Research

My work spans advanced fluorescence microscopy, biophysics, and biological imaging, with a focus on developing custom optical systems to address biological question at the nanoscale.
Research Projects

Dynamic live-cell super-resolution imaging at sub-zero temperatures

Current · 2025–present University of Cambridge × British Antarctic Survey UKRI CRCRM

This interdisciplinary project brings together the Kaminski Group (Dept. of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology, Cambridge) and the British Antarctic Survey to develop a high-resolution microscopy platform capable of visualising protein dynamics in Antarctic fish cells at sub-zero temperatures.

I am applying advanced fluorescence microscopy techniques, including super-resolution methods and environment-sensitive dyes, to probe nanoscale cellular behaviour in these extreme cold conditions. Solvatochromic probes are particularly powerful here: their emission spectra shift with local membrane polarity, allowing us to sense changes in membrane organisation and protein environment in real time, without perturbing the cell.

Mitochondria morphology analysis pipeline

A computational pipeline built on top of Nellie's output to extract and interpret quantitative morphological parameters of mitochondrial networks, including network connectivity, branch length distributions, and motility metrics. Designed for high-throughput batch analysis of live-cell imaging data.

GitHub →
Optical Systems I've Built
PhD · 2021–2025 · Leeds
Oblique Plane Microscopy (OPM) System
Ponjavic Lab, University of Leeds
A single-objective light-sheet system enabling optical sectioning without a secondary objective. Integrated with a microfluidic chip to enable single-molecule flow cytometry (smFC) capable of detecting as few as ~2 labelled molecules on the surface of flowing cells.
Light-sheet · Microfluidics · smFC
PhD · 2021–2025 · Leeds
Astigmatism-based Focus Stabilisation (PiFocus)
Ponjavic Lab, University of Leeds
A standalone, low-cost active focus stabilisation unit using an astigmatic infrared beam and a Raspberry Pi controller. Compatible with objective lenses from 10× to 100×, achieving <10 nm axial precision over a >10 µm operating range.
Focus Stabilisation · Raspberry Pi · Open-source
PhD · 2021–2025 · Leeds
Double-Helix PSF SMLM System
Ponjavic Lab, University of Leeds
A single-molecule localisation microscopy (SMLM) system using a double-helix point-spread-function (DH-PSF) phase mask for 3D super-resolution imaging. Enables simultaneous lateral and axial localisation of single fluorophores with extended depth range compared to astigmatic approaches.
SMLM · 3D Super-resolution · DH-PSF
Research Training · 2019 · EMBL Heidelberg
Dual-channel SMLM System
Ries Lab, EMBL Heidelberg
A two-colour single-molecule localisation microscopy system for simultaneous multi-target imaging, built to study protein complex stoichiometry and spatial organisation at the nanoscale.
SMLM · Two-colour · Super-resolution