Sjoerd Stallinga develops computational methods and hardware for super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. Research: (1) 3D single-molecule localization microscopy (3D SMLM) in living cells and tissue; (2) structured illumination microscopy (SIM) with noise-controlled reconstruction; (3) Fisher information framework for SMLM localization precision; (4) optical metrology for nanoscale structure characterization. ERC Advanced Grant for 3D super-resolution in living tissue.
Upadhyayula (trained with Eric Betzig at Janelia) develops multifunctional adaptive-optical super-resolution microscopy and the large-scale computational pipelines needed to reconstruct terabyte- to petabyte-scale 3D subcellular dynamics datasets. The group is actively recruiting postdocs.
Wickham builds DNA origami nanostructures — programmable, self-assembling scaffolds with nanometre-precision addressability — and uses them as molecular machines, drug-delivery vehicles and, most relevantly, as rulers and probes for single-molecule measurement. DNA origami is the standard platform for DNA-PAINT super-resolution and for positioning fluorophores, nanoparticles or spin labels at defined separations, and her group works on dynamic, reconfigurable devices that respond to biological triggers. Positioned against the established body of NV-ensemble quantum sensing work — DEER, nanoscale NMR and T1 relaxometry protocols operating at pT/sqrt(Hz) field sensitivity — DNA origami is the leading candidate technology for positioning target molecules at a controlled standoff from a near-surface NV ensemble, which is the central geometric problem in pushing NV nanoscale NMR and DEER from pT/sqrt(Hz) ensembles down to single-molecule sensitivity. Genuinely complementary skill set for a quantum-sensing candidate.
Xu develops STORM and related single-molecule-localization super-resolution imaging methods, along with new fluorogenic and multiplexed labeling strategies, to visualize cellular ultrastructure at ~10-20 nm resolution. The group is actively recruiting postdocs.
Zhang's lab develops two core optical technologies: spectroscopic single-molecule localization microscopy (sSMLM), which multiplexes emission-spectrum measurement with single-molecule localization to reach ~5 nm spatial resolution, and visible-light optical coherence tomography (vis-OCT), which exploits higher tissue contrast at visible wavelengths for micron-scale retinal and tumor-vasculature imaging in patients. Applications span cancer nanopathology and ophthalmology, including in-vivo human retinal oximetry.
Zhuang invented STORM super-resolution microscopy and MERFISH multiplexed spatial transcriptomics, and her lab continues to push single-molecule and multiplexed imaging techniques (e.g. a recent whole-olfactory-system map) to resolve cellular structures and RNA populations at nanometer-to-single-molecule resolution, well beyond the diffraction limit.