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Walter Carrington, Ph.D.

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Faculty Appointment(s) In:
   Physiology

Biological Image Processing and Mathematics

We apply mathematical image processing methods to 3-D light microscopy. We acquire a series of microscope images focussed at different depths in a cell to obtain a 3-D image of the cell. This image is blurred and distorted by the optics of the microscope. By calibrating the optical blurring, we are able to computationally reverse the blurring. The result is a 3-D image with increased resolution and clarity. Among the living cells to which we have applied this technique are [Ca²⁺] in living smooth muscle cells, electrical potential measurements in mitochondria and binding of hexokinase to mitochondria.

Recent Publications

Rizzuto, R., W.A. Carrington and R.A. Tuft.  Digital imaging microscopy of living cells.  Techniques article. Trends in Cell Biology 8 :288-292, 1998.

Rizzuto, R., P. Pinton, W.A. Carrington, F.S. Fay, K.E. Fogarty, L.M. Lifshitz, R.A. Tuft and T. Pozzan.  Close Contacts with the Endoplasmic Reticulum as Determinants of Mitochondrial Ca²⁺ Responses.   Science 280 :1763-1766, 1998.

Carrington, W., K. Fogarty, R. Rizzuto, L. Lifshitz, and R. Tuft. High Resolution 3-D Imaging of Living Cells by Image Restoration, in Imaging Living Cells, R. Rizzuto and C. Fasolato, eds, Springer, Heidelberg, 1998.

Young, A., R.A. Tuft, W.A. Carrington and S. Doxsey. Centrosome Dynamics in Living Cells. Methods in Cell Biology - Special issue on GFP, Sullivan, K.F. and Kay, S.A., eds.,  Methods in Cell Biology 58 :223-237, 1999.

Paemeleire, K., P.E.M. Martin, S.L. Coleman, K.E. Fogarty, W.A. Carrington, L. Leybaert, R.A. Tuft, W.H. Evans and M.J. Sanderson.  Intercellular Calcium Waves in HeLa Cells Expressing GFP-labeled Connexin 43, 32 or 26.  Mol. Biol. Cell 11:1815-1827, 2000.

Patki, V., J. Buxton, A. Chawla, L. Lifshitz, K. Fogarty, W. Carrington, R. Tuft and S. Corvera.  Insulin action on GLUT4 traffic visualized in single 3T3-L1 adipocytes using ultra-fast microscopy.  Mol. Biol. Cell 12 :129-141, 2001.

Lawe, D.C., A. Chawla, E. Merithew, J. Dumas, W. Carrington, K. Fogarty, L. Lifshitz, R. Tuft, D. Lambright, S. Corvera.  Sequential roles for phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate and Rab5 in tethering and fusion of early endosomes via their interaction with EEA1.  J Biol Chem. 277(10) :8611-8617, 2002.

Carrington, W., "Imaging Live Cells in 3D Using Wide Field MIcroscopy with Image Restoration", in A. Diaspro, Confocal and Two-Photon Microscopy, Foundations, Applications and Advances, Wiley-Liss, NY, 2002.

Femino, A.M., Fogarty, K., Lifshitz, L.M., Carrington, W., Singer, R.H.  Visualization of single molecules of mRNA in situ.  Methods Enzymol. 361 :245-304, 2003.

Carrington, W. A., D. Lisin.  Cluster Computing for Digital Microscopy, Microscopy Research and Techniques, p 204-213, vol. 64 , 2, June 2004.

Academic Background

1964,  B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1967,  M.A., Washington University
1982,  Ph.D., Washington University

Office: Stoddard Bldg.
Phone: 508-856-3023
E-mail: Walter.Carrington@umassmed.edu
Keywords: Bioinformatics, Imaging and Microscopy, Biomedical Engineering, Imaging

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