Dr Clemens Kaminski

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Position	Reader
College	Robinson
Research group	Laser Analytics

Research description

The central theme of our research activities lies in the development and application of modern laser spectroscopic methods to visualise and quantify dynamic chemical processes.  

Applications range from environmental and chemical process sensing to biomedical applications. We have developed tools that allow the fast probing of exothermic chemistry in reactive flows and the research has been used, for example, in the design of next generation, low emission aero-engines. On a very different scale we have succeeded in visualising chemical reactions inside single living cells and our optical tools help in the design and testing of novel drugs.

You'll find more information on the type of work we do under Research. If you would like to get a general overview on the types of techniques we use, and what they allow us to do, take a look at our  overview article on fluorescence.

Our work is strongly collaborative in nature and we work with groups from all over the world including the Max Planck Research Group for Optics and Photonics in Germany, Sandia National Labs in US, the CNRS in France, the Universities of Bielefeld, Germany, Lund, Sweden, and Washington, US. In Cambridge we have active collaborations with the The Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK, Gurdon Institute of Cancer & Developmental Biology, the Hutchison MRC Institute, the departments of Genetics, Engineering, Physics and Physiology Development and Neuroscience.

The group runs two large scale research network activities in Cambridge, the CamBridgeSens initiative, and activities to bridge photonics research with the life sciences, as part of which we organised the International Theodor Foerster Lecture Series.

Research keywords

Microscopy, Applied Optics, Chemical Imaging, Chemical Sensing

Main collaborators

Prof. N.K.H. Slater, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Cambridge
Prof. M.R. Mackley, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Cambridge
Dr. A.C. Fisher, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Cambridge
Prof. R. Jones, Dept. of Chemistry, Cambridge
Prof. A. Martinez Arias, Department of Genetics, Cambridge
Dr. C. Lindon, Dept. of Genetics, Cambridge
Prof. C. Dobson and Dr. C. Bertoncini, Dept. of Chemistry, Cambridge
Dr. V. Lew and Dr. T. Tiffert, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, Cambridge
Prof. A. Venkitaraman, Hutchison/MRC Centre for Cancer Research, Cambridge
Dr. J. Pines, The Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, Cambridge
Prof. H. Miller, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
Dr. J. Frank, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, Ca, USA
Prof. P.St.J. Russell, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Erlangen, Germany

Key publications

Elder AD, Domin A, Kaminski Schierle GS, Lindon C, Pine J, Esposito A, and Kaminski CF, "A quantitative protocol for dynamic measurements of protein interactions by FRET-sensitized fluorescence emission". Journal of the Royal Society Interface, Volume 6, S59-S81, 2009

Esposito A, Tiffert T, Mauritz J, Schlachter S, Bannister LH, Kaminski CF, Lew VL, "FRET Imaging of Haemoglobin Concentration in Plasmodium Falciparum Infected Erythrocytes". PLoS ONE, 3(11): e3780, 2008

M. Schnippering, P.R. Unwin, J. Hult, T. Laurila, C.F. Kaminski, J.M. Langridge, R.L. Jones, M. Mazurenka, S.R. Mackenzie (2008), "Evanescent Wave Broadband Cavity Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy using Supercontinuum Radiation: A New Probe of Electrochemical Processes", Electrochemistry Communications 10:1827-1830

Kaminski CF, Watt RS, Elder AD, Frank JH, Hult J, "Supercontinuum radiation for applications in chemical sensing and microscopy" Applied Physics B 92:367-378 (2008)

Frank, JH; Elder, AD; Swartling, J; Venkitaraman, AR; Jeyasekharan, AD; Kaminski, CF, "A white light confocal microscope for spectrally resolved multidimensional imaging", JOURNAL OF MICROSCOPY-OXFORD 227:203-215(2007)

Hult, J; Watt, RS; Kaminski, CF, "High bandwidth absorption spectroscopy with a dispersed supercontinuum source", OPTICS EXPRESS 15:11385-11395(2007)

Other information

We are currently seeking outstanding postdoctoral and PhD candidates in the following areas of research:

1. Analysis of exhaled breath for clinical diagnostics using supercontinuum cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy.
2. Development of superresolution microscopy tools for the study of protein aggregation in living cells and application to Parkinson's Disease research.

For further information on any of these projects or general enquiries contact C. Kaminski (cfk23_AT_cam.ac.uk)

We particularly welcome applications from candidates with strong backgrounds in one or more of the following fields: Applied optics, microscopy,  molecular spectroscopy, Biophysics, chemical biology.