We develop and apply a multiplex FISH imaging technology termed "CLASI-FISH" to study microbiome atlas in complex communities. Currently, I am spearheading the development of next-generation multiplex FISH probes and the integration of expansion microscopy-mediated functional imaging as primary aims of my recent K99/R00. Representative publications:

•  Pu-Ting Dong et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 121(48), e2411617121 (2024). [Link]

•  Pu-Ting Dong et al. New multiplex FISH probes, in prepration (2024).

We develop and apply label-free chemical imaging technologies, including spontaneous Raman spectroscopy, stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, and transient absorption microscopy, to study biomarkers of human diseases including diabetes, cancers, and infectious diseases. Representative publications:

•  Pu-Ting Dong et al. Science Advances 7(2), eabd5230 (2021). [Link]

•  Pu-Ting Dong et al. Science Advances 5(5), eaav0561 (2019). [Link]

•  Pu-Ting Dong et al. Advanced Science 6(11), 1900030 (2019). [Link]

We study host/microbe-microbe interactions (e.g., Actinomyces with its epibiont parasite, TM7x) through array of strategies spanning from basic molecular microbiology techniques, transcriptomic/genomic analysis, to super-resolution fluorescence microscopy, and Raman imaging/spectroscopy. Representative publications:

•  Pu-Ting Dong et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.  in review, BioRxiv 602285 (2024).

• Pu-Ting Dong et al. The ISME Journal 18(1), wrad034 (2024). [Link]

•  Mengdi Yang#, Pu-Ting Dong# et al. The ISME Journal 17(6), 880-890 (2023). [Link]

Driven by my ingenue curiosity on a serendipitously observed photobleaching phenomenon, we discovered two chromophores in human pathogens, staphyloxanthin and catalase, that are photo-sensitive and subject to photolysis. These findings have become breakthroughs for the field of drug-free antimicrobial phototherapy, and opened new translational opportunities for treating superbug infections. Representative publications:

•  Pu-Ting Dong et al. Advanced Science 9(10), e2104384 (2022). [Link]

•  Pu-Ting Dong et al. JCI Insight 7(10), 153079 (2022). [Link]

•  Pu-Ting Dong et al. Advanced Science 6(11), 1900030 (2019). [Link]

•  Jie Hui#, Pu-Ting Dong# et al. Advanced Science 7(6), 1903117 (2020). [Link]