The Prescher Lab
Expanding the imaging toolkit to spy on cellular communication
Our research team is crafting novel probes to "spy" on cells and decipher their communications in vivo. Cellular networks drive diverse aspects of human biology, ranging from immune function to memory formation. Breakdowns in these networks also underlie numerous pathologies. While cell-cell interactions play key roles in human health and disease, the mechanisms by which cells transact information in vivo are not completely understood. The number of cells types involved, the timing and location of their interactions, the molecular cues exchanged, and the long-term fates of the cells remain poorly characterized in most cases. We are designing and deploying custom tools to visualize cellular networks in real time—and with molecular precision—in physiologically relevant environments. Collectively, our work is decoding cellular communications relevant to infectious disease, cancer metastases, and immune function.
News and Events
October 2025
- Congrats to Tanya! She was selected to present at the annual Amgen Day at their headquarters in Thousand Oaks!
September 2025
- Congrats to Tanya! She was selected for a department conference travel award this year!
- Congrats to Julia! She won the best poster award at the UC Chemical Symposium!
- We had a great time at Corona del Mar for our summer outing! Feel free to check out the photos here.
- Congrats to Amelia! She was invited to present at the Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium (at Rice U) this fall!
August 2025
- Congrats to Renee and Casey! Both won best poster awards at the SoCal Undergrad Research Symposium. Way to crush it!
- Congrats to Julia! She was selected for a talk at the UC Chemical Symposium next month!
July 2025
- Happy 15th birthday to the lab!
- Manuscript accepted at ACS Chem Biomed Imaging. Congrats to alums Alicia, Zach, and Kat, along with our collaborators in the Mills lab! More to come!
- Congrats to Halley and lab alums Sharon and Kelly! Their manuscript on fluorogenic coumarins activated by bioorthogonal reactions was published! Read it here!
June 2025
- Congrats to lab alum Rachel, who is now officially tenured at Syracuse U. Way to go, Prof. Steinhardt!
May 2025
- Congrats to Allie and Melody, our two new Ph.D. candidates in the lab!
- Lila defended her thesis! Congratulations Dr. Halbers!
- Congrats to Lila! Winner of Pharm Sci’s Excellence in Research award!
April 2025
- Lila and our RNA lanterns were featured on Sandra Tsing Loh’s NPR show! You can listen to it here.
March 2025
- Congrats to lab alumna Sharon! She accepted an analytical R&D position at AbbVie!
- Congrats to Lila! She accepted a postdoctoral fellowship with Bausch + Lomb.
February 2025
- Graduate students Erica, Brenden, and Taylor officially joined the lab! Welcome!
January 2025
- Our RNA lanterns were featured on NPR! Science Friday invited Jenn as a segment guest. Tune in here.
- Welcome Yuan, our new postdoctoral researcher!
- Happy holidays! We celebrated with a fun holiday group lunch at Javier’s in Crystal Cove.