Galland leads LQNO at EPFL investigating light-matter interactions in nano-structures and the quantum regime. Research directions: (1) NV centers in diamond for quantum sensing — spectroscopy of NV spin states in ultra-thin diamond membranes, development of diamond nanophotonic platforms for enhanced sensing sensitivity; collaboration on quantum sensing with color centers; (2) Plasmonic nanocavities — few-nm gap junctions enhance Raman scattering by ×10^9, enabling single-molecule vibrational spectroscopy and coherent control; ultrafast and single-photon detection of coherent phonon dynamics; (3) 2D heterostructure photonics — entangled photon pair generation enhanced by TMD heterostructures; valley-polarized exciton sources; (4) Optical frequency conversion for quantum applications. SNSF-funded professor, internationally recognized for molecular optomechanics and carbon nanotube quantum optics.
Schueder is a newly appointed (2025) EPFL Assistant Professor specializing in high-resolution microscopy and its biological applications. He played a key role in the development of DNA-PAINT, a super-resolution microscopy technique enabling nanometer-scale (~5 nm) visualization of cellular structures via transient programmable DNA hybridization. Research directions: (1) DNA-PAINT super-resolution — multiplexed, quantitative imaging of protein complexes in fixed and living cells with Exchange-PAINT; (2) Single-molecule localization below 5 nm resolution — resolving individual proteins within complexes; (3) Biological applications — imaging cytoskeletal networks, receptor clustering, chromatin organization; (4) Expanding to in situ structural biology — correlating super-resolution images with cryo-EM data. Transferred from ETH Zurich. Strong fit with EPFL imaging and structural biology ecosystem.
Wickham builds DNA origami nanostructures — programmable, self-assembling scaffolds with nanometre-precision addressability — and uses them as molecular machines, drug-delivery vehicles and, most relevantly, as rulers and probes for single-molecule measurement. DNA origami is the standard platform for DNA-PAINT super-resolution and for positioning fluorophores, nanoparticles or spin labels at defined separations, and her group works on dynamic, reconfigurable devices that respond to biological triggers. Positioned against the established body of NV-ensemble quantum sensing work — DEER, nanoscale NMR and T1 relaxometry protocols operating at pT/sqrt(Hz) field sensitivity — DNA origami is the leading candidate technology for positioning target molecules at a controlled standoff from a near-surface NV ensemble, which is the central geometric problem in pushing NV nanoscale NMR and DEER from pT/sqrt(Hz) ensembles down to single-molecule sensitivity. Genuinely complementary skill set for a quantum-sensing candidate.