• Biophysics
• DNA-damage
• Fluorescence Microscopy
• Radiotherapy
• Super-resolution Microscopy

My research explores cutting-edge radiotherapy techniques, particularly FLASH radiotherapy, which delivers high doses rapidly with minimal damage to healthy tissues. I employed super-resolution microscopy, specifically the STORM (STochastic Optical Resolution Microscopy) technique, which offers an effective resolution below 20 nm, to quantitatively analyze the effects of irradiation on DNA damage and repair proteins. Additionally, I optimized a quantitative method based on clustering analysis for gammaH2AX histones characterization, fundamental proteins traditionally linked to DNA damage and repair. As a case study, I applied the optimized method to characterize irradiation-induced DNA damage for Familial Partial Lipodystrophy (FPLD), a rare genetic disorder that exhibits an enigmatic behavior under irradiation. My research focused on comparing the effects of Conventional-RT and FLASH-RT on cellular responses, using mutated cells from FPLD-afflicted patients and healthy samples. I conducted a quantitative analysis of repair foci, linking the signal obtained to the quantity of proteins recruited to damaged sites. Clustering algorithms were then applied to determine protein quantities within clusters, aiding in the analysis of histone averages and densities within repair spots.
Additionally, the study examined variations in response under different radiation doses and the unique behavior of cells with the FPLD mutation. This research advances the in vitro characterization of the FLASH sparing effect using advanced biophysical and imaging tools.