Experimental

Microscopy

We develope new methods for probing and tracking single molecule in living cells (English et al. PNAS 2011; Hammar et al. Science 2012, 2014 ; Persson et al. Nat. Meth. 2013 ; Sanamrad et al. PNAS 2014 , Balzarotti et al. Science 2017 ; Jones et al. Science 2017; Volkov et al. Nat. Chem. Biol. 2018). These methods make it possible to study dynamical processes such as transcription and translation without the confinements of ensemble averaging and at a higher time resolution than methods based on expression of reporter genes. We are now looking to improve the resolution further by making use of bifunctional dyes and detecting rapid changes in polarization of the emitted light.

Microfluidics

We also develop different microfluidic solutions for cell manipulation (Ullman et al. Phil. Trans. B 2012 ; Baltekin et al. PNAS 2017 ; Lawson et al. Mol. Sys. Biol. 2017). These techniques enable precise control of experimental conditions over long time periods, a high level of automation in analysis as well as high-throughput screens of multiple cell lines in parallel.

Optical Pooled Screening (OPS)

Combining the microfluidic culture system with dynamic phenotyping and in situ genotyping created the DuUMPLING technology that enables us to study the effect of genetic diversity on an unprecedented scale (Lawson et al. Mol. Syst. Biol. 2017; Camsund et al. Nature Methods 2019). Combined with visionary cloning strategies, this method promise to deliver new insights on previously inaccessible scientific problems.