Rate My Professor Michelle Küppers

Michelle Küppers is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Chemistry at Stanford University. She works in the laboratory of W.E. Moerner, focusing on nano-biophotonics and advanced light microscopy techniques. Küppers earned her doctoral degree (Dr. rer. nat.) from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Erlangen, Germany, where her thesis addressed label-free imaging at the nanoscale using interferometric scattering microscopy. Her research specializes in developing and applying interferometric scattering (iSCAT) microscopy methods for high-resolution, label-free imaging inside living cells. This includes confocal iSCAT approaches and recent advancements in interferometric image scanning microscopy (iISM), which have achieved lateral resolutions of approximately 120 nanometers while enabling dynamic observations of intracellular structures such as the endoplasmic reticulum and vesicles. Küppers has contributed to multiple peer-reviewed publications on these topics, including work demonstrating three-dimensional imaging capabilities and enhanced contrast in live-cell studies. Her postdoctoral appointment at Stanford builds directly on her prior expertise in interferometric techniques, supporting ongoing developments in optical microscopy for biological applications.