University of Technology Sydney: Lighting up a street view of human cells

Professor Jin will use the Australian Research Council (ARC) Australian Laureate Fellowship, worth almost $2.8 million over five years, to further develop optical nanotechnologies for imaging living cells down to the level of subcellular compartments and individual molecules.

“Our goal is to provide a detailed map of the structures and functions of cells, and visualise the pathways of how they network together,” he says.

“Biologists can then drop-down to get a ‘street view’ of the molecular traffic within cells to decode the complexities of life and causes of diseases.”

It builds on Professor Jin’s ground-breaking work around nanoscopic probes that emit intense light in unexpected ways, known as upconversion, that provides ultra-sensitive imaging by converting infrared into visible light.

“To fulfil the amazing potential of this technology, we need to unlock a number of scientific roadblocks. This funding will help us conduct basic research that will bring real-world applications to life,” he says.

Biologists can drop-down to get a ‘street view’ of the molecular traffic within cells to decode the complexities of life and causes of diseases.”

Distinguished Professor Dayong Jin

Professor Jin’s technology is being used in a next-generation rapid COVID-19 test being commercially developed by Australian company Alcolizer in Perth. His Super Dot technology has also been used in ultra-sensitive diagnostics for prostate and other cancer biomarkers.

“Upconversion nanophotonics has the potential to be a game changer in biomedical diagnostics and transform Australian industry’s focus from point-of-care testing into point-of-risk testing. We can make the shift from qualitative to single-molecule assays and from structural to functional imaging,” Professor Jin says.

“We have a great opportunity in Australia to build capacity and become a global leader in innovative biomedical devices.”

The prestigious ARC Australian Laureate Fellowships support world-class research leaders to conduct internationally-competitive research in Australia.

Professor Jin was won several major national awards including an Australian Museum Eureka Prize (2015), Australian Academy of Science medal (2017) and Prime Minister’s Prize for Science (2017). He is the second UTS academic to be awarded a Laureate fellowship, following Distinguished Professor Jie Lu in 2019.