Haw Yang PBD Faculty
Scientist, Advanced Microscopies Department;
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, UC Berkeley
Contact info:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Physical Biosciences Division
One Cyclotron Road
Mailstop: Hildabrand Hall
Berkeley, California 94720
USA
Research Emphasis Physical Chemistry and Biophysics of Single Biological Macromolecules -- Optical single-molecule spectroscopy is developed and utilized to investigate the dynamics of single biological macromolecules. Whether acting alone or working together, biological macromolecules are capable of performing remarkably different functions. Such functional diversity arises from the structural complexity of biomolecular assemblies. The manner by which the conformation of an assembled complex changes to accomplish its tasks, amid the continual and random influence of solvent and other biological macromolecules, is a key element to our fundamental understanding of the structure-function relationship. Optical single-molecule spectroscopy provides direct microscopic information regarding the distribution of molecular properties, the time sequence of events, and insight to the underlying cause of changes. These advantageous features make optical single-molecule spectroscopy a powerful tool for investigating the complicated biological machinery in molecular detail.
