Single molecule
structural fingerprinting lab
We are a research lab developing new optical tools to fingerprint the structure of single molecules in biological samples, to bridge atomic scale structural imaging, protein profiling, and human scale clinical diagnosis. We use these tools to advance research into the molecular and structural mechanisms of neurodegeneration.
We publish across a wide range of topics, from single-molecule and super-resolution microscopy to cell biology and neurodegeneration. For a comprehensive list of publications, visit our
google scholar →.
PloS Biology
Selective suppression of oligodendrocyte-derived amyloid beta rescues neuronal dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease
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Nature Communications
Co-aggregation with Apolipoprotein E modulates the function of Amyloid-ß in Alzheimer’s disease
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Angewandte Chemie
Single-Molecule Characterization and Super-Resolution Imaging of Alzheimer's Disease-Relevant Tau Aggregates in Human Samples
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Nature Protocols
Constructing a cost-efficient, high-throughput and high-quality single-molecule localization microscope for super-resolution imaging
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Molecular Cell
The interplay between BAX and BAK tunes apoptotic pore growth to control mitochondrial-DNA-mediated inflammation
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Nature Methods
Quantitative analysis of super-resolved structures using ASAP
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PNAS
Dynamic label-free imaging of lipid nanodomains
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Team
We are a multi-disciplinary team of physicists, chemists, engineers, and software developers working together to develop new single-molecule instrumentation, software, and assays to rewire structural biology and diagnostics to decode dementia and other complex biological processes.
John Danial
PI
PDRA, Cambridge and Tuebingen; D.Phil. in Chemistry, Oxford
Keer Fang
PhD student
BSc, MSc in Chemistry, Warwick
Ava Kelly
MSc student
MSc (enroute) in Theoretical Physics, St Andrews
Stuart van Breda
MSc student
MSc (enroute) in Physics, St Andrews
Siqi Liu
Software developer
BSc in Computer Science, St Andrews
Sabrina Keating
Programmer
BSc (enroute) in Physics, St Andrews
Our work is multi-disciplinary, and so is our funding. We are grateful to our funders who are investing in the development of cutting-edge technologies and their application to some of the toughest biological and health problems.
RS MacDonald Trust
PI / £7,500 / Neurophotonics pump-priming grant (with Craig Ritchie)
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Royal Society of Edinburgh
PI / £10,000 / Collaborative research grant (with Claire Durrant, Edinburgh and Juan Varela, St Andrews)
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University of St Andrews
PI / £125,000 / Start-up grant and master fund
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Welcome to the lab. To facilitate your PhD or PDRA journey, we have prepared an onboarding framework, a set of instructions and documents that should be carefully read and—where needed—implemented. Broadly, the framework tells you which tasks to implement, why to implement them, how to implement them, and who—if needed—can implement them. The framework covers your entire research journey, and it should be your go-to reference at all times.
Access the onboarding framework →.