HILIGHT 2026: FLIM & Photonics Event

Brunel University of London, Michael Sterling Building, Wilfred Brown, Uxbridge, UB8 3PH, UK.

We are delighted to announce HILIGHT 2026: FLIM & Photonics, a two-day technical meeting taking place at Brunel University of London on the 4th-5th of March 2026.

This free in-person event will bring together researchers, technologists, and industry partners from across the UK and EU to share the latest developments in laser technologies, fast detector systems, and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). The meeting forms part of the Horizon Europe HILIGHT project, which is advancing ultra-fast multiphoton FLIM for digital histopathology and cancer research .

Eventbrite registration page is now open:

HILIGHT 2026: FLIM & Photonics Tickets

Don’t miss HILIGHT 2026: FLIM & Photonics!

Join us for the coolest in FLIM & Photonics—see the future of light tech live!

HILIGHT 2026 Advent Calendar

This Advent Calendar is to announce speakers and sponsors for the HILIGHT 2026: FLIM & Photonics Event.

Every couple of days in December we will share one speaker and their talk title so you can see what is coming up.

Follow the daily updates if you want a quick view of the topics and the people behind them.

Advent Calendar

Day 1

Meet Professor Ruslan I. Dmitriev

He is an associate professor at Ghent University (Ghent, Belgium), head of Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials group and board member of Ghent Light Microscopy Core.  He has a long-standing research interest in live multi-parameter FLIM of 3D tissue models, which include spheroids, intestinal and ‘brain’ organoids. His team pioneered imaging oxygenation of neurospheres and metabolic imaging of the small intestinal organoids. His current research interests are in multiphoton FLIM, imaging-assisted organoid & tissue engineering, as well as visualisation of physiologically relevant (bio)molecular gradients in the living 3D tissue models.

His Talk: Visualising internalisation and the biological impact of nanoplastics in live organoid models using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM).

Day 2

Meet Professor Marina K. Kuimova

She is a Professor in Chemistry at Imperial College London. After earning her Master’s degree at Moscow State University and a PhD at the University of Nottingham, she progressed through roles as EPSRC Fellow and Lecturer before her current appointment. She has received several prestigious awards, including the Royal Society of Chemistry Corday-Morgan Prize (2024). Her research focuses on developing unique probes and methodologies in fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) to study dynamic biological processes in living systems, pertinent to health and disease, reflecting the focus of HILIGHT 2026: FLIM & Photonics event.

Her Talk: Measuring cellular viscosity with molecular rotors and FLIM.

Day 3

Meet Dr Conor Treacy

He is a Research Fellow at Brunel University London, working within the Horizon Europe HILIGHT project on advanced fluorescence imaging and digital histopathology. He is an interdisciplinary biophysicist specialising in multiphoton fast FLIM, FRET, and lifetime-based biosensing, with a background in protein mechanics and single-molecule techniques. Conor completed his MRes and PhD in Cell and Molecular Biophysics at King’s College London, where he investigated vinculin activation through the Rap1a–RIAM complex and helped develop multi-colour cascade FRET sensors and lifetime analysis pipelines. At Brunel he applies next-generation TCSPC instrumentation and lifetime reporters to complex cancer models, including his recent work using Acridine Orange as a lifetime-based marker of DNA damage and structural heterogeneity in 3D PDAC spheroids.

His Talk: Multiphoton FLIM Reveals DNA Structural Signatures in Mechanically Tuned Pancreatic Cancer Spheroids .

Day 4

Meet Professor Edoardo Charbon.

He is a Full Professor at EPFL and a leading figure in advanced imaging and quantum electronics. He earned degrees from ETH Zurich, UC San Diego, and UC Berkeley, and has held roles at Cadence Design Systems and Canesta Inc. Charbon pioneered CMOS SPAD technology, now central to LiDAR, medical diagnostics, and time-resolved imaging, and drives innovations in Cryo-CMOS for scalable quantum computing. His research spans FLIM, 3-D vision, LiDAR, and quantum circuits. He has authored over 500 papers, holds 31 patents, and is an IEEE and Optica Fellow. Recent honours include the 2023 IISS Pioneering Achievement Award.

His Talk: Picosecond Image Sensors: From FLIM to Quantum Imaging. – where he will outline how advances in SPAD-based photon-counting sensors, combined with computational imaging and emerging technologies, enable breakthroughs from biological imaging to quantum technologies.

Day 5

Meet Dr Falk Schneider.

He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Warwick at the Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology. He trained with Christian Eggeling and Marco Fritzsche at the University of Oxford before completing postdoctoral research with Scott Fraser at the University of Southern California. His lab for Fluorescence and Membrane Dynamics (FMD), established in 2025, investigates how molecular interactions organise biological systems across scales using fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging.  

His Talk: Seeing Metabolism Clearly: Navigating Cross-Excitation Challenges in Multiplexed NADH FLIM. 

Day 6

Meet Dr Sara Pellegrini. 

She is the Imaging Communication and Academic Collaborations Manager in the Imaging subgroup within the Analog, MEMS, and Sensors Group at STMicroelectronics since July 2023. She joined ST as a Characterization and Modelling Engineer in 2006 and progressed to Technology Manager and later to Advanced Photonics Pixel Architect. She led advanced SPAD pixel technology development, together with silicon, process, module, and system R&D teams to develop the SPAD pixel roadmap. During her PhD she developed InGaAs SPADs and worked on FLIM applications, a topic which is still part of activities she covers through academic collaborations.  She holds several patents and has authored papers on SPAD (Single-Photon Avalanche Diode) systems. She graduated in Electronic Engineering from Politecnico di Milano in 1999 and received her PhD in Physics from Heriot-Watt University in 2006. 

Her Talk: Pixels for FLIM: SPADs in monolithic and 3D stacked technology. 

Day 7

Meet Dr Gunnar Blume. 

He is a senior researcher at the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik, Berlin, Germany, where he works on high-power semiconductor lasers and integrated laser modules. He received his Diploma in Physics Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences Brandenburg, Germany, in 2002, and completed his PhD at the University of Surrey in 2007. Since joining the Ferdinand-Braun-Institute, he has focused on improving semiconductor laser performance for use in spectroscopy, laser cooling and material processing. His research interests include tapered semiconductor devices and the link between device physics and practical laser systems. He is a member of the German Physical Society and the Institute of Physics. 

His Talk: Short pulse semiconductor laser development at FBH for fluorescence lifetime imaging and spectroscopy. 

Day 8

Meet Dr Sylvain Boust. 

He is a research engineer at the III–V Lab, where he works on silicon nitride photonic chips and GaAs-based lasers for microwave photonics and atomic clock systems. He graduated from the Institut d’Optique Graduate School (IOGS) in 2017 and completed his PhD in 2021 through a joint programme between III–V Lab and Institut FOTON, Rennes, France. His doctoral work centred on integrated optical source based on butt-coupling between III–V gain chips and silicon nitride photonic integrated circuits. From 2021 to 2022, he worked at Thales Research and Technology on photonic integrated circuits for multiband RF transceivers. He became the programme leader for pumping laser diodes (700–1100 nm) at III–V Lab in 2025. He also coordinates the HILIGHT project and leads the design and characterisation of its laser source in collaboration with CSEM.

His Talk: Versatile laser diode for 2ph FLIM at 8 Mpx/s in HILIGHT project. 

Current Agenda

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement:

The HILIGHT 2026 mission is to bring together researchers, developers, and industry partners to share knowledge, strengthen collaboration, and support scientists at every stage of their careers. We welcome contributions from established experts, early-career researchers, and students, and abstracts will be assessed solely on scientific quality and relevance.

The organising team is fully committed to ensuring equal opportunities and fair treatment for all participants, irrespective of gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation, ethnic background, religion, culture, or disability. We are dedicated to providing a welcoming, respectful, and accessible environment for everyone attending HILIGHT 2026 and to complying with all relevant UK and EU legislation on equality, diversity, and inclusion. We warmly invite you to join us in March 2026 and contribute to an open, collaborative, and diverse FLIM and photonics community.

Privacy Statement for the Brunel University London Event

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