Understanding life at molecular level is one of the greatest challenges of our time. The major benefits to society will be new ideas for developing more effective drugs and therapies against disease, the design of bio-mimetic nanotechnology and the development of innovative medical imaging methods.

Gradinaru biophysics research laboratory at University of Toronto employs advanced laser and detection technology for capturing structural and functional dynamics of individual (bio)molecules. In recent years, single-molecule fluorescence (SMF) has gained considerable ground in life sciences through widespread applications to the study of protein folding and aggregation, enzymatic activity, chemical receptors and biosensors. This popularity is due to a unique capability to "see" details beyond the intrinsic disorder and complexity of biological systems and to better connect with theoretical models. Our group has designed and built several instruments capable of simultaneously measuring multiple characteristics of the weak signals emitted by single fluorescent probes. Remarkably versatile data at the level of single photons is recorded and analyzed by custom software code developed by students in the lab.

An incredible range of fluorescence spectroscopy and imaging modalities are available in our lab: multiparameter SMF, burst analysis, FRET, FCS, PCH, FRAP, FLIM, confocal and TIRF. Taking advantage of these capabilities, our current research projects focus on studying rapidly fluctuating structures in intrinsically disordered proteins, the inhibitory action of new peptidic drugs against the cancer-active Stat3 protein and the structure of thermo-sensitive, lipid-coated polymeric beads that can act as vehicle for drug delivery. Inherently, our work requires a unique combination of physics, molecular biology, biochemistry and engineering skills, it is therefore highly interdisciplinary and it is conducted in close collaboration with chemists and biologists.