Rigneault leads the MOSAIC team at Institut Fresnel, developing label-free nonlinear optical microscopy (CARS/SRS) for chemically-specific imaging of lipids and biomolecules in tissue, and pioneering lensless, hair-thin fiber-bundle endoscopes based on wavefront control for minimally invasive deep-tissue and in vivo biological imaging. He holds 17 patents in optical engineering and molecular spectroscopy for the life sciences.
Rock builds custom single-molecule fluorescence microscopes and optical tweezers to directly watch individual myosin motors move along the actin cytoskeleton in vitro and in living cells, quantifying motor stoichiometry, force generation, and navigation rules that organize cell shape and motility. Where NV-ensemble quantum sensors read out spin ensembles magnetically at pT/sqrt(Hz) sensitivity via DEER/NMR/T1 protocols, Rock's approach achieves single-fluorophore and single-motor mechanical/positional resolution using all-optical single-molecule methods.
Rowlands develops new optical imaging technologies for biology and medicine, including label-free vibrational (coherent Raman) microscopy and computational imaging approaches aimed at faster, higher-resolution biomedical imaging.
Giulia Rubino's research bridges quantum foundations and quantum technologies using integrated photonics. Research: (1) indefinite causal order — experimental demonstration of quantum switch using photonic chips; (2) quantum thermodynamics — fundamental limits of thermodynamic work extraction in quantum systems; (3) quantum information processing with photonic integrated circuits. Appointed Lecturer January 2024.
Rueda leads a single-molecule imaging group (jointly at Imperial and the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences) that combines single-molecule FRET, fluorogenic RNA aptamer imaging and optical tweezers to reveal the structural dynamics of RNA folding/splicing, CRISPR-Cas9 target search and off-target activity, and chromatin-remodelling complexes; the aptamer-imaging technology has been spun out as the startup Irida.
Applies advanced single-molecule biosensing to study the cyanobacterial circadian clock — the only fully reconstitutable in vitro biochemical oscillator. Directions: (1) single-molecule FRET and fluorescence imaging to track conformational states of KaiC ATPase during clock cycles with single-protein resolution; (2) single-molecule reconstitution of the complete KaiA/KaiB/KaiC oscillator; (3) mathematical modeling of biochemical oscillation. Technique focus: single-molecule fluorescence as quantitative biosensing tool for protein conformational dynamics. Joint appointment Microbiology.
Sapienza studies light propagation and control in complex/disordered nanophotonic media, using wavefront shaping and transmission-matrix approaches to focus and image through scattering media, with applications to deep-tissue fluorescence imaging and nanophotonic light sources.
Marie-Claire Schanne-Klein (DR1 CNRS, LOB) specializes in polarized SHG and THG microscopy for structural tissue imaging. Research: (1) polarimetric SHG imaging of collagen fibril organization — molecular orientation mapping; (2) THG microscopy for myelin and red blood cell imaging; (3) structural and functional label-free imaging of connective tissues; (4) multi-scale SHG/THG analysis of biopolymer structure. SHG expert in LOB.
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.
Schermelleh develops and applies 3D structured-illumination and correlative super-resolution/cryo-EM microscopy to study spatial genome architecture, investigating how biophysical forces, epigenetic memory and cohesin activity shape cell-type-specific transcription programmes at the nanoscale; he directs the Micron Oxford Advanced Bioimaging Facility.