SPM in combining force sensing and imaging for elucidating structure and dynamics.

 Topic: Scanning probe microscopy & force spectroscopy

          Prof. Michel Gingras

         Department of Physics & Astronomy – University of Waterloo, Canada

Prof. Gingras’ main research interests are in the field of theoretical condensed matter physics and statistical mechanics, highly correlated classical and quantum condensed matter systems subject to strongly competing, or frustrated, interactions. Gingras’ lab frequently collaborates with experimentalists worldwide to test theoretical ideas developed in his group or to assists in the interpretation of experimental investigations. His lab uses analytical and computational methods, including large-scale numerical simulations. He is the Tier I Canada Research Chair in Condensed Matter Physics & Statistical Mechanics and is a Fellow of both the American Physical Society and the Royal Society of Canada. Prof. Gingras and his group of collaborators at the University of Waterloo recently launched a new research effort in the area of quantum neuroscience, a developing topic within the field of quantum biology which explores the possible existence of quantum effects in the biological realm. 

 Topic: Latest advances in materials application & life sciences