Computer Vision to Characterize Protein Interactions at the Cell Membrane

Protein interactions at the cell membrane provide critical insight into how cells respond to and interact with their environment. Technological advances in light microscopy have allowed an unprecedented perspective into these interactions, however manual analysis of data has become increasingly insufficient to characterize interactions as advances progress. Computer vision tools offer a powerful approach to automate analysis, overcoming limitations of manual analysis to optimize the discovery of novel interactions and their underlying mechanisms. In this thesis, I develop novel computer vision tools to probe the intensity and mobility properties of proteins on the cell membrane, and demonstrate how these can be used to provide insight into membrane protein interactions and organization.