Welcome to LAMMP

Background

The LAMMP facility was established in 1979 by Dr. Michael Berns as the Laser Microbeam Program (LAMP), with the goal of developing tools for selectively altering small regions of living cells in order to study cell and organelle function. As core technologies continued to develop, new applications of the laser microbeam evolved, particularly in the area of gradient force optical trapping, chromosome microdissection, and laser-induced gene transfection. LAMP played an important role in Dr. Arnold Beckman's decision to support the formation of the Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic (BLI) in 1982. The BLI, a 37,000 square-foot free-standing facility on the UC Irvine campus, opened in 1986 and is one of 5 national Beckman Centers located at Stanford, Caltech, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and City of Hope National Medical Center.

Clinical applications emerged within LAMP in the late 1980s, particularly in the areas of photodynamic therapy and laser surgery. In its 4th renewal (1997), LAMMP was re-organized with a new director, Bruce Tromberg, and co-PIs Zhongping Chen, Vasan Venugopalan, and Vickie LaMorte. This revitalization formally added "Medical" to the resource name, and created a new scientific framework emphasizing fundamental light-tissue interactions. Several important new technologies and biomedical applications appeared during the subsequent 5-year grant period. Major areas of LAMMP technology development and innovation since 1980 are summarized below.

LAMMP core technology research and development

1980-1985: Laser Scissors, Chromosome Cutting, Laser Transfection, Subcellular Inactivation, Photodynamic Therapy

1985-1990: Laser Tweezers, Laser tissue ablation, multi-photon mechanisms, ultra-fast ablation, photothermolysis

1990-1995: Dose Fractionation and PDT dosimetry, Uterine PDT, Photon Migration, Laser Zona Drilling, Optical Coherence Tomography, Doppler and polarization OCT, Photothermal Radiometery/Tomography, Dynamic Cooling

1995-2000: Multi-photon Microscopy, Laser Micropipette, OCT endoscopy, Broadband Diffuse Optical Spectroscopy, Ovarian and Brain PDT

2000-present: Second Harmonic Tomography, Combined optics and MRI, Spectral domain OCT, Second harmonic OCT, Combined MPM-OCT, Opto-elastic Imaging, Spatially-Modulated Imaging, Laser Speckle Imaging...