Göttingen Graduate Center for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences

Prof. Dr. Jan Huisken - Humboldt Professor of Multiscale Biology


  • Since 2021: Alexander-von-Humboldt Professor (Tenured Full Professor), Department of Biology & Psychology, Georg-August-University Göttingen
  • Since 2021: Affiliate Principal Investigator, Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison, WI, USA
  • 2016–2021: Director of Medical Engineering and Principal Investigator, Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison, WI, USA
  • 2016–2021: Visiting Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering / Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
  • 2010–2016: Head of independent Max Planck Research Group (W2), located at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), Dresden, Germany
  • 2013–2016: Member of the Center for Systems Biology Dresden (CSBD), Germany
  • 2005–2009: Postdoc (HFSP cross-disciplinary fellow) in the lab of Prof. Didier Y.R. Stainier, University of California San Francisco (UCSF), CA, USA
  • 2004–2005: Postdoc in the lab of Dr. Joachim Wittbrodt, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, Germany
  • 2000–2004: Ph.D. student in the lab of Dr. Ernst H.K. Stelzer, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, Germany
  • 1999–2000: Diploma student in the lab of Dr. Ernst H.K. Stelzer, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, Germany
  • 1997–2000: Diploma in Physics, University of Heidelberg, Germany
  • 1995–1997: Vordiplom in Physics, Chemistry and Math, University of Göttingen, Germany




Major Research Interests

The overall goal of the Huisken Lab is to systematically study developmental processes in living organisms using custom, non-invasive biomedical imaging techniques. Over the years, we have developed and perfected imaging tools that offer unique possibilities for the analysis of vertebrate development. These efforts have primarily aimed to push the limits of spatial and temporal resolution while maintaining living specimens under physiological conditions. Our interdisciplinary team develops novel image acquisition and data processing frameworks to describe tissue dynamics on a cellular level in large, living embryos for the first time. With these techniques in hand, we have studied a broad range of fundamental developmental and biophysical processes, such as the early development and the gastrulation of zebrafish and the function and morphogenesis of the cardiovascular system. More recently, we are also branching out into lesser known model organisms to study their heart, brain, and developmental blueprint. Our primary tool is advanced, customized light sheet microscopy (LSFM, SPIM). Instantaneous optical sectioning is achieved by illuminating the sample with a sheet of light and generating fluorescence in a thin slice, which is then imaged with a fast camera. Phototoxicity is negligible even at high acquisition rates, making SPIM the ideal platform for long time-lapse experiments and fast 3D imaging in heart and brain. The ability to custom design a light sheet microscope around a sample has empowered us to do experiments that have been impossible with commercial instruments. The recently developed Flamingo microscope platform allows us to share our latest instruments with collaborators on campus and beyond.


Homepage Department/Research Group
https://huiskenlab.com/


Selected Recent Publications


  • K.R. Weiss, F.F. Voigt, D.P. Shepherd, J. Huisken, “Tutorial: practical considerations for tissue clearing and imaging”, Nat. Protoc. 16, 2732–2748 (2021).

  • R.M. Power, J. Huisken, “Putting advanced microscopy in the hands of biologists”, Nat. Methods 16, 1069–1073 (2019).

  • G. Shah, K. Thierbach, B. Schmid, J. Waschke, A. Reade, M. Hlawitschka, I. Roeder, N. Scherf, J. Huisken, “Multi-scale imaging and analysis identify pan-embryo cell dynamics of germlayer formation in zebrafish”, Nat. Commun. 10, 5753 (2019).

  • M. Weber, N. Scherf, A.M. Meyer, D. Panáková, P. Kohl, J. Huisken, “Cell-accurate optical mapping across the entire developing heart”, Elife 6, e28307 (2017).

  • N. Scherf, J. Huisken, “The smart and gentle microscope”, Nat. Biotechnol. 33, 815–818(2015).

  • M. Mickoleit, B. Schmid, M. Weber, F.O. Fahrbach, S. Hombach, S. Reischauer, J. Huisken, “High-resolution reconstruction of the beating zebrafish heart”, Nat. Methods 11, 919–922 (2014).