Research​ in short

We address questions in neuroscience from an imaging perspective: How to transduce information in neurons into detectable photons, resolvable in space and time.
We use physics, optics, molecular biology and nanofabrication to look into cultured cells, primary tissue and live organisms.
Current projects in the lab include:

Voltage nanoscopy 

We use plasmonic enhancement to obtain a high resolution optical readout of membrane voltage from subcellular compartments

Absolute Voltage Imaging

In a proof of principle experiment we showed the feasibility of encoding absolute membrane voltage in the fluorescence lifetime of Genetically Encoded Voltage Indicators. We are working on optimization and application of this method in zebrafish.

Multiphoton Voltage Imaging

We explore the possibilities of optical instrumentation and genetic engineering to achieve deep tissue voltage imaging using multiphoton excitation.

Image analysis, network modeling and machine learning

We create interfaces for automated interaction with excitable tissues and model dynamics in these hybrid systems 

Single cell selection and analysis

We are interested in the creation of hardware and software for single cell selection and manipulation

 

Selected Publications

Publications relevant to the current work in the lab include:

Plasmonic enhancement of fluorescence and protein dynamics in live mammalian cells.
M. Locarno, Q. Dong, M. Post, X. Meng, C. Glessi, N.M. Hettema, N. Brandsma, S. Blokhuizen, A. Castañeda Garcia, S. Ganapathy, T. Schmidt, L. van Roemburg, B.Xu, C.T. Cho, L. Laan, M.-P. Chien, D. Brinks
Advanced Materials, doi: 10.1002/adma.202501944 (2026)

Robustness and fidelity of voltage imaging analysis pipelines
R. Silva, H. Bartalis-Szélyes, D. Brinks*, Z. Gao*
bioRxiv, 2025.09. 26.678573 (2025)

Learning physics from video: Unsupervised physical parameter estimation for continuous dynamical systems
A.C. Garcia, J. Warchocki, J. van Gemert, D. Brinks*, N. Tomen*
Proceedings of the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference, 27924 (2025)

G. Flamourakis, Q. Dong, D. Kromm, S. Teurlings, J. van Haren, T. Allertz, H. Smeenk, F.M.S. de Vrij, R.P. Tas, C.S. Smith*, D. Brinks*, A. Accardo*
Deciphering the Influence of Effective Shear Modulus on Neuronal Network Directionality and Growth Cones’ Morphology via Laser‐Assisted 3D‐Printed Nanostructured Arrays
Advanced Functional Materials 35 (5), 2409451 (2025)

A zebrafish Ace2N-mNeon expression library for in vivo voltage imaging of neuronal synchrony and cardiac maturation
Z. Wu, R. Silva, R. Houssein, F. Marques Trujillo, J. Gotti, S. Ganapathy, Z. Gao, D. Brinks
Neurophotonics (accepted),Biorxiv2024.12. 12.628143 (2024)

Generalisation to unseen topologies: Towards control of biological neural network activity
L. Engwegen*, W. Böhmer*, D. Brinks* 
ArXiv 2407.12789 (2024)

Analytical calculation of plasmonic resonances in metal nanoparticles: A simple guide
M Locarno, D Brinks
American Journal of Physics 91 (7), 538-546 (2023)

L. You, P. Su, M. Betjes, R. G. Rad, T. Chou, C. Beerens, E. van Oosten, F. Leufkens, P. Gasecka, M. Muraro, R. van Tol, D. van Steenderen, S. Farooq, J. A. U. Hardillo, R. B. de Jong, D. Brinks, M.-P. Chien
Linking the genotypes and phenotypes of cancer cells in heterogenous populations via real-time optical tagging and image analysis
Nature Biomedical Engineering 6 (5), 667-675 (2022) doi: 10.1038/s41551-022-00853-x

M.-P. Chien*, D. Brinks*, G. Testa-Silva, H. Tian, F.P. Brooks III, Y. Adam, W. Bloxham, B. Gmeiner, S. Kheivets, A.E. Cohen
Photoactivated Voltage imaging in tissue with an Archaerhodopsin-derived reporter
Science Advances, 7,19, eabe3216 (2021). doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abe3216

Y. Adam, J.J. Kim, S. Lou, Y. Zhao, M.Xie, D. Brinks, H. Wu, M. A. Mostajo-Radji, S. Kheifets, V. Parot, S. Chettih, K.J. Williams, B. Gmeiner, S.L. Farhi, L. Madisen, E.K. Buchanan, I. Kinsella, D. Zhou, L. Paninski, C.D. Harvey, H. Zeng, P. Arlotta, R.E .Campbell, A.E. Cohen
Voltage Imaging and optogenetics reveal behaviour-dependent changes in hippocampal dynamics.
Nature, 569, 413 (2019). doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1166-7


Join the lab!

We are always looking for enthusiastic and ambitious students, PhDs and postdocs to join the lab.

Bachelor/Master Students

Contact Daan to discuss possible research projects

PhD Students

Send us an email with your background, CV, research interests and contact details of 2 references. Or come by the office if you're local!

Postdocs

If you're enthusiastic about taking on a multidisciplinary project on the junction of optics, molecular biology and neuroscience, let us know! Please send us an email with a cover letter, CV, statement of research interest and contact details of 3 references.