Intro
The main objective of my group is to augment our understanding on the molecular mechanisms
that underlie and control vital cellular functions. We approach this challenge by deciphering
the dynamic interplay between the function and spatiotemporal localization of biomolecules
(virus, dug nanocarrier, oligonucleotides or protein assemblies) and how this correlate
to cellular and organismal response.
We have therefore pioneered the development of novel new imaging technologies - with an
emphasis on single particle and live cell microscopy - that promises to shed light on
the interplays between the behaviour (dynamics, function and localisation) of biomolecules
and high throughput single particle screening methodologies to decipher oligonucleotide
interactions with membranes. By tracking the spatiotemporal displacement and localization
of one protein - or an assembly - in real time we revealed internalization pathways and
cell fate of nanoparticles and viruses. Our functional and FRET studies at the fundamental
limit of individual catalytic cycle, on the other hand have helped deciphering protein
structure and function dependence on temporal cell localization and the design of novel
ligand biasing aberrant biological function.
Recognizing that 4D imaging generates terabytes of data sets, that are prohibitively
hard to be quantitatively
evaluated by current semi-manual analysis, we have developed toolboxes
and softwares based on machine learning
to rapidly, reliably and free of human cognitive biases, analyze the wealth of novel
microscopy data we,
and others, produce. Our all-inclusive softwares for windows and macs, offer transition
from raw data to
quantitative analysis and data classification with less than 5 clicks, accelerating the
automatic analysis by ~6 orders of magnitude. These combined methodologies bridge 4D imaging
with sophisticate image analysis required for delving into the era of 4D cell and tissue imaging.
