Philip E. Hockberger

Philip E. Hockberger
Associate Professor PhD, University of Illinois
P-Hockberger@northwestern.edu	Tarry 5-767	(312) 503-5625

I have a long-standing interest in developing and utilizing methods for imaging structural and biochemical changes in living cells especially changes in intracellular free Ca ions. One of the inherent limitations of all optical methods is the deleterious effect of light on cells caused by the interactions of photons with endogenous and exogenously-applied chromophores. In recent years I have been investigating the causes and remedies of this phototoxicity. My collaborators and I have discovered that one important source of phototoxicity is light-induced generation of hydrogen peroxide in cells caused by activation of flavin-containing oxidases. This source of toxicity is substantially reduced in cells imaged using multiphoton microscopy. We are currently using this microscopic technique to further explore the causes of phototoxicity with an eye toward developing better, less toxic methods for imaging living cells.

Selected Publications:

Hockberger, P. (2002) Book review: "Envisioning science: The design and craft of the scientific image" Nature Medicine 8: 923-924.

Hockberger, P.E. (2002) A history of ultraviolet photobiology for humans, animals and microorganisms. Photochem. Photobiol. 76: 561-579.

Hockberger, P.E. (2000) The discovery of the damaging effect of sunlight on bacteria. J. Photochem. Photobiol.B. Biol. 58: 185-191.

Hockberger, P. (2000) Sources and remedies of phototoxicity in live cell microscopy. Microscopy Today 4: 30-32.

Hockberger, P.E., Wokosin, D., Zeilhofer, H.U. and Swandulla, D. (1999) Ultrafast infrared lasers and H2O2 production in living cells. In "Commercial and Biomedical Applications of Ultrafast Lasers," M. Reed and J. Neev (Eds.), SPIE Proceedings Series, vol. 3616, pp. 111-117, Bellingham, WA.

Hockberger, P.E., Skimina, T.A., Centonze, V.E., Lavin, C., Chu, S., Dadras, S., Reddy, J.K. and White, J.G. (1999) Activation of flavin-containing oxidases underlies light-induced H2O2 production in mammalian cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA), 96: 6255-6250.

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