I create and develop quantitative imaging and measurement tools and use them to determine how biological machines and systems function. The major goal of our research is to identify the principles and mechanisms by which an ensemble of molecules or cells generate particular dynamic temporal or spatial patterns, and how complex functions emerge from that organisation.

One of the most striking features of biological systems is their ability to self-organise. A long-term goal in biological research is to understand how individual parts (on molecular and cellular scales) come together and form intricate and dynamic systems that perform complex biological functions. The central technical need is to observe all the parts, ideally on a single- molecule level and inside living cells, and then, in the same experiment, relate what all the parts are doing to the aggregate function of the system. Precision measurement of biological organisation and function on all scales and within native biological contexts is key to understanding not only normal function, but also malfunction in disease.