Milstein Lab @ UofT

YouTube video by Office of VP Research & Innovation at UTM 2025 INSPIRE Scholars Program

Learn more about #INSPIRE, a program we developed at the interface of #biophysics, drug development, #innovation and #entrepreneurship

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmwL...

Enhancing the applied force and range of axial optical tweezers Axial optical tweezers provide a natural geometry for performing biomechanical assays, such as rupture force measurements of protein binding. Axial traps, however, are typically weaker than their late...

At long last, are newest article on "Enhancing the applied force and range of axial optical tweezers” is out. #singlemolecule #biophysics

www.cell.com/biophysrepor...

Our experimental lab w/ the Hilfinger lab @uoft.bsky.social are jointly looking to hire a #postdoc in experimental biological #physics. Exploring noise and dynamics within single-cells and bacterial populations. Please share with anyone you think might be interested.

Here’s a great opportunity if you know of anyone looking for a postdoc.

An expectation–maximization approach to quantifying protein stoichiometry with single-molecule imaging AbstractMotivation. Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) is a super-resolution technique capable of rendering nanometer scale images of cellular

This is based on our publication in #BioinformaticsAdvances, but is much much faster, does all the preprocessing for you, and has a nice GUI.

academic.oup.com/bioinformati...

GitHub - thericshi/protein-stoichiometry-quantifier Contribute to thericshi/protein-stoichiometry-quantifier development by creating an account on GitHub.

If anyone is interested, we’ve developed a nice GUI in Python for molecular counting with #SMLM. Just give it a localization file and it will estimate the monomer/dimer fraction.

github.com/thericshi/pr...

A big shout out to everyone who’s marching at today’s #standupforscience events.

Nitroreductase-activatable photosensitizers for selective antimicrobial photodynamic therapy Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) utilizes light, oxygen and a photosensitizer (PS) to enact cell death via the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This mechanism of cell death, via o...

Another successful collaboration with the Beharry lab on #antimicrobial photodynamic therapy. This just out in @rscmedchem.rsc.org:
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Question: How much effort should go into library work? Hamming: It depends upon the field. I will say this about it. There was a fellow at Bell Labs, a very, very, smart guy. He was always in the library; he read everything. If you wanted references, you went to him and he gave you all kinds of references. But in the middle of forming these theories, I formed a proposition: there would be no effect named after him in the long run. He is now retired from Bell Labs and is an Adjunct Professor. He was very valuable; I'm not questioning that. He wrote some very good Physical Review articles; but there's no effect named after him because he read too much. If you read all the time what other people have done you will think the way they thought. If you want to think new thoughts that are different, then do what a lot of creative people do - get the problem reasonably clear and then refuse to look at any answers until you've thought the problem through carefully how you would do it, how you could slightly change the problem to be the correct one. So yes, you need to keep up. You need to keep up more to find out what the problems are than to read to find the solutions. The reading is necessary to know what is going on and what is possible. But reading to get the solutions does not seem to be the way to do great research. So I'll give you two answers. You read; but it is not the amount, it is the way you read that counts.

Sometimes reading Hamming makes me sad, because I recognize myself in this quote.

Here’s an event I would highly recommend. Just around the corner if you’re in the GTA.

Dear Future Premier, science needs to be a priority. I just signed a letter to put science and evidence-informed decision-making at the heart of our provincial elections!🗳️🔬 In the upcoming elections in Ontario, it's crucial that our future premiers pr...

actionnetwork.org/petitions/de...

Lots of #imaging and #microscopy workshops coming up in Canada. Just thought I would share. Thanks @bioimagingna.bsky.social and #CanadaBioimaging

Here’s a bit more information on #INSPIRE2024. Feel free to print out and post.

Registration for #INSPIRE2025 is open to all #Physics, #Chemistry, and #Biology undergraduates with an interest in Quantitative Biological and Translational Sciences. Work directly in labs @uoft.bsky.social @uoftmississauga.bsky.social while also learning about #innovation and #entrepreneurship.

Look what I just found in my mailbox. It’s nice to finally see this is print.

Why Canada excels at medical tech startups The Globe and Mail offers the most authoritative news in Canada, featuring national and international news

Pleased to see that #SpinUP made the news. Lot’s of innovative research translation efforts happening here @uoftmississauga.bsky.social @uoft.bsky.social

www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Elegoo Saturn 2 8K Resin 3D Printer. That’s about $400 CAD!

We simply used an Elegoo Saturn 2. About $400 CAD!

Serpentine mixer mold

Forget a clean room, we can do most of our larger feature #microfluidics on a resin based #3Dprinter. Here’s a PDMS mold for a serpentine mixer that you can even bake at 120C.

CRAFT - Centre for Research and Application in Fluidic Technologies Latest news at CRAFT Read all stories Publications Invention Disclosures Patent Filings Developing new and innovative microfluidic devices Multidisciplinary teams creating new technolo...

We mostly do our own photolithography at a core facility on campus (craftmicrofluidics.ca). But for the Mother Machine video I posted, we actually inherited those molds from a colleagues lab.

Finally starting to get this system working. While these movies might not look too impressive, they make me feel good. #microfluidics #biophysics

Would be happy to participate if you need any speakers for next year.

Please add..

We’re looking to hire a theoretical #biological #physicist at either the Assistant or Associate professor level. The post closes soon, so please spread the word. #Toronto is a great place to live and work.

jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-...

jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-...

Congrats to Zhang and Tianyi on successfully pulling off their #PhDs! Now I need more students…so if you know of anyone...

Could you add us please?

Please add my lab as well. Cheers.

Consider this a self-nomination :)

And here’s a movie of one of our microchannel competition experiments. It shows how spontaneous ordering of the cells can lead to a quasi-stable, mixed bacterial community.

Antimicrobial Efficacy of Photocaged β‐Lapachone in Bacillus subtilis Biofilms Photocaged β-lapachone uncages effectively in B. subtilis biofilms using λ=420 nm light, causing catalase inhibition, leading to inhibition of growth. With antimicrobial resistance on the rise, an al....

Oh, and finally, our side hustle is working with medicinal chemists to develop novel #antimicrobials. Here’s our latest effort with Andrew Beharry's lab

chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...