Our group pioneered the development and application of single-molecule and super-resolution imaging methods for the studies of biological systems. We invented a super-resolution imaging method, stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM), and discovered novel cellular structures using STORM. We invented a single-cell transcriptome imaging method, multiplexed error-robust fluorescence in situ hybridization (MERFISH), and have applied this method to study cells and tissues at the systems level. We has also developed other single-molecule approaches to investigate the dynamics and function of biomolecules.


In the News

  • National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology (2015)
  • Chinese Institute of Engineers USA Distinguished Achievement Award (2014)
  • Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected 2013)
  • Member, National Academy of Sciences (elected 2012)
  • Fellow, American Physical Society (elected 2012)
  • Fellow, American Association of the Advancement of Science (elected 2012)
  • Raymond & Beverly Sackler International Prize in Biophysics (2011)
  • American Physical Society Max Delbruck Prize in Biological Physics (2012)
  • Coblentz Award (2008) Pure Chemistry Award (2006)
  • Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (2005)
  • Sloan Research Fellowship (2004)
  • Technology Review Worlds Top 100 Young Innovators Award (2004)
  • MacArthur Fellowship (2003)
  • Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering (2003)
  • CAREER award, National Science Foundation (2003)
  • Searle Scholar (2003)
  • Beckman Young Investigator Award (2003)
  • Young Investigator Award, Office of Naval Research (2002)
  • Foreign member, Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • Foreign member, the European Molecular Biology Organization
  • Dr. H.P. Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics
  • American Chemical Society Pure Chemistry Award