Our lab specializes in vibrational spectroscopy of microbial rhodopsins to study their molecular mechanism. Microbial rhodopsins are membrane proteins in microbes responsible for ion transport, energy transduction, signaling, etc. In response to absorbing light, many of these proteins pump ions, open an ion channel, etc.

Microbial rhodopsins are still of high interest, especially because of optogenetics. Optogenetics is one of the most actively investigated technique in neuroscience. Optogenetic rhodopsins are expressed in neurons, which can be activated or silenced using light illumination. This significantly improves on spatial and temporal specificity compared to the old method of electrical probes.

Although many optogenetic proteins are being used for variety of applications, their molecular mechanism is not well understood. Our lab utilizes vibrational spectroscopy to better understand the molecular mechanism of these proteins. More specifically, we use static and time-resolved UV/Vis spectroscopy, near-IR resonance Raman spectroscopy, and low-temperature and time-resolved FTIR difference spectroscopy. Please visit the research tab for more details.

Our office is located in SCI-236 with labs in SCI-234, 238, and 354. Please feel free to visit us any time! For specific personnel, please see the People tab.