Figure: Comparison between STORM and conventional microscopy of two-color microtubule and clathrin labeling: Two-color conventional (middle) and STORM (right), image of microtubules (green) and clathrin-coated pits (red) in a cell. Image source

Xiaowei Zhuang is the recipient of the 2017 Lennart Nilsson Award for her breakthrough discoveries in the beautiful world of cell biology, which literally make the invisible visible. Xiaowei Zhuang has been working with the STORM technique developed in her laboratory.

Xiaowei Zhuang

Xiaowei Zhuang is the David B. Arnold Professor of Science at Harvard University. In 2006, she started a method that would revolutionize the world of fluorescence microscopy. She developed a single-molecule-based super-resolution method in light microscopy. Called Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy or STORM, it surpassed the diffraction limit and extended the spatial resolution of light microscopy by an order of magnitude of a few tens of nanometers. The resolution of STORM was further developed in the laboratory to a few nanometers, almost 100 times higher than conventional diffraction-limited light microscopy. Xiaowei Zhuang has since used STORM to illuminate the beautiful and small world of biology in many unexpected ways. Now Xiaowei Zhuang is awarded the 2017 Lennart Nilsson Award for his discoveries.

Justification

Super-resolution light microscopy technology that has revolutionized life sciences. With the STORM technology developed in Dr. Xiaowei Zhuang’s laboratory, she has made breakthroughs in the beautiful world of cell biology, literally making the invisible visible. Her images represent a unique combination of technical mastery, cutting-edge knowledge and visual aesthetics, which fits perfectly with the spirit of Lennart Nilsson.

About the Lennart Nilsson Award

The Lennart Nilsson Award was established in 1998 to honor the world-renowned Swedish photographer Lennart Nilsson for his excellent and innovative work in photography. The purpose of the Foundation is to promote teaching, training and research in the medical, biological and technical sciences. This purpose is fulfilled by the annual award of the “Lennart Nilsson Award” to a person who has made a decisive contribution to the development of scientific photography or to a person who has carried out meritorious work in the spirit of Lennart Nilsson.