Discovery always begins with observation. The ability to make a significant observation depends on the capabilities of the tools available. To uncover the fundamental principles of life, the goal is to be able to observe biological processes in real time and at the scale at which they occur in order to understand their nature. Optical microscopy has the unique ability to look inside living cells and visualize biological processes in-vivo. The fundamental challenge of optical resolution at the sub-cellular scale has been overcome in recent decades, opening the way to sub-organelle and even sub-protein studies. However, these developments have come at the cost of a reduced acquisition speed, in most cases to such a low level that the methods are limited to fixed samples.
In our lab, we aim to overcome this barrier by facilitating the investigation of biological processes inside living organisms at the nanoscale using high-speed optical microscopy, and to apply these new techniques to uncover and understand fundamental biological processes. Our lab is rooted in the belief that any scientific challenge can be overcome by combining ideas and approaches from different disciplines and therefore multidisciplinary research encompassing biology, chemistry, physics and engineering is at the core of our work.