Glad to share our latest article which is part of Chemical Communications’ 2025 Pioneering collection. The article focuses on my past and current research and puts it in perspective. I appreciate all my lab members, collaborators, and sponsors who made this possible:
Glad to share our latest paper on optical biosensors for diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44328-025-00040-3
Glad that our latest paper has been selected to be featured on Nature Protocol’s website.
Happy to share our latest paper: “Frequency locked whispering evanescent resonator (FLOWER) for biochemical sensing applications” which is now available online in Nature Protocols. Thanks to my diligent lab and generous sponsors who’ve allowed us to continuously improve our platform.
Honored to have been elected as a Fellow of SPIE. I would like to express my gratitude for the support of my peers, my sponsors, and the diligent efforts of my talented group.
Happy to share our latest work: “Whispering gallery mode optical resonators for biological and chemical detection: current practices, future perspectives, and challenges” which is now available online in Reports on Progress in Physics:
It was an honor to be awarded an ASME rising star award at the ASME IMECE conference in Portland, Oregon. Thanks for all the support.
Glad to share our latest work in PNAS
Our study reveals the underlying molecular mechanisms of ligand-induced activation in the human bitter taste receptor TAS2R5. Despite similar binding energies, significant variations in agonist potencies were observed. Using live cell-based assays, optical resonators, and molecular dynamics simulations, we found that the activation energy of the opening of the Gα subunit for GDP–GTP exchange, rather than binding affinity alone, correlates highly with agonist potency. This finding refines our understanding of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) activation, paving the way for the rational design of new therapeutic agents targeting these receptors.
Our article on screening for Alzheimer’s disease was highlighted on the front page of npj Biosensing.
Our last work on taste receptors with Bill Goddard’s group at Caltech, Cargill, Cube Biotech, and the Université de Bourgogne-Franche Compté has been published in Communications Chemistry.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s42004-024-01324-x
These studies can guide rational design of novel non-caloric sweeteners aimed at enabling lower sugar usage levels while retaining the sweet taste. This may provide the basis for novel therapeutic applications for treatment of obesity and related metabolic dysfunctions such as diabetes.
We thank the NIH and Cargill, Inc for financial support.