Combines optical microscopy, quantum sensing, and magnetic resonance to develop single-molecule and super-resolution microscopy methods, including orientation-resolved imaging and metrology, spanning biophysics and condensed matter applications.
Bell's group uses DNA nanotechnology and advanced optical microscopy for single-molecule biosensing. Research directions: (1) DNA-based biosensing — DNA origami structures as programmable biosensing platforms; using structural switching of DNA nanodevices to sense specific biomolecules with single-molecule sensitivity; (2) Super-resolution microscopy with DNA — DNA-PAINT and FRET-based single-molecule localization for mapping molecular architectures in cells; (3) Solid-state nanopores — DNA-threaded through nanopores as a precision biosensor for protein identification and force measurement; (4) Multiplexed single-molecule detection — combining DNA-based sensors with optical readout for parallel biomolecule profiling. New group established at UCL, strong biosensing focus.
Brasselet is a CNRS researcher at Institut Fresnel developing polarization- and orientation-resolved fluorescence microscopy, using controlled excitation and detection polarization states to map the 3D orientation and organization of fluorescent probes and biomolecular assemblies (e.g. lipid order, amyloid and cytoskeletal structures) at and beyond the single-molecule level, including recent work on the mathematical foundations of polarimetric microscopy.
Hylkje Geertsema uses single-molecule super-resolution fluorescence microscopy (TIRF, SMLM, PALM/STORM) to study DNA replication dynamics. Her lab visualises and quantifies individual replication proteins at replication forks in living cells to understand the kinetics and fidelity of DNA copying. Research focuses on measuring spatiotemporal dynamics of protein assemblies during DNA metabolism with nanometre resolution.
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.
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.
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.