Spotlight
Michelle Wang
Professor Michelle Wang leads LASSP's Single Molecule Biophysics Lab, which is unique in its abilities to manipulate "one molecule at a time" and measure the forces on that molecule. One role of the lab is to make biophysical measurements, such as studies of the packing of DNA in the nucleosome and studies of the molecules involved in gene expression and regulation. Another role is to develop instruments for molecular manipulation. "The lab is pioneering a new technique called angular optical trapping," says Wang. "Normal optical traps only allow you to displace a molecule and measure the forces of that displacement. With angular optical trapping you can also rotate the molecule and measure its torque. This is useful because many biological molecules rotate and generate torques. For example, because DNA is helical any molecule that moves along it has to rotate. There are a whole class of enzymes we can study to resolve topological issues. With angular optical trapping we can measure things that would otherwise be impossible to measure."