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-{{ :people:profile:tsikourasa.png?130}} +{{ :people:profile:tsikourasa.png?240}}
\\ \\
**Anthony Tsikouras**\\ **Anthony Tsikouras**\\
-Graduate student, PhD candidate in Engineering Physics \\ +Postdoctoral Researcher in Engineering Physics \\ \\ 
-[[http://engphys.mcmaster.ca|McMaster University]] -  Photonics stream\\ \\+Ph.D. in Engineering Physics, McMaster University \\ 
 +Bachelors in Engineering Physics (Photonics), McMaster University \\ \\
**Email:** [[tsikoua@mcmaster.ca]] \\ **Email:** [[tsikoua@mcmaster.ca]] \\
-**Office:** ETB/529 | **Lab:** ETB/306 \\ +**Office/Lab:** ETB/306 \\ 
-**Office Phone:** (905) 525-9140 x26196 \\ +**Phone:** (905) 902-3897 \\ \\
-**Lab Phone:** (905) 963-3777 \\+
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===Research=== ===Research===
-Fluorescence imaging typically involves tagging components of a sample with matched fluorophores, then measuring the fluorescence intensity of the sample when it is stimulated with an excitation source. Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) is a technique whereby the decay time of a fluorescence signal is used, instead of its intensity. While this adds a layer of complexity and cost, it can be a much more reliable method of obtaining information about the the cell's microenvironment. For instance, when a fluorophore is in close proximity to another molecule, Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET) occurs. In the FRET process, a fluorophore transfers its energy (which would normally be fluoresced) to the nearby molecule. This acts to quench the fluorescence lifetime, causing it to be shorter than the fluorophore's usual lifetime decay. Measuring the lifetime of the fluorophore can then be an excellent indicator of protein-protein interaction.+Compared to widefield imaging, confocal microscopy is able to detect finer details in thick samples by blocking the contributions from out-of-focus fluorophores, therefore allowing for optical sectioning. Performing a traditional laser-scanning confocal scan requires either a long integration time, or high excitation light fluence that can be damaging to biological samples. In order to acquire a confocal scan that is both fast and gentle, the process must be multiplexed, with the sample being interrogated by a large array of excitation foci with low individual optical power. The most common implementation of multi-point confocal uses a pair of spinning disks patterned with microlenses and pinholes, respectively, where a fraction of a turn of the spinning disk unit is enough to sweep the foci across the entire sample. At present, spinning disk confocal is by far the most commonly used implementation of confocal microscopy for high-throughput imaging applications, due to its high acquisition speed and gentle light levels without significant sacrifices to image quality.
-I am prototyping a high-throughput high content microscope system that implements FLIM for use in drug discovery systems. The system is being optimized for speed to match high-throughput standards, as well as high spatial and temporal resolution.  \\+The spinning method for scanning, however, does not allow for the returning emission light to be "descanned" to a discrete detector - as a traditional mirror galvo scanner would. Instead, the emission light is scanned across an imaging detector in order to produce the reconstruction. This limits its choice of detectors to those that can be implemented into a dense imaging array, making it unsuitable for a number of imaging modalities, such as TCSPC-based FLIM, hyperspectral, or high quality intensity imaging via photon counting. Our design instead employs scanning windows that are capable of quickly scanning a large array of foci while maintaining a descanning path to discrete detectors. We are exploring a number of candidate detector options, including SPAD arrays, gated imagers, and those with specially-designed CMOS architectures. Our goal is to develop a multi-point confocal scanner that can compete with today's spinning disk confocal imagers in terms of frame rate and field-of-view, while outperforming them in image quality, imaging modality, and cost.  \\
===Publications=== ===Publications===
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===Schedule=== ===Schedule===
-/*[[tsikourasa:summer_2011|Summer Plan]] +^           ^  Monday        ^  Tuesday        ^  Wednesday    ^    Thursday    ^  Friday        ^
-[[tsikourasa:fall_2012|Fall 2012 Plan]]*/ +
-[[people:tsikourasa:spring_2013|Spring 2013 Plan]] \\ +
-[[people:tsikourasa:summer_2014|Summer 2014 Plan]] \\ +
-[[people:tsikourasa:plan|Upcoming Plan]] \\ +
-[[people:tsikourasa:planningstage|Planning Stage]] +
- +
-/*==Upcoming Experiments== +
- +
-^ Date  ^Experiment  ^ +
-^  July 5 @ 2pm  |Live cell imaging Mito-Tracker  | +
-^  July 6 @ 10am  |Live cell imaging FRET standards: C5V, C17V, C32V  |*/ +
- +
-^        ^  Monday        ^  Tuesday        ^  Wednesday    ^    Thursday    ^  Friday        ^ +
-^  7:30am  |                |                |              |                |                |+
^  8:30am  |                |                |              |                |                | ^  8:30am  |                |                |              |                |                |
^  9:30am  |                |                |              |                |                | ^  9:30am  |                |                |              |                |                |
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^  11:30am  |                |                |              |                |                | ^  11:30am  |                |                |              |                |                |
^  12:30pm  |                |                |              |                |                | ^  12:30pm  |                |                |              |                |                |
-^  1:30pm  |                |                |              |                |                |+^  1:30pm  |                ^  Lab Meeting    |              |                |                |
^  2:30pm  |                |                |              |                |                | ^  2:30pm  |                |                |              |                |                |
-^  3:30pm  |                |                |              |                | Lab Meeting    |+^  3:30pm  |                |                |              |                |                 |
^  4:30pm  |                |                |              |                |                | ^  4:30pm  |                |                |              |                |                |
^  5:30pm  |                |                |              |                |                | ^  5:30pm  |                |                |              |                |                |
-^  6:30pm  |                |                |              |                |                |  
-^  7:30pm  |                |                |              |                |                |  
-^  8:30pm  |                |                |              |                |                | 
\\ \\

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