INL congratulates the Nobel Prize Winners in Physics 2023

INL congratulates the Nobel prize winners in Physics 2023 Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, and Anne L’Huillier who were recognised “for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter.”

At INL, the Ultrafast Bio- and Nanophotonics (UBNP) group led by Jana Nieder takes advantage of the latest ultrafast laser technologies, not to create attosecond pulses, but to develop new biomedical imaging technologies. One of the key methods enabling the required pulse compression at the focus of a microscope, the d-scan technique, was co-invented by the Nobel laureate Anne l’Huillier, together with researchers from our close collaborators at University of Porto, counting with the team led by Helder Crespo, and their spin-off, Sphere Ultrafast Photonics, a company co-founded by Anne l’Huillier. 

The collaborative project ExtreMed, funded by ANI, demonstrated, together with our collaborators and researchers from UTAustin, the potential of ultrafast laser sources in bioimaging applications and medical research. The project was able to explore the versatility of such light sources that prove to enable label-free screening of 2D and 3D in vitro cancer models. The novel bioimaging technique allows deeper tissue imaging capabilities and the assessment of the therapeutic efficacy of drugs, opening the opportunity to speed up the development of personalised medicines.

INL thanks the pioneers of ultrafast laser technologies, the laureates and the entire attosecond science research community for their achievements that form the basis for our research and development in this area of biomedical imaging.

Find more information about Jana Nieder’s work here.