Mucosal inflammation is a critical component of a wide range of common diseases of the digestive tract such as gastro-esophageal reflux disease, gastritis, infectious colitis or inflammatory bowel disease and an important risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC) development. Mechanisms regulating mucosal inflammation and CRC are still only poorly understood and clinical management is complicated by the lack of methods allowing a precise classification of disease subtypes. Tightly integrated into the scientific IMPRS network, we evaluate the role of cellular physics including mechanics and temperature regulation within the pathogenesis of mucosal
inflammation and CRC. For instance, real-time deformability cytometry and Brillouin microscopy are used to evaluate mechanisms regulating immune cell migration to the site of inflammation. Furthermore, light-matter interactions including photoacoustic imaging, Raman scattering, IR-spectroscopy, non-linear optical effects (e.g. second harmonics) and two-photon excited autofluorescence are used to improve subclassification of mucosal inflammation and CRC to improve diagnosis and therapeutic decision making in clinical practice.

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