Pinaud Lab: Single Molecule Membrane Biophysics

Email:	pinaud@usc.edu
Office Location:	Ray R. Irani Hall, room 204A
Office Phone:	(213) 740 2262
Lab Phone:	(213) 740 3079
Website	Pinaud Lab
Ph.D. Programs:	Molecular and Computational Biology

We use light-based microscopy techniques to detect, study and understand the properties of biomolecules at the cellular, subcellular and molecular levels, with spatial resolution of a few nanometers.

Our lab focuses on using a variety of single molecule fluorescence microscopy techniques to study how nanoscale cellular compartments modulate the diffusion and the activity of proteins involved in normal and pathological cellular signaling and responses. We are particularly interested in understanding how plasma and nuclear membrane scaffolds, microdomains and cavities influence the diffusion and thus the activity of proteins that participate in signal processing, integration and regulation on both sides of these membrane.

We also develop ultra-sensitive imaging probes that quantitatively report and influence biomolecular interactions in living cells and animals. Some of these probes, based on nanoparticle surface engineering and photonic amplifications, have potential applications for cancer diagnostics and therapeutics.

Structural and dynamic studies of plasma membrane microdomains by single molecule imaging

Dynamic and structural nanoscopy of nuclear envelop proteins