Develops second- and third-harmonic generation (SHG/THG) nonlinear optical microscopy to image collagen and other non-centrosymmetric structural proteins label-free in tissue, with applications to cancer diagnosis and fibrosis, pushing spatial/orientational resolution of structural imaging in intact tissue.

Studies co-translational protein folding using time-resolved single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy synergistically combined with NMR and single-particle cryo-EM.

Uses optical and magnetic tweezers to study single-molecule mechanics and dynamics of molecular motors and nucleic-acid-processing enzymes with piconewton force resolution.

Develops quantum sensors based on neutral atoms and solid-state atom-like defects (e.g. NV diamond) for measuring inertial forces, magnetic fields, and time, and applies nanophotonics/nanofabrication to improve the size, weight, and performance of quantum sensing instruments; collaborates with Mikhail Kats on metasurface-enhanced atomic magnetometers.

Assembles optical-tweezer-trapped arrays of ultracold atoms and polar molecules (including NaRb) for quantum information science, quantum simulation, and cluster-state quantum computing, with associated Rydberg-based sensing capabilities.

Develops photonic-crystal-based optical biosensors and photonic-resonator-enhanced microscopy for digital-resolution, single-nanoparticle/single-quantum-dot biodetection, applied to protein, exosome, and nucleic acid diagnostics.

Observational exoplanet astronomer studying planetary system architectures and demographics using transit and radial-velocity surveys.

Develops biophotonics and optical instrumentation for live-cell and cancer imaging, including multiphoton microscopy, image informatics, and quantitative image analysis tools; affiliated with the Morgridge Institute for Research.

Studies galaxy formation and evolution, dwarf galaxies, stellar populations, and spectroscopic properties of distant-universe galaxies.

Works on quantum photonics and microwave-to-optical quantum transduction, collaborating on interconnects to link superconducting quantum processors via optical quantum networks.