Our lab at the University of Toronto seeks to understand the role of biomechanics on genome function, most notably, how the organization, packaging and conformational dynamics of DNA affect gene expression. We develop and employ a unique complement of single-molecule instruments for force-spectroscopy and single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM). Force-spectroscopy enables us to probe the biophysical mechanisms underlying protein-DNA interactions, while SMLM reveals information on the spatial organization, abundance and dynamics of proteins and nucleic acids, within both bacteria and eukaryotic cells, at an unprecedented level of detail.

What's Happening

(02/01/19): We're looking for a new Ph.D. or M.S. student to start in the Fall. If you're interested in applying single-molecule super-resolved microscopy to dissect the inner workings of bacteria, please contact us.

(01/20/19): Daniel Nino and Daniel Djayakarsana's manuscript "Nanoscopic Stoichiometry and Single-Molecule Counting" is now available as a preprint online.

(11/11/18): Our manuscript "Fabrication and Characterization of a Microfluidic Flow Cytometer for the Advanced Undergraduate Laboratory" was just accepted to the American Journal of Physics.