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Our research centers on designing, synthesizing and using fluorescent molecular probes and on developing fluorescence microscopy methods that combined provide unprecedented detail of chemical and biologically relevant processes with unsurpassed spatial-temporal resolution and sensitivity. The hallmark of our program lies in visualizing and monitoring the motions of molecules one at a time, by tracing fluorescence emission at the single-molecule level, unraveling properties otherwise hidden in bulk ensembles. We create unique "movies" – sequences of molecular recognition and assembly processes as they lead to increasingly complex nano- and meso-scale structures. The tools utilized in our research group span from the rational design and synthesis of new fluorescent probes, to the utilization and development of state-of-the-art single molecule fluorescence microscopy techniques including single molecule fluorescence imaging and super resolution fluorescence imaging, to the assembly of highly hierarchical supramolecular systems.

Our work seeks to illuminate the mechanical workings of single macromolecules including key proteins in DNA and RNA viral genome replication, the assembly of DNA nanomaterials, and theÌýinterplay of morphology and exciton transport in conjugated polyelectrolyte-based nanomaterials. Our work also involves mapping, in real time, lipid peroxyl radicals and secondary products in living cells, providing key insights into these elusive cellular species, associated with cell homeostasis, disease, and aging.