We are a Biological Physics lab at the University of Toronto actively developing the next generation of single-molecule and single-cell optical imaging and manipulation techniques. Our efforts range from super-resolved localization microscopy, to quantify the abundance and stoichiometry of proteins and nucleic acids within cells, to combining microfluidics with computational microscopy, to image the population dynamics of bacterial colonies. We develop bioimage analytic software, from image filtering, to machine learning and segmentation algorithms, to three-dimensional clustering algorithms. And we apply optical force spectroscopy, with pioneering efforts in axial optical tweezers, and passive tethered particle motion assays to study DNA-protein interactions, gene transcription and genetic silencing.

What's Happening

(12/08/20): Daniel's article "FOCAL3D: A 3-dimensional clustering package for single-molecule localization microscopy", was just published in PLoS Computational Biology.

(11/25/20): A preprint of Emiel and Jovana's new article on "An Ultra-Stable and Dense Single-Molecule Click Platform for Sensing Protein-DNA Interactions" , is now available.

(10/15/20): Our research into bacterial persistence and tuberculosis, supported by NSERC's New Frontiers in Research Funding (NFRF), was recently highlighted. (Read about it here)

(8/12/20): We're up and running albeit at a reduced capacity. If you're interested in joining, just send an email to josh.milstein[at]utoronto.ca.

(8/2/20): Zheng's work on Extending the Photobleaching Lifetime in the Presence of an Optical Trap by Wavefront Engineering was accepted to the Journal of Optics.

(8/1/20): Our collaborative efforts with the Gunning Lab on the Sensitive Detection of Broad-Spectrum Bacteria with Small-Molecule Fluorescent Excimer Chemosensors was just published in ACS Sensors.