The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Fa-Ke Frank Lu. Frank received his PhD in Bioengineering from National University of Singapore. He previously worked on the development of highly sensitive coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy techniques and its biomedical applications. He joined the Xie Group in February 2011 to continue his research on stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and expand its applications in flow cytometry and lipoprotein metabolism. In his spare time, he enjoys jogging, traveling and movies. (2/11)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Minbiao Ji. Minbiao received his PhD in physics from Stanford University, where he researched ultrafast multidimensional spectroscopy and its applications in solution phase chemical dynamics. He joins the Xie group to learn about coherent Raman microscopy and explore its potential applications in neural science. He enjoys swimming and traveling in his spare time. (2/11)

The Xie Group welcomes Zi He (Hertz) (G1) who received his B.S. in physics from Peking University. He is currently concentrating on CARS and SRS imaging experiments. Hertz is also interested in computer science. Along with being a movie buff, he enjoys shooting pool and skiing in his spare time. (2/11)

The Xie Group welcomes Alec Chapman who earned his AB in physics from Princeton University before joining Harvard's Biophysics program. Alec is interested in gene expression and cell-to-cell variations. In his spare time, he enjoys running and plays the guitar. (11/10)

Congratulations to Brian Saar for his successful thesis defense. Brian has joined the Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (10/10)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Dan Fu. Dan received his PhD from Princeton University. His research there involved developing novel nonlinear optical imaging techniques and their biomedical applications. Before coming to Harvard, he worked with the late professor Michael Feld on quantitative phase microscopy at MIT. Dan will work on coherent Raman microscopy and its applications while with the Xie Group. He enjoys watching movies, reading and playing tennis in his spare time. (10/10)

The Xie Group welcomes visiting scholar Professor Jianming Li from Southern Medical University, China. Jianming received his PhD from the Third Military Medical University and served as a professor at Southern Medical University. His main interest is understanding the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of tumor progression and metastasis. With the Xie Group, his visit will emphasize the study of cancer using the new methods established by the group. He likes to read in his spare time. (10/10)

The Xie group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Guoqing Zhang. He recently finished his PhD work at the University of Virginia, where his central focus was on boron polymer synthesis and sensing applications. Guoqing joined the Xie Group to work on next-generation DNA sequencing. When not in the lab, Guoqing enjoys fine dining and money investment. (9/10)

Congratulations to Sangjin Kim for her successful thesis defense. Sangjin has joined the Department of Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology, Yale University as a postdoctoral fellow. (9/10)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Hao Ge. Hao received his PhD from the School of Mathematical Sciences, Peking University, China. His research there involved nonequilibrium thermodynamics and stochastic modelling of biochemical systems. Hao joined the Xie Group to work on theoretical issues related to single molecule experiments. His hobbies include pingpong and traveling. (9/10)

Congratulations to former Xie Group postdoctoral fellow Wagner Faustino on his appointment as Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at the Federal University of Paraiba, Brazil (9/10)

Congratulations to former Xie Group postdoctoral fellow Maarten Roeffaers on his appointment as Assistant Professor in the Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. (8/10)

Congratulations to former Xie Group postdoctoral fellow Wei Min on his appointment as Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University. (7/10)

Congratulations to Christof Gebhardt who has been awarded a three year fellowship from the Human Frontier Science Program. HFSP is an international organization that promotes interdisciplinary research collaborations in the life sciences across national borders. (4/10)

The Xie Group welcomes Xu Zhang (G1) who earned her B.S. in physics from the University of Tokyo before joining the applied physics program at Harvard. Xu is attracted to the academic diversity within the group and wants to pursue further studies in developing new imaging techniques. In her spare time she enjoys classical music as well as pop songs, karaoke, dancing and painting. (3/10)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Erik Brostromer. Erik received his PhD from Peking University. His research there involved x-ray crystallography and development of high throughput methodologies and automated instruments, including imaging and dispensing systems. Erik has joined the Xie Group to work on single molecule and super resolution imaging. His hobbies include percussion, cycling and traveling. (3/10)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Christof Gebhardt who earned his PhD in physics from the Technische Universitaet Munich. He has been using optical tweezers to investigate single molecular motors and the folding/unfolding behavior of single protein molecules under force. While with the group, he wants to study the properties of large scale biological systems. In his free time, he practices Aikido and enjoys rock climbing and hiking. (2/10)

Congratulations to Gene-Wei Li for his successful thesis defense. Gene will be staying with the Xie Group through June working on super resolution studies in collaboration with the Zhuang Group. (1/10)

Congratulations to Shasha Chong for winning the best poster award (out of 60 submissions) in the Multiphoton Microscopy in the Biomedical Sciences Symposium at Photonics West. (1/10)

Congratulations to Peter Sims for his successful thesis defense. Peter will continue his postdoctoral studies with the Xie Group working on his DNA sequencing project. (12/09)

Congratulations to Professor Sunney Xie for winning the E.O. Lawrence Award in Chemistry from the U.S. Department of Energy. The award was given by Secretary Steven Chu for "his outstanding contributions in research and development supporting the Department of energy and its missions." (12/09)

The Xie Group welcomes Ziqing Winston Zhao (G1) who earned his B.Sc. in chemistry and biology from Caltech before joining the Biophysics Program at Harvard. Winston's Caltech research involved protein folding kinetics and x-ray crystallography. Winston has joined his colleagues in the Xie group to work on single molecule imaging of gene expression in eukaryotic cells. He enjoys classical music (both Western and Oriental), reading history and literature, and is an avid practitioner of the art of cooking - which, in his opinion, is nothing but thermodynamics and organic chemistry! (11/09)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Maarten Roeffaers who earned his PhD in bioscience engineering from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. During his PhD research, he used fluorescence microscopy to unravel the interplay of various dynamic processes in heterogeneous catalysis. Maarten's hobbies include active and passive soccer, travel and cooking. (9/09)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Chenghang Zong who trained as a theortetician with the Wolynes Group at the University of California, San Diego, then did experimental research at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign with Dr. Ido Golding studying the relationship between stability and the transcriptional/translational burst. With the Xie Group, Chenghang has joined the effort to explore the top/down approach to biological problems. He enjoys playing basketball and soccer when not in the lab. (7/09)

The Xie Group welcomes Chongyi Chen (G1), who joined the group after completing a spring rotation. He studied biological sciences at Peking University, and is fascinated by the interdisciplinary research of the group, especially the applications of single molecule imaging in biological systems. Outside the lab, Chongyi enjoys playing chess and hiking. (5/09)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Haifeng Duan, who earned his PhD in organic synthesis from Nankai University in China where he worked on the development of a new synthetic methodology in asymmetric synthesis. As a Xie group member, Haifeng is developing terminal phosphate-labeled nucleotides, and applying single-molecule techniques to DNA sequencing. Outside the lab, he enjoys basketball, cooking and movies. (4/09)

Congratulations to former Xie Group postdoctoral fellow Nam Ki Lee on his appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience and Bioengineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology in S. Korea. (3/09)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Katsuyuki Shiroguchi, who earned his PhD in biophysics from the University of Tokyo. He has been working on molecular motors, and takes pleasure in watching the dynamics of biological phenomena under a microscope. Outside the lab, Katsu loves soccer. (2/09)

The Xie Group welcomes Shasha Chong (G1), who joined the group after completing a fall rotation. She studied chemistry and physics at the University of Sciences and Technology of China, and is fascinated by the interdisciplinary research of the group, particularly biomedical imaging. Outside the lab, Shasha enjoys music, movies and cooking. (1/09)

Congratulations to Professor Sunney Xie on his election as a Fellow to the American Physical Society. (11/08)

Congratulations to Will Greenleaf for his three year postdoctoral fellowship award from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. (11/08)

Congratulations to Professor Sunney Xie for receiving the Berthold Leibinger Zukunftspreis in Ditzingen, Germany on September 15, 2008. The award was given by the Leibinger Foundation in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of single molecule biophysics and nonlinear biophotonics. (9/08)

Congratulations to Kevin Fiala for his three year postdoctoral fellowship award from the American Cancer Society. (9/08)

Congratulations to Rahul Roy for his three year postdoctoral fellowship award from the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund. (6/08)

Congratulations to Professor Sunney Xie on his election as a Fellow to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  The AAAS is one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious honorary societies and independent policy research centers.  His induction will take place in Cambridge on October 11. (5/08)

Congratulations to Yuichi Taniguchi for his two year postdoctoral fellowship award from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. (5/08)

Congratulations to Brian Saar for receiving the SPIE Scholarship in Optical Science and Engineering. (5/08)

Congratulations to Marcel Friedrich for his two year postdoctoral fellowship award from the German Academy of Science. (4/08)

Congratulations to Christian Freudiger for being awarded a two year Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds grant. (3/08)

Congratulations to Long Cai for his well deserved honor of winning the 2008 Weber Prize for his Ph.D. thesis entitled "Life at low copy number: a single molecule adventure in live cell gene expression." (2/08)

Congratulations to Peter Sims for receiving a Biophysical Society student travel award to present his work entitled "Force Measurements and Submillisecond Tracking of Dynein- and Kinesin-Driven Cargoes in Living Cells," at the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting in Long Beach, CA February 2-6, 2008. (2/08)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow William Greenleaf, who earned his PhD in applied physics from Stanford University working in Steve Block's laboratory to understand the mechanics of transcription and RNA folding at the single-molecule level. He is excited to help develop and apply new imaging techniques in the Xie laboratory. Outside the lab, Will enjoys skiing, squash and movies. (1/08)

The Xie Group officially welcomes Sijia Lu (G1), who joined the group after completing a fall rotation on CARS microscopy. Having studied physics and life sciences at Fudan University, Sijia's interest lies in developing new techniques for biomedical research, and he considers the Xie Group to be one of the best places for interdisciplinary study. In his spare time, Sijia enjoys playing tennis, beach volleyball and camping. ( 1/08)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Rahul Roy, who earned his PhD in single molecule studies of nucleic-acid and protein interactions from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Rahul has joined the gene expression efforts of the Xie Lab. In his leisure time, Rahul enjoys nature hikes and sporting activities. (10/07)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Markus Rueckel, who earned his PhD in physics from the University of Heidelberg, although his work about adaptive optics on two-photon microscopy was carried out at the Max-Planck Institute for Medical Research in the lab of Winfried Denk. Markus joined the group to learn more about the biological applications of CARS microscopy. In his spare time, he enjoys sports, particularly tennis and mountain climbing. (10/07)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Kevin Wood, who earned his double PhD's in theoretical physics and theoretical chemistry from the University of California, San Diego. Kevin worked primarily on stochastic models of nonequilibrium phase transitions. Now he is excited to learn experimental single-molecule techniques, and to "venture outside of my fairy-tale world of approximations." Kevin enjoys running marathons and triathlons with his much-faster wife. (9/07)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Kevin Fiala, who earned his PhD in biochemistry from Ohio State University elucidating the mechanisms of DNA lesion bypass and repair polymerases. He joined the Group to learn how to visualize and understand the coordinated activity within macromolecular complexes using single-molecule spectroscopy. In his free time, Kevin enjoys playing soccer and tennis. (9/07)

Congratulations to Gene-Wei Li for receiving an ACS student poster award for his work entitled "Probing Transcription Factor Dynamics at the Single Molecule Level in a Living Cell." A picture of this proud moment may be seen at http://hackberry.chem.trinity.edu/PHYS/PosterAwardWinnersF07.html (8/07)

The Xie Group is happy to welcome postdoctoral fellow Xiaojie Duan, who earned her PhD in the field of Nanochemistry from Peking University. Xiaojie has intense interest in single-molecule detection. She thinks that the Xie group provides both leading techniques and great insights in this area. In her spare time, Xiaojie enjoys playing badminton, pingpong, and skiing. (7/07)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Marcel G. Friedrich. Working with Professor W. Knoll at the Max Planck Institute in Mainz, Germany, Marcel earned his PhD in the field of bioelectrochemistry and vibrational spectroscopy of heme proteins. This past March, Marcel received the Young Investigator Award/Young Energeticist Award at the Biophysical Society meeting in Baltimore, MD. Now he is excited to begin work in the Xie Group with CARS microscopy and its applications to membrane proteins and living cells. Outside of the lab, Marcel maintains an active interest in the Japanese martial arts. (5/07)

The Xie Group is happy to officially welcome Srinjan Basu (G1), who rotated with the group this past fall. Srinjan is a joint graduate student with Professor Tom Maniatis in the Dept. of MCB. Having studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge University (UK), Srinjan's interests lie in the dynamics of protein-DNA interactions. He felt the diversity of single-molecule techniques available in the Xie Group made it a great place to join. Srinjan enjoys painting and playing the piano in his spare time. (4/07)

Congratulations to Paul Blainey on the successful defense of his PhD thesis entitled "Single-Molecule Studies of Protein-DNA Interaction: Diffusive Search and Sequence-Dependent Motors." Paul earned his PhD jointly with Professors Sunney Xie and Gregory Verdine. Dr. Blainey has now joined Professor Steve Quake's group at Stanford University as a postdoctoral fellow. (3/07)

Congratulations to Conor Evans on the successful defense of his PhD thesis entitled "CARS Microscopy: Sensitive and Noninvasive Chemical Imaging for Biomedicine". His wonderful thesis committee comprised of Professors Jeff Lichtman (MCB), Antoine van Oijen (HMS), and Sunney Xie (CCB). Dr. Evans will remain with the Xie group as a Postdoc until the CARS Workshop in June. In July, Dr. Evans will join the Optical Diagnostics Research group at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital to work with Drs. Johannes de Boer, PhD, Gary Tearney, MD, and Brett Bouma, PhD. (3/07)

Congratulations to Professor Xie, who received the 2007 Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics. The Lamb Award is presented annually for outstanding contributions to the field. Professor Xie was recognized for his pioneering contributions to CARS microscopy, and was honored earlier this January at the Physics of Quantum Electronics Winter Colloquium in Snowbird, Utah . (1/07)

Congratulations to Xiaolin Nan on the successful defense of his PhD thesis entitled "Probing Dynamic Processes in Living Cells with High Time Resolution, Spatial Precision, and Chemical Selectivity." His thesis committee included Professors Howard Berg (MCB), Timothy Mitchison (HMS), and Sunney Xie (CCB). Dr. Nan will remain with the Xie group until mid-March, when he joins the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow in Professor Steven Chu's lab. (1/07)

The Xie Group is happy to welcome Dr. Gary Holtom, who joined the group this January as a Project Scientist. Gary brings his expertise in CARS microscopy from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where he and Professor Xie were colleagues for several years. In addition to his interests within the lab, Gary is working toward his piloting license, and hopes soon to see New England from the air. (1/07)

The Xie Group now officially welcomes Christian Freudiger (G1), who joined the group in January after working a rotation here this past fall. Christian studied physics at the Technical University of Munich, and he considers the Xie Group to be the perfect place for a physicist interested in biological research. Christian also is an avid sportsman, enjoying free skiing, basketball, and beach volleyball. (1/07)

Congratulations to Dr. Charles Schroeder on receiving the NIH Pathway to Independence Award! This newly established award offers a new opportunity for promising postdoctoral scientists to receive both mentored and independent research support. Charles is one of the Harvard three postdocs to receive this award http://grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/K99_awards_fy2006.htm (12/06)

Congratulations to Paul Blainey (G6), whose image of a microchannel for flow-stretching DNA was chosen as a winner of the 2006 Nikon International Small World Competition. Paul's award-winning image can be seen as Mr. October in Nikon's Small World 2007 calendar. (9/06)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Dr. Yuichi Taniguchi who joins us from Yanigida Group at Osaka University. Dr. Taniguchi received his MD and PhD in Biophysics from Osaka University. He is interested in the developments of methodologies to understand individual cell dynamics at single molecule levels (9/06)

This August, the Xie Group was happy to welcome Jahan Habib as the new Laboratory Administrator. Jahan holds a bachelors degree from New York University and currently is working toward his master of arts degree in government here at Harvard. Although he generally keeps it quiet in this neck of the woods, Jahan admits to being loyal fan of the New York Mets. (8/06)

This Fall, Xie Group laboratory administrator Alex Berrio Matamoros begins his intellectual property focused studies at Boston College Law School . (7/06)

After four productive postdoctoral years with the Xie Group, Dr. Jie Xiao has begun her appointment as Assistant Professor of Biophysics & Biophysical Chemistry at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. (7/06)

The Xie Group bids a fond farewell to Dr. Silvia Carrasco, who leaves to assume the well-earned position of Knowledge and Technology Transfer (KTT) director for The Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona, Spain. (7/06)

Congratulations to Dr. Martin Vogel on receiving the Löhn-Award from the Steinbeis Foundation in Germany! It recognizes Martin's technology transfer project as one of the "outstanding projects involving competitive technology and knowledge transfer between science and business." (7/06)

Xie Group G1 Brian Saar has done it again! His poster, "High Sensitivity coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering Microscopy," won an Outstanding Poster Award at this year's Lasers in Medicine and Biology Gordon conference. (7/06)

This June, the Third Annual CARS Workshop at Harvard was a great success! 32 participants from 13 nations enjoyed an intense three days of CARS lectures and hands-on training. Thanks are due for everyone's hard work and late hours, particularly the CARS subgroup! (7/06)

Dr. Ji Yu has begun his well-earned appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology at the University of Connecticut Health Center. Conducting research in the Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling, Dr. Yu's group aims to develop new single molecule experiments to study processes in living cells. (7/06)

Welcome to Prof. Nils Walter, who joins the Xie Group for his sabbatical from the University of Michigan. (6/06)

The Xie Group welcomes postdoctoral fellow Dr. Martin Vogel who joins us through a joint appointment with the Center for Nanoscale Systems. Dr. Vogel received his Diplom in physics and PhD in the Medical Biophysics group at the University of Heidelburg, Germany. Dr. Vogel joins the CARS subgroup where he hopes to utilize his background in muscle cell preparation to locate CARS sensitivity for protein imaging. (6/06)

Xie Group G1 Brian Saar has been awarded a 3 year National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship in chemistry, funded by the Army Office of Scientfic Research. Awarded by the Department of Defense, the NDSEG is a means of increasing the number of U.S. citizens and nationals trained in science and engineering disciplines of military importance. (5/06)

This May, postdoctoral fellow Dr. Nam Ki Lee joins the Xie Group. Dr. Lee prepared his PhD at Seoul National University conducting cell biology experiments using single-molecule techniques. We are excited to welcome Dr. Lee to the Single-Molecule subgroup. (5/06)

Congratulations to Kirsten Frieda '06, an undergraduate research assistant in the Xie Group, on winning the Edward Purcell Prize for her thesis entitled "One Permease is Not a Quorum: Probing Bistability in the lac operon at the Single Protein Level," a single-molecule analysis of the level of expression of LacY-venus. The Harvard Department of Physics, thanks to an anonymous donor, has established the Edward Purcell Prize in the amount of $2,000 to be given annually to a senior undergraduate who has carried out outstanding research at the interface of biology and physics. This is the first thesis coming out of Xie group that has won this award. Kudos to Kirsten, as well as graduate students Long Cai and Paul Choi, who helped her prepare her thesis. (4/06)

The Xie Group welcomes Huiyi Chen, our first molecular and cellular biology (MCB) graduate student. From Singapore, Huiyi joins us by way of Berkeley where she double majored in MCB and economics. As the latest addition to the CARS Microscopy subgroup, she will work with Dr. Wei Yuan Yang. (3/06)

The Xie Group is excited to welcome Yizhuo Chu to the fold. Chu earned her B.S. and Masters in physics at Tsinghua University in Beijing. She will conduct research on gene-expression, a field she is excited to explore because of its manifold recent developments. Chu describes her joining the Xie Group as "wonderful" and we heartily agree. (12/05)

Joining the Xie Group this December, Dr. Giuseppe Lia hails from Sersale, a small town in Calabria, a wild region in the south of Italy. Upon completing his baccalaureat studies in Literature in Calabria, Lia obtained his Masters in Science in molecular biology with Laura Finzi studying a DNA loop formation using single molecule techniques. Lia prepared his PhD in genetics in the David Bensimon group in the Ecole Normale Superieure, Statistical Physic Laboratory. As a member of the Xie Group, Lia plans on conducting single molecule experiments in living cells and monitoring the effect of the noise in gene expression. (12/05)

This December, G1 student Brian Saar joins the Xie Group to work on CARS microscopy and microspectroscopy. Saar earned his B.A. in chemistry from Williams College, where he studied the vibrational overtone spectra of hydrofluorocarbon molecules. "The range of expertise in the group makes it a great place to learn," he said, "but one of the best things about joining the CARS project is all the cool toys you get to play with." (12/05)

Congratulations to Professor Xie on being elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. Professor Xie will be recognized for his contributions to science this February at the association's annual meeting in St. Louis, MO. (10/05)

This October, we're excited to welcome Dr. Andrei Tokmakoff as he joins the Xie Group during his sabbatical from MIT. (10/05)

Congratulations to Professor Xie on being named a Fellow of the Biophysical Society for his significant contributions to single-molecule biophysics and cellular imaging. Professor Xie will be recognized at the Biophysical Society Annual Awards Ceremony in Salt Lake City, Utah in February, 2006. (10/05)

Joining the Xie Group this September, Dr. Johan Elf holds a fellowship from the Swedish Wallenberg Foundation. Elf was born in the small town of Motala in southern Sweden and earned his Ph.D. in molecular biotechnology from Uppsala University. His previous work has mostly dealt with modeling intracellular kinetics related to bacterial protein synthesis or spatiotemporal fluctuations in cell signaling. Elf joins the Group to see if some of the modeling can be tested in real cells. (9/05)

Awarded a Fullbright Fellowship, Dr. Silvia Carrasco joins us this August from Boston University. Originally from Gijon, a small city in the north of Spain, Carrasco earned her Ph.D. in Barcelona from ICFO - Institute of Photonic Sciences. She plans on solving biological problems by drawing on her background in nonlinear optics, optical solitons, and quantum imaging. For Carrasco, "joining the Xie Group is at the same time a dream and a challenge." (8/05)

Congratulations to Brian English, who this August was awarded the Graduate Student Poster Award sponsored by Eli Lilly and Co. at the Protein Society Symposium in Boston. Titled "A Michaelis-Menten Study of individual Beta-Galactosidases," it explains why the Michaelis-Menten equation is so widely applicable, even to the ever-fluctuating enzyme. (8/05)

This July, the Second Annual CARS Workshop at Harvard was such a great success, we are planning a third in 2006! (7/05)

This May the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research awarded Xie Group's Dr. Charles Schroeder with a two year fellowship. Designed to further research in the causes, origin, and treatment of cancer, the award will be put to good use. Schroeder plans to conduct a single molecule study of reverse transcriptase, the enzyme responsible for converting viral genomic RNA to DNA. (5/05)

Perhaps it was because Dr. David Ward was raised on a remote Texan ranch (to this day his "home town" remains nameless!) that he later went on to explore Iraq, Kuwait, former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Haiti. In any case, whatever his reason, Ward has certainly lived an interesting life. After earning his B.S. in physics from the College of Charleston he joined the Navy and wound up attached to a special boat unit on SEAL team 2. Later he completed his Ph.D. in physical chemistry at M.I.T. Most recently he's "settled down" to a new project here in the Xie Group to work on single molecule spectroscopy.

Congratulations to Dr. Ji Yu, who was a recipient of the Merck Award for Genome-related Research this March. Yu, who received the fellowship for his work in gene expression, says that he considers the award a great honor. "It means that this work is being acknowledged by other bioscientists within the field," said Yu. (3/05)

Dr. Eric O. Potma received well-earned good news this March. He learned that he was appointed Assistant Professor at UC Irvine. The appointment will begin July 1. A significant contributor to the to the development of CARS microscopy in the Xie group the last few years, Potma says he plans to further his work on the development and application of nonlinear optical techniques for biomedical imaging at UC Irvine.

After months of travel to numerous universities nationwide, Dr. Peng Chen finally accepted an offer from Cornell University this March. He will begin his appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry to work on single molecule studies of bioinorganic systems at both in vitro and in vivo conditions.

Even when she was an undergrad at Seoul National University, G1 grad student Sangjin Kim thrived on risk and unexplored science. She thinks joining the Xie Group to do single-molecule spectroscopy experiments was a wise decision. Kim says it's her dream to make a contribution to the group's effort. "I want to investigate single-molecule gene expression in mammalian cells," said Kim. "I think the group is capable of successfully pioneering new science."

G1 student Peter Sims received a hearty welcome from the Xie Group this December. Why? This summer it was learned that aside from his useful interests in protein dynamics and enzyme activity using single-molecule spectroscopy, Sims is also a darn good volleyball player. Sims, who earned his undergrad studying protein electrostatics from the University of California, San Diego, said that he was enticed by the Xie Group's expertise in a variety of areas. "I joined the group," he said, "not only because of the broad range of research interests, but also because I don't want to play against them in volleyball next summer."

Though already equipped with a background in strong field physics and attosecond/femtosecond laser science, Legare said he joined the Xie Group because he wanted to use lasers on a real system and he wanted to learn biology. "I'm interested in imaging transportation of molecules in cells and and determining if there is a correlation between motions in different species," he said. Appointed through CIMS, Legare earned his Ph.D. from the Universite de Sherbrooke and lives with his wife and son in Belmont.

Since biological and polymer physics are the focus of new post doc Charles Schroeder's research, he's a welcome addition to the Xie Group. He plans to use this knowledge to study biological processes through the use of single-molecule techniques. Born and raised in New Jersey, Schroeder got his undergrad at Carnegie Mellon University. In 2004 he received his Ph.D. from Stanford, where he worked with advisors Dr. Eric Shaqfeh and Dr. Steven Chu.

This September Professor Xiaoliang Sunney Xie was one of nine to receive the NIH Director's Pioneer Award, which, according to NIH.org, was created to encourage talented individuals "to pursue high risk, high- impact research with the potential to make extraordinary contributions to our knowledge of human health."

The Xie Group will be awarded $500,000 in direct costs per year for five years. Professor Xie said that he is delighted to be a Pioneer Award recipient and that he shares the honor with his group. "The Pioneer Award encourages high risk endeavors, which is the path of our group, always filled with challenges, but also opportunities for the advancement of science," Xie said.

Only his first week on the job and already new Lab Administrator Alex Berrio Matamoros exemplified the same go get 'em attitude that got him through four years at Harvard College where he studied Environmental Science & Public Policy. He's quite comfortable juggling training with desktop synchronization and staying up late to read the latest on grant management. And he's no stranger to FAS Administration either. Most recently, he worked with the Dean of Humanities and the Office of Secretary in FAS. "Alex is going to be a real asset to the group," said Professor Xie. "I'm delighted he's here."

Congratulations went to John Krug for being the first in the Xie Group to earn his Ph.D. from Harvard. Krug won a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship to support his postdoctoral work at The National Institute of Science and Technology where he has been studying RNA folding/unfolding pathways with combined mechanical and fluorescence measurements.

In July 2004 Conor Evans received "Outstanding Poster Award" for his poster CARS: Driving Vibrational Contrast for Microscopy at a Gordon Research Conference entitled Lasers in Medicine & Biology. The poster was chosen from 71 other posters. "It was a great conference and I was proud to represent the group," said Evans.

Congratulations to Long Cai who won the Graduate Student Research Achievement Award at the 2004 Biophysical Meeting in Baltimore in a student poster competition.

Congratulations to Dr. Antoine van Oijen on his appointment as an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology! Antoine began his new position this July.