Our research group works in the general areas of bio-interfacial structure and biophysical and biomedical spectroscopy using physically and chemically self-assembled nanomaterials. Self-assembled nanomaterials are a class of molecules relevant to such diverse applications as opto-electronics, sensors and biomaterials. Our research interests span a range of topics related to surface and interfacial analysis in these structures.

Current projects include the use of interfacial vibrational (infrared and Raman) spectroscopy for the study of membrane-related phenomena such as peptide recognition and lipid-protein interactions using both in-situ and supported planar bilayer membranes. We have developed new substrates for use in the Raman characterization of thin films and are using these methods to study molecularly-engineered surfaces for potential applications such as sensors or biomaterial coatings. We are also interested in the development of computational methods of two-dimensional infrared correlation analysis and have developed new model-dependent 2D IR correlation methods to analyze dynamic sets of spectra. We complement our structural work with the morphological imaging of surfaces using fluorescence microscopy and scanning probe methods.