Sabrina Leslie, University of British Columbia

Research

DNA interactions Fluorescence microscopy Interaction kinetics Microfluidics Nanoconfinement Protein interactions RNA interactions Single-molecule biophysics

Latest papers

Biomolecular condensates in living systems: from function to disease. What to do next.
Biophysical reviews · 2026
Single-Particle Multiparametric Microscopy Reveals Structural, Size, and Payload Heterogeneity in mRNA-Loaded Lipid Nanoparticles.
ACS nano · 2026 · senior author
Stemless molecular beacon probes for single-molecule detection of supercoil-induced DNA denaturation.
npj biological physics and mechanics · 2026 · senior author

All 16 publications

Latest funding

MUlti-Scale multi-modal Image Computing for health (MUSIC)
NSERC · 2023 · Co-investigator
$450,000
Elucidating mRNA-Lipid Nanoparticle Formulation Efficacy using Single-Particle Fluorescence Imaging
CIHR · 2023 · Supervisor
$105,000
Biophysics of molecular interactions at the single-molecule level
NSERC · 2023 · Principal investigator
$118,000

All 22 grants and awards

16 publications.

01

Biomolecular condensates in living systems: from function to disease. What to do next.

Finzi L, Gil JP, Leslie S, Squires A

Biophysical reviews2026

DOI: 10.1007/s12551-026-01439-6 PMID: 42317552

02

Single-Particle Multiparametric Microscopy Reveals Structural, Size, and Payload Heterogeneity in mRNA-Loaded Lipid Nanoparticles.

Kamanzi A, Tuckmantel Bido A, Zhang Y, Olsén E, Stibbards-Lyle M, Jasinski M, Gu Y, Wang B, Venier-Karzis M, Berti R, Jeliazkova M, Shaheen C, Leung J, Cheng MHY, Cullis PR, Leslie S

ACS nano2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5c17445 PMID: 41416650

03

Stemless molecular beacon probes for single-molecule detection of supercoil-induced DNA denaturation.

Shaheen C, Caminada B, Hilts A, Wei R, Botham J, Johnson R, Vardanyan N, Boateng E, Leslie S

npj biological physics and mechanics2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1038/s44341-025-00032-4 PMID: 41523856

04

CRISPR RNA architecture steers Cas9 catalysis and fidelity via a guide repeat clasp motif.

Chilamkurthy R, Sudhakar S, Pater AA, Bosmeny MS, Stabile F, Katolik A, Harikrishna S, El Azzouzi F, Turk R, Damha MJ, Leslie S, Korolev S, Pradeepkumar PI, Gagnon KT

Nucleic acids research2026

DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkag710 PMID: 42598860

05

A Generalizable Screening Platform for Developing Functional Aptasensors.

Belleperche M, Liu J, Chen Y, Zhang C, Karimi K, Leslie S, McKeague M

Analytical chemistry2025

DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.4c04120 PMID: 40163419

06

Lipid-siRNA Organization Modulates the Intracellular Dynamics of Lipid Nanoparticles.

Mo Y, Keszei AFA, Kothari S, Liu H, Pan A, Kim P, Bu J, Kamanzi A, Dai DL, Mazhab-Jafari MT, Chen J, Leslie S, Zheng G

Journal of the American Chemical Society2025

DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c18308 PMID: 40068204

07

New frontiers in applied biophysics: advancing drug discovery using single-molecule microscopy.

Stabile F, Shaheen C, Leslie S

Biophysical reviews2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1007/s12551-025-01396-6 PMID: 41788239

08

A guide RNA repeat checkpoint steers CRISPR-Cas9 catalysis.

Chilamkurthy R, Sudhakar S, Pater AA, Bosmeny MS, Stabile F, Katolik A, Harikrishna S, Turk R, Damha MJ, Leslie S, Korolev S, Pradeepkumar PI, Gagnon KT

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2025

DOI: 10.64898/2025.12.02.691602 PMID: 41573864

09

Multiparametric Characterization of Individual Suspended Nanoparticles Using Confocal Fluorescence and Interferometric Scattering Microscopy with Microfluidic Confinement.

Boateng E, Olsén E, Kamanzi A, Zhang Y, Zhao B, Cullis PR, Leslie S

Nano letters2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5c02232 PMID: 40755002

10

Quantitative Visualization of Lipid Nanoparticle Fusion as a Function of Formulation and Process Parameters.

Kamanzi A, Zhang Y, Gu Y, Liu F, Berti R, Wang B, Saadati F, Ciufolini MA, Kulkarni J, Cullis P, Leslie S

ACS nano2024Senior author

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c12981 PMID: 38968430

MUlti-Scale multi-modal Image Computing for health (MUSIC)

Co-investigatorNSERC2023Collaborative Research and Training Experience

Principal investigators: Bashashati, Ali A

Keywords: cellular imaging; computational pathology; computer vision; disease mechanisms; machine learning; medical imaging; molecular imaging; omics

$450,000

Elucidating mRNA-Lipid Nanoparticle Formulation Efficacy using Single-Particle Fluorescence Imaging

SupervisorCIHR2023Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Principal investigators: Zhang, Yao

Keywords: Biophysics; Drug Delivery; Fluorescence; Imaging; Lipid Nanoparticle; Live Cell

$105,000

Biophysics of molecular interactions at the single-molecule level

Principal investigatorNSERC2023Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Leslie, Sabrina

Keywords: single-molecule biophysics; fluorescence microscopy; dna interactions; rna interactions; microfluidics; nanoconfinement; interaction kinetics; supercoiled dna; single-molecule microscopy; protein interactions

$118,000

Quantitative single-molecule imaging of RNA-Lipid Nanoparticle complexes to understand and advance vaccine and gene therapy formulations

Principal investigatorNSERC2022Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Leslie, Sabrina SRA

Keywords: bioanalytical chemistry; biophysics; covid-19; drug delivery; lipid nanoparticles; nanomedicine; quantitation; rna-nanoparticle interactions; rna vaccines; single molecule microscopy

$306,000

Directed evolution of electrically conductive phage-based materials

Co-investigatorNSERC2021Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Dorval Courchesne, Noémie-Manuelle NM

Keywords: Bactériophages; Bio-électronique; Évolution dirigée; Microfluidique; Nanotechnologie; Protéines conductrices

$135,000

Loading and release of RNA for COVID-19 vaccines: direct visualization of lipid nanoparticle delivery vehicles._x000d_ _x000d_ _x000d_ _x000d_

Principal investigatorNSERC2020Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Leslie, Sabrina

$50,000

Single-molecule manipulation and imaging platform

Principal investigatorNSERC2018Idea to Innovation

Principal investigators: Leslie, Sabrina

$350,000

Single-molecule visualization and manipulation of protein and DNA interactions and dynamics, on nanoscale dimensions

Principal investigatorNSERC2017Discovery Grants Program - Accelerator Supplements

Principal investigators: Leslie, Sabrina

$120,000

Single-molecule visualization and manipulation of protein and DNA interactions and dynamics, on nanoscale dimensions

Principal investigatorNSERC2017Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Leslie, Sabrina

$276,000

Nanoscale toolset for formatiing and visualizing single molecules

Principal investigatorNSERC2016Idea to Innovation

Principal investigators: Leslie, Sabrina

$125,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Physics and Astronomy
Physics
Pharmsci
Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics and Department of Chemistry
Biochemistry
Other

Co-authors at University of British Columbia, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Mark Sutton

Physics

2 shared papers, latest 2023

Pieter Cullis

Biochemistry

1 shared papers, latest 2024

Gang Zheng

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2025

Corey Nislow

Pharmsci

1 shared papers, latest 2019

Maureen McKeague

Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics and Department of Chemistry

1 shared papers, latest 2025

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their NSERC grant from 2023

Subject: Prospective PhD student: DNA interactions Dear Professor Leslie, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Biomolecular condensates in living systems: from function to disease. What to do next." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your NSERC-funded project "Biophysics of molecular interactions at the single-molecule level" (2023), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]