Helena Hu

Helena Hu is a PhD student in Biological Engineering at MIT, jointly advised by Professors Ed Boyden and Bob Langer. Her research pushes the resolution limits of light microscopy by extending the expansion limits of expansion microscopy. Molecules exert their function by physically contacting other molecules, and these interactions occur at distances below one nanometer. This is the resolution at which signaling occurs and therapeutics intervene. By bringing expansion microscopy to this scale, Helena studies the subnanoscale molecular organization that underlies cellular function. Her goal is to map all biomolecules and their interactions across cells and tissues to build predictive, bottom-up models of living systems.