Our current research program focuses on the development of optical instruments to address fundamental biological questions regarding the dynamic interaction of protein partners within the cellular membrane, furthering our understanding of cell signalling dynamics and control. Recently research has been focused on solving specific biological problems through the application of optical physics with application to quantitative analysis protein-protein interactions at the single cell and single molecule level. We have developed some of the fastest fluorescence lifetime imaging platforms for cell biology applications. We are currently applying Swept Array Fluorescence Lifetime Microscopy (FLIM) to isotropic resolution imaging in neural and cancer cell derived organoids. Our work on single molecule imaging and super-resolution includes tracking and dynamic interaction of protein receptors and development of novel 3-component FRET systems to interrogate the mechanical-biology of focal adhesions. These projects have been successful due to synergistic partnerships with biological collaborators.
Group lead
Professor in Optical Oncology