Giulia Rubino's research bridges quantum foundations and quantum technologies using integrated photonics. Research: (1) indefinite causal order — experimental demonstration of quantum switch using photonic chips; (2) quantum thermodynamics — fundamental limits of thermodynamic work extraction in quantum systems; (3) quantum information processing with photonic integrated circuits. Appointed Lecturer January 2024.
Sapienza studies light propagation and control in complex/disordered nanophotonic media, using wavefront shaping and transmission-matrix approaches to focus and image through scattering media, with applications to deep-tissue fluorescence imaging and nanophotonic light sources.
Marie-Claire Schanne-Klein (DR1 CNRS, LOB) specializes in polarized SHG and THG microscopy for structural tissue imaging. Research: (1) polarimetric SHG imaging of collagen fibril organization — molecular orientation mapping; (2) THG microscopy for myelin and red blood cell imaging; (3) structural and functional label-free imaging of connective tissues; (4) multi-scale SHG/THG analysis of biopolymer structure. SHG expert in LOB.
Uses single-molecule spectroscopy, optical trapping, and advanced imaging to study nanoscale systems. Directions: (1) orientation-resolved single-molecule spectroscopy using polarization-controlled excitation and detection; (2) optical trapping of individual nanoparticles and viruses to study force-dependent dynamics; (3) plasmon-enhanced single-molecule detection and imaging beyond diffraction limit; (4) ultrafast spectroscopy of nanoscale energy transfer.
Schermelleh develops and applies 3D structured-illumination and correlative super-resolution/cryo-EM microscopy to study spatial genome architecture, investigating how biophysical forces, epigenetic memory and cohesin activity shape cell-type-specific transcription programmes at the nanoscale; he directs the Micron Oxford Advanced Bioimaging Facility.
Schueder is a newly appointed (2025) EPFL Assistant Professor specializing in high-resolution microscopy and its biological applications. He played a key role in the development of DNA-PAINT, a super-resolution microscopy technique enabling nanometer-scale (~5 nm) visualization of cellular structures via transient programmable DNA hybridization. Research directions: (1) DNA-PAINT super-resolution — multiplexed, quantitative imaging of protein complexes in fixed and living cells with Exchange-PAINT; (2) Single-molecule localization below 5 nm resolution — resolving individual proteins within complexes; (3) Biological applications — imaging cytoskeletal networks, receptor clustering, chromatin organization; (4) Expanding to in situ structural biology — correlating super-resolution images with cryo-EM data. Transferred from ETH Zurich. Strong fit with EPFL imaging and structural biology ecosystem.
Develops and applies single-molecule fluorescence super-resolution imaging (including FIONA, nanometer-accuracy localization) to study the structure and dynamics of molecular motors (myosins, kinesins, dyneins) and other biological macromolecules.
Sentenac develops computational super-resolution fluorescence microscopy at Institut Fresnel, notably Random Illumination Microscopy (RIM), which reconstructs sub-diffraction images from the statistics (variance) of many speckle-illuminated acquisitions without requiring photoswitchable probes, along with the underlying inverse-problem theory that establishes its resolution limits and robustness for live and thick-sample imaging.
Shaevitz combines custom super-resolution and multifocal/3D imaging instrumentation with single-molecule tracking to make precision measurements of bacterial cell-shape mechanics, cytoskeletal dynamics (e.g. MreB), collective motility and pattern formation, and animal behavior quantification. His lab pioneered 3D live-cell imaging of bacterial shape during growth and continues to develop chromatic multifocal and localization-microscopy instrumentation in collaboration with the Yang and Gregor labs.
Research centers on manipulating and measuring single molecules with quantum-level precision. Primary platform: ABEL trap (Anti-Brownian ELectrokinetic trap) for single-molecule confinement in free solution without surface tethering, enabling measurement of spectroscopic identity, molecular dynamics, and nanoscale energy transfer at femtomolar concentrations. Also develops orientation-resolved single-molecule imaging and single-molecule FRET for photoadaptation in photosynthetic systems and nanoscale immune cell signaling. QuBBE member. PhD Physics UChicago; joined 2024.