AMMASI PERIASAMY

Education

• B.S., Physics, University of Madras, India, 1972
• M.S., Physics (Optics & Spectroscopy), Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, 1974
• M.S./Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering (Biomedical Imaging), Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, 1980/1983
• Postdoctoral: University of Washington, Seattle, 1984-1987

Contact Information

Research Interests

A key area of Dr. Periasamy's research is focused on the use of advanced light microscopy to study/monitor various biological and clinical systems ranging from a single cell to single molecule in living cells and tissues. Dr. Periasamy joined the University of Virginia in 1996 and created an nationally and internationally known imaging center called Keck Center for Cellular Imaging (KCCI, www.kcci.virginia.edu). He has developed a steady state, confocal, multiphoton, FLIM and TIRF based Förster (fluorescence) resonance energy transfer (FRET) imaging system for protein localization and cancer drug cellular uptake. The important aspect of the FRET-work is the development of a software package to remove the spectral bleed-through, fluorophore expression level variation and estimate the nanometer (1-10 nm) distance between the protein molecules in living cells and tissue for various light microscopy techniques for any combination of fluorophore pairs (Current Opinion in Biotech. 16:19-27, 2005). Dr. Periasamy is an internationally recognized expert in advanced microscopy techniques, particularly in the area of protein molecular imaging in living cells and tissue. He has published over 70 articles in refereed journals and book chapters. Dr. Periasamy has edited two books - Methods in Cellular Imaging (2001), and Molecular Imaging: FRET Microscopy and Spectroscopy (2005), Oxford University Press. Dr. Periasamy is the Chairperson in organizing an International conference on Multiphoton Microscopy in the Biomedical Sciences (www.spie.org) through SPIE. He also runs a yearly workshop on FRET Microscopy at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville during March (http://www.kcci.virginia.edu/workshop/index.php). The Keck Imaging Center also offers a Microscopy Course (BIOL507) during Fall semester.

Representative Publications

1. Demarco, I. A., Periasamy, A., Booker, C. F. and Day, R. N. (2006) Monitoring dynamic protein interactions with photo-quenching FRET. Nature Methods 3(7):519-524.

2. Wallrabe, H., and Periasamy, A. (2005) FRET-FLIM microscopy and spectroscopy in the biomedical sciences. Current Opinion in Biotechnology. 16: 19-27.

3. Chen, Y., Elangovan, M. and Periasamy, A. (2005) FRET data Analysis-The algorithm. In: Molecular Imaging: FRET Microscopy and Spectroscopy. Eds. A. Periasamy and R. N. Day, Oxford University Press-New York. Chapter 7. 126-145.

4. Chen, Y. and Periasamy, A. (2004) Characterization of two-photon excitation fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy for protein localization. Microscopy Research and Techniques. 63:72-80.

5. Chen, Y., Mills, J.D. and Periasamy, A. (2003) Protein interactions in cells and tissues using FLIM and FRET. Differentiation. 71:528-541.

6. Sekar, R.B. and Periasamy, A. (2003) Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy imaging of live cell protein localization. J. Cell Biol., 160:629-633.

7. Day, R.N., Voss, T.C., Enwright III, J.F., Booker, C.F., Periasamy, A. and Schaufels, F. (2003) Imaging the localized protein interactions between Pit-1 and the CCAAT/enhancer binding protein alpha (C/EBPα) in the living pituitary cell nucleus. Mol. Endo. 17(3), 333-345.

8. Elangovan, M., Wallrabe, H., Chen, Y., Day, R.N., Barroso, M. and Periasamy, A. (2003) Characterization of one- and two-photon excitation resonance energy transfer microscopy. Methods. 29, 58-73.

9. Wallrabe, H., Elangovan, M., Burchard, A., Periasamy, A. and Barroso, M. (2003) Confocal FRET microscopy to measure clustering of receptor-ligand complexes in endocytic membranes. Biophysical J. 85:559-571.

10. Elangovan, M., Day, R.N. and Periasamy, A. (2002) A novel nanaosecond FRET-FLIM microscopy to quantitate the protein interactions in a single living cell. J Microscopy. 1:3-14.