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Cellular and molecular imaging

Guest Editors

Eitan Lerner, PhD, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Adam Wollman, DPhil, MPhys, Newcastle University Biosciences Institute, UK


BMC Methods called for submissions to our Collection on Cellular and molecular imaging. We welcomed submissions on advanced imaging modalities, molecular probes, image analysis and data integration, live-cell imaging methods, and more.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Eitan Lerner, PhD, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Dr Lerner is an Assistant Professor at the Hebrew University. His research is focused on proteins with intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), their interactions with other biomolecules, and their capacity to form phase-separated bio-condensates. He is interested in bridging between ensemble structures of proteins with IDRs and their interactions in the cell. His research uses single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and advanced fluorescence microscopy techniques. As part of his research, he is developing new tools, methods, and approaches to enhance the interpretability of fluorescence-based experiments, as well as integrating the information drawn from such experiments with information from other experiments and modelling efforts.

Adam Wollman, DPhil, MPhys, Newcastle University Biosciences Institute, UK

Dr Wollman's research addresses unresolved questions in human disease by developing new optical technology. In his lab, he develops all aspects of imaging, from microscopes to biological assays and biosensors to image analysis software. He completed his undergraduate Master of Physics degree at the University of York in 2009 and went on to pursue a DPhil in Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Oxford in 2014. After postdoctoral work at the University of York, he was awarded a Centre for Future Health fellowship funded by the Wellcome Trust in 2017, before taking up a Newcastle University Academic Track Fellowship in 2019.

About the Collection

Optical imaging and spectroscopic methods are instrumental in visualizing macromolecular complexes, organelles, cells, tissues, organs, and entire organisms. The continuous advancement in imaging technologies, coupled with the integration of sophisticated molecular and cellular biology techniques, has dramatically enhanced sensitivity, specificity, information content, and spatiotemporal resolution of diagnostic and research imaging modalities. This progress facilitates in-depth exploration of cellular behavior at biomolecular detail and realistic timescales, physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms, and therapeutic interventions. Moreover, automated image processing and machine learning algorithms have emerged as indispensable tools for analyzing large datasets efficiently.
 
In recognition of this important field, BMC Methods launched this Collection which encouraged submissions including but not limited to those addressing:

  • Advanced imaging modalities: Developments in imaging techniques, including super-resolution microscopy, single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy outside and inside cells, multi-modal imaging, 3D microscopy and hybrid approaches.
  • Molecular probes: Design and evaluation of molecular probes used to investigate molecular targets, their functions, and dynamics.
  • Image analysis and data integration: Innovative methodologies for image analysis, AI and deep learning algorithms for high throughput processing.
  • Live-cell imaging methodologies and imaging systems enabling improvement in time resolution.
  • Quantitative imaging: Approaches for quantifying cellular and molecular events, including biomarker quantification and kinetic modeling.
  • Genetically engineered models: Strategies for creating optimized genetically modified organisms, cell lines, and animal models.


Image credit: drimafilm / stock.adobe.com

  1. Cells employ myriad regulatory mechanisms to maintain protein homeostasis, termed proteostasis, to ensure correct cellular function. Dysregulation of proteostasis, which is often induced by physiological stres...

    Authors: Sarah Lecinski, Jamieson A. L. Howard, Chris MacDonald and Mark C. Leake
    Citation: BMC Methods 2025 2:5
    Content type: Methodology Published on:

  4. Study of malaria parasite cell biology is challenged by their small size, which can make visualisation of individual organelles difficult or impossible using conventional light microscopy. In recent years, the...

    Authors: Benjamin Liffner, Thiago Luiz Alves e Silva, Joel Vega-Rodriguez and Sabrina Absalon
    Citation: BMC Methods 2024 1:13
    Content type: Methodology Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Methodology and Protocol Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select Cellular and molecular imaging from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.