Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning

Irene Lim

ilim2@bates.edu

About

After graduating from Williams College with a B.A. in chemistry, I took a gap year to conduct research. I decided that the scientific enterprise wasn’t too bad and matriculated at UCLA to pursue my Ph.D. in chemistry. My dissertation centered on developing organic fluorophores, formulating them for in vivo use, and using my formulations to visualize anatomical structures in mice. Particularly, I was interested in 1) pushing the boundaries of fluorescence imaging in mice by utilizing long wavelength regions of the electromagnetic spectrum (1000+ nm), and 2) using special formulations of perfluorocarbons to protect these organic fluorophores in living systems. I was then able to enjoy the Bay Area during my postdoctoral appointment at Stanford University, where I learned how to manipulate antibodies through bioconjugation, perform radiochemistry, and PET imaging of animal models of cancer. I would say my primary areas of expertise reside in organic synthesis, photophysical characterization, and murine models.

I am lucky enough to teach lab skills to the next generation of scientists, medical professionals, and scholars in a liberal arts model at Bates! I thoroughly enjoy interacting with students one-on-one and guiding them in connecting concepts to real life. My main goals are to get students to ask better questions and to break less glassware. Who knows what discoveries await them in the teaching lab and what discoveries await the world once they graduate?

LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/in/irene-lim-16187272

A Selection of Relevant Prior Work

• Publication: Lim, I.; Vian, A.; van de Wouw, H. L.; Day, R. A.; Gomez, C.; Liu, Y.; Rheingold, A. L.; Campas, O.; Sletten, E. M. “Fluorous Soluble Cyanine Dyes for Visualizing Perfluorocarbons in Living Systems.” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 37, 16072–16081.

• Publication: Cosco, E. D.; Lim, I.; Sletten, E. M. “Photophysical properties of indocyanine green in the shortwave infrared region.” ChemPhotoChem, 2021, 5, 727–734.

• Publication: Lim, I.; Lin, E. Y.; Garcia, J. A.; Jia, S.; Sommerhalter, R.; Ghosh, S.; Gladysz, J. A.; Sletten, E. M. “Shortwave infrared fluorofluorophores for multicolor in vivo imaging.” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, e202215200.

• Publication: Meador, W. E.; Lin, E. Y.; Lim, I.; Friedman, H. C.; Ndaleh, D.; Shaik, A. K.; Hammer, N. I.; Yang, B.; Caram, J. R.; Sletten, E. M.; Delcamp, J. H. “Shortwave infrared absorbing and emitting silicon-rosindolizine fluorophores for in vivo fluorescence imaging.” Nature Chem. 2024, 16, 970-978.

• Publication: Lin, H. H.; Lim, I.; Sletten, E. M. Counterion exchange enhances the brightness and photostability of a fluorous cyanine dye. Chem. Eur. J. 2024. doi: 10.1002/chem.202402514