Memory encodes and stores information that can be retrieved in decision-making, something that thrives in groups of organisms (e.g., ant or bee colonies), and in all processes related to human existence. However, biological memory and how it results in cellular decisions is poorly understood. This knowledge gap is a barrier for exploiting the concept of … Continued
Leveraging advances from the semiconductor industry, it is possible to fabricate microscale and nanoscale devices capable of directed reconfiguration. These properties give so-called microrobots the potential to perform difficult tasks, such as manipulate microscale objects and swim through complex fluids. However, microrobots have seen limited use in real-world settings due to highly complicated fabrication requirements. … Continued
Most artificial membrane surfaces are designed to perform a single task, like gas exchange or chemical catalysis, and they often have a chronic problem of surface fouling by foreign contaminants. In my lab, we envision the development of multifunctional membrane surfaces that enable the simultaneous operation of molecular sensing, recognition, and catalysis. We use theory, … Continued
We will develop electrocatalytic methods to enable a Net-Zero circular plastics economy. The work will use renewable electricity to up-cycle the most polluting plastics: polyethylene and polypropylene. Realizing this vision requires insight into the fundamental phenomena which steer alkane adsorption, reaction, and desorption processes at electrode surfaces. The Packard Fellowship will enable these pioneering research … Continued
Modulating and recording cell activity with cell-level precision is vital to our understanding of brain function and the treatment of brain disorders, but is very challenging in intact brains. As a Packard Fellow, I will engineer methods for precise, noninvasive, and massively multiplexed monitoring and control of cells in the brain. This fundamental research will … Continued
Perturbations in embryonic development that affect a subset of cells at one stage can start domino effects that end in complex phenotypes. Understanding these domino effects requires the ability to map mammalian development. I propose a whole-organism genetic barcoding platform for mapping detailed developmental lineage trees in mammals. In this platform, we will engineer mice … Continued
Parsing out the few key effector molecules from among the tens of thousands of molecules produced and transformed in complex multicellular tissues in the human body is the core challenge of unlocking unknown signaling pathways critical for normal function and disease. Our group approaches this problem by creating novel microscale culture systems to model multicell … Continued
Microscopy is fundamental to biology, chemistry, and material science. In my prior work, we developed microscopes that can rapidly image specimens ranging from single molecules to whole organisms. The rates at which these, and other modern instruments, acquire data has now vastly outpaced our ability to interpret and act upon this information. This is especially … Continued
My laboratory develops molecular technologies to enable the imaging and control of cellular function deep inside living organisms. Such technologies are needed to study basic biological processes within the context of intact tissues and organs, and to facilitate the development of cellular diagnostic and therapeutic agents. To accomplish these goals, my lab engineers proteins and … Continued
My lab is devoted to developing and applying novel technologies for holistic understanding of large-scale complex biological systems. Specifically, in addition to CLARITY (Nature, 2013) that I co-invented at Stanford, we have developed a host of methods (SWITCH [Cell, 2015], stochastic electrotransport [PNAS, 2015], MAP [Nature Biotechnology, 2016]) that may enable identification of multi-scale functional … Continued