Nada N. Boustany, Ph.D.

Our research is focused on developing novel, minimally invasive optical imaging technology to track signaling pathways and analyze the function of genes within living cells. Our work lies at the interface of optics and cell biology and combines instrumentation design, microscopy, tissue culture, genetic manipulation, and numerical simulation of optical phenomena, such as light scattering by cells and organelles. We are currently engaged in defining optical parameters that characterize mitochondrial morphological alterations during cell death. One of our long-term goals is to understand the relationship between gene expression and subcellular structure and dynamics during cell death and early cancer development.