News
07/11/2025 | Dr Pantazis Wins the 2025 RMS Scientific Achievement Award
We’re proud to share that Dr Periklis (Laki) Pantazis has been announced as a winner of the Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) Scientific Achievement Award 2025. The award citation specifically references multiple signature innovations, including: • GenEPi — a genetically encoded fluorescent reporter of mechanical stimulation • Primed conversion — a photon-efficient method for precise cell and lineage tracking • Bioharmonophores — biodegradable nanoparticles for deep-tissue harmonic imaging RMS also notes Dr Pantazis’ role as founding Director of the Imperial–Leica Imaging Hub, supporting multidisciplinary collaboration across biology, engineering, and medicine, alongside a strong track record in funding, patents, and mentorship.
Pantazis Lab Receives Addgene’s Blue Flame Award for Widely Shared Plasmids
We’re delighted to share that the Pantazis Lab has received Addgene’s Blue Flame Award—given to researchers who have deposited at least one plasmid that has been distributed more than 100 times through the Addgene repository.
03/07/2025 | Pantazis Lab at Parliament: Mechanobiology Featured in House of Commons Innovation Showcase
Dr Pantazis was invited by Dame Chi Onwurah MP to contribute to an Innovation Showcase hosted by the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee in the UK Parliament—an event focused on how frontier research becomes real-world impact for patients, industry, and the UK economy. The Committee also ran a rapid “science speed dating” session, hearing six shortlisted pitches across biomedicine, computing, and engineering—spanning the microbiome, biofilms, neuromorphic computing, silicon photonics, and healthy ageing—alongside our lab’s contribution on mechanobiology.
10/02/2025 | Microscopy for All: New Video Showcases Our Leica–Imperial Imaging Hub
A new short film highlights how the Imperial College London × Leica Microsystems Imaging Hub is making advanced optical imaging easier to access across disciplines—helping researchers move quickly from idea to high-quality data with minimal microscopy training. Featuring Dr Periklis (Laki) Pantazis and the Hub team. A key theme is how next-generation platforms (including Mica, with widefield + confocal capability) let users switch modalities seamlessly and capture meaningful live-cell data fast—supporting everything from complex biological dynamics to interdisciplinary collaborations, with a strong emphasis on ease-of-use and rapid learning curves.
18/12/2024 | From Microns to Canvas: Our Precision Imaging Inspires a SciArt Installation in NYC
Our research in optical precision imaging has been transformed into a striking artwork—Track Displacement (2024) by artist Jennifer LaRose-Doyle—now on display at the Center for Engineering and Precision Medicine (RPI-CEPM) in New York City. The piece is directly inspired by our work tracking the displacement of individual cells during early embryo development. Artist: Jennifer LaRose-Doyle Title: Track Displacement (2024) Medium: Acrylic on canvas (commissioned by RPI-CEPM) Research inspiration: Periklis (Laki) Pantazis, Laboratory of Advanced Optical Precision Imaging, Imperial College London