Bioorganic chemistry and chemical biology
Dr. Guo’s research interests include: (1) the effects of macromolecular crowding on the structure, function, and supramolecular organization of proteins; (2) identification, characterization, catalytic mechanism, and organization of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of menaquinone; (3) development of drug leads inhibiting menaquinone biosynthesis as a means to combat microbial resistance; and (4) the roles of 3a protein in the pathogenesis of the infections by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus. Postgraduate students in the research group receive extensive training in bioorganic chemistry, protein chemistry, enzymology, molecular biology, and cell biology.

RNA folding, protein misfolding/aggregration, conformational changes in Transcription Elongation, and the development of Markov State Models for long timescale dynamics.

Bio-physical, Bio-analytical and Bio-inorganic chemistry

Bioanalytical chemistry: basics and applications; nano-biotechnology; biosensorics and bioelectronics; microsystems and microsensors; novel signal-amplifying systems using LBL-encapsulated mediators; enzymes and dyes for amperometric sensors; ELISAs and other biotests; environmental chemistry; commercialization of biosensors and biotests (heart attack, stroke, viral and bacterial infections). 

Exploration of new polymerization reactions, synthesis of new functional molecules, decipherment of new luminescent processes, and creation of new advanced materials

Solid state chemistry and chemical crystallography
Crystal Engineering
Dr Williams’ research aims to expore the structures and modify the properties of crystalline solids through controlled design of their internal structure or architecture. A variety of methods of synthesis are used including solvothermal and flux approaches. Areas range from organic crystals (including natural products, co-crystals, N-H-O hydrogen bonds, pharmaceutical formulation, chiral determination and resolution) to metal-organic network polymers and inorganic and hybrid framework crystals.

Interdisciplinary frontiers of microfluidics, bioanalytical and materials chemistry

Theoretical chemical physics and quantum statistical dynamics, developing theories, models, and computational methods for a wide range of systems: Quantum dissipation and many-particle dynamics; Electric transport and charge transfer in molecular systems; Quantum optics and optical spectroscopy; Optimal control of molecular dynamics by light; Quantum information and Quantum measurement

Vesicle-mediated traffic to and through the Golgi Apparatus

Broad spectrum of developmental questions including determination of body pattern, organ assembly, regulation of morphogenesis, chemosensory control of mating behavior

Molecular mechanisms of Neurodegeneration. Functional studies of genes that are linked to familial Parkinson’s disease.

Regulation of Ion Channels and Epithelial Biology

Phosphoproteomics and plant cell signaling; Regulation of ethylene biosynthesis;Genetic engineering of energy plants and microbes

Mechanism and cell cycle control of DNA replication in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae; regulation of DNA replication in normal and cancer cells; molecular cancer detection and anticancer drugs.

Investigating the role played by calcium ions in the signal transduction pathways orchestrating embryonic development.

The molecular basis of cell cycle control in normal and cancer cells

The current research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate microtubule cytoskeletal organization during cell division, migration, and differentiation, and how defects in these mechanisms result in diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. The laboratory's work applies biochemical, mass spectrometric, molecular and cell biology methods to the study of these fundamental questions in cell biology

Our laboratory major research interest concerns larval biology and reproductive ecology of marine invertebrates, particularly topics related to the effects of environmental factors on life-history, metamorphosis, and larval response to chemical cues and natural products. We are also interested in general benthic ecology of marine invertebrates, with particular interests in recruitment and post-settlement mortality of both infaunal and epifaunal organisms. Our current research centers around the following: a) isolation and identification of natural compounds from marine organisms that show inhibitive or inductive potential to larval settlement, b) fouling and antifouling controls, c) interaction between settling larvae and biofilm, and d) marine molecular microbial ecology.

Hematopoietic Cell Development in Vertebrates

Dinoflagellates have cortical cell wall complex, including unique “internal cell wall”, the thecal plates(TPs), in the thecate species. TPs are internally fabricated cellulosic objects with precisely decorated pattern and assembled in cortical membrane bound organelles (alveoli sacs). The dinoflagellate thecal plates represent a unicellular system for studying the assembly of cell wall, especially on the relationship between cellulose biosynthesis, vesicular transport, and cell surface patterning.

Cancer and viral immunology (including vaccine development for cancer and infectious diseases).

The group research focuses on genomics, bioinformatics and evolution biology to decipher the mechanisms of human complex disorders. The group is also interested in translational research on novel therapeutics and diagnostics for complex diseases such as neuropsychiatric disorders.

Structural biology of neuronal signaling complex organization and regulation; protein complexes governing cell polarity; screening and development of small molecules with therapeutic potentials.

Modeling and simulation of complex fluids/soft matters, Statistical physics, Multiscale Modeling and Simulation, Croucher Laboratory on Multiscale Modeling and Simulations

Adaptive Methods for Singular Problems, Numerical Methods for Micromagnetics Simulations, Modeling and Simulations of Multi-phase Flow, Nonlinear Waves

Mathematical Modeling and Simulation in Materials Science, Numerical analysis and Scientific Computing, Partial Differential Equations, Image Processing

Developing mathematical model and constructing numerical schemes for rarefieg gas flow and nonequilibrium thermodynamics

Surface Physics

First principle studies of materials properties, wave functional materials

Experimental soft condensed matter physics, Statistical physics

Design supramolecular systems at solid surfaces in ultra-high vacuum conditions with the aim of fabricating low-dimensional supramolecular nanomaterials, investigate  supramolecular self assembly processes, e.g., molecular recognition, error correction, lock-and-key principle, etc, at a single-molecule resolution and characterize charge transport, energy transfer and signal transduction at single molecules.

Superconductivity in carbon nanotubes, Quasi-1D superconductivity in nanowires, arrays of coupled nanowires and in highly anisotropic bulk materials, Pressure-induced superconductivity in the FeAs pnictide high-temperature superconductors and other exotic superconductors
Exotic magnetic-field-induced superconducting phases: The Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state, Coupling of the order parameters in artificial multiferroics, Materials with strong electronic correlations and Quantum magnetism

Nonlinear optical propagation effects, two-photon coherent transients, nonlinear optical studies of surfaces, the state-selective studies of molecule-surface interactions. Recent work involves desorption of molecules from surfaces induced by femtosecond laser pulses.

Nano Materials, Soft Condensed Matter Physics, Wave Functional Materials

Physics of Semiconductors

Evolution of complex systems: complex games and artificial life, soap froth, genetic algorithm, growth phenomenon, and econophysics; Networks: topological analysis, random walk, reliability and stability analysis, sequences and graphs Geometric analysis of structures: quasicrystal, amorphous and frustrated structures; Statistical Mechanics of Spin Systems XY model, frustration mediated superconductivity, and spin relaxation.

Wave Functional Materials, ER Fluids, Holographic lithography, Soft Matter Physics, Self-assembly Nanostructures

Fabrication of World's Smallest Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes, Superconductivity in 0.4 nm SWNTs

Soft Condensed Matters Physics, Nonlinear Physics and Turbulence

Quantum transport study of 3D topological insulators, Spintronics, GaN-based heterostructures.
Diluted magnetic semiconductors, Magnetic field effect in organic semiconductors.

Fundamental issues of nanostructure formation, Nano fabrication technologies, Physical properties of low dimensional nanostructures, Energy related nanomaterails (1D, 2D and hierarchical structures) and Electron microscopy and nano lithography 

Metal-insulator transitions and quantum Hall effect; mesoscopic physics in hopping and variable-range hopping conductions; nonlinear electron transport in superlattices, quantum wires and quantum dots; quantum entanglements and quantum computation; novel properties in nano-structures; and critical phenomena. 

Soft condensed matter physics, electrorheological (ER) and magnetorheological (MR) fluids, field-induced pattern and structure transitions, micro- and nano-fluidic  controlling, microsphere and nanoparticle fabrications, thin film physics, band gap materials, metamaterials and nonlinear optical materials.

Ultrafast lasers, time-resolved spectroscopy, parametric light generation, and semiconductor and polymer physics.

Polymer dynamics, Physical properties of ultra-thin/nanostructured polymers, Physics of II-VI and III-V semiconductor interfaces and quantum structures, Optical properties of novel materials such as carbon nanotubes and photonic crystals