Xiaowei Zhuang, PhD

Dr. Xiaowei Zhuang is the David B. Arnold Professor of Science, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology, and a professor of physics at Harvard University and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. Zhuang develops advanced imaging methods to reveal the molecular mechanisms of cellular function. Inventions from her lab, such as the super-resolution imaging method known as stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) and the single-cell transcriptome imaging method known as multiplexed error-robust fluorescence in situ hybridization (MERFISH), allow imaging of cells and tissues with single-molecule sensitivity, nanometer-scale resolution, and genomic-scale throughput. Zhuang and her team apply these methods to investigate an array of biological questions pertaining to molecular structures in cells, chromatin in the nucleus, regulation of gene expression, and the organization of distinct cell types in tissues.