Scientific Computing and Systems Microscopy

RA5 will provide the required advances in computational approaches and interactive interrogation of biological systems. We will develop methodologies that enable quantitative predictions of spatiotemporal dynamics, interactively perturb samples, and test theories using a novel generation of computer simulation methods integrated with immersive, smart microscopes. Is a novel theory of an active process sufficient to explain certain emergent properties? How can we infer physically consistent models from data by combining information from different scales? How can we reliably automate the recording, visualization, and quantification of 3D spatiotemporal dynamics in a microscope, to generated the throughput necessary for quantifying biological processes with significant statistics? Which information about physical properties of biological matter can be measured by optical means in a spatially resolved way? Can we enable direct observation of physical mechanisms by rendering 3D microscopy interactive and immersive? Through answering these questions, we will advance computer science and microscopy to a level that allows automated, tailored, immersive and interactive studies of biological systems and testing of the mechanisms of spatiotemporal self-organization in vivo and in silico.