Tim Harris

Scientists at Janelia work together in multidisciplinary teams to solve challenging biological problems that are difficult to address in other research settings.

Many lab spaces at Janelia feature modular designs and natural light.

Credit: Brad Feinknopf

Occupying 689 wooded acres along the Potomac River, Janelia Farm provides a variety of services and facilities to support its diverse community of scientists and staff—inside and outside the lab.

A view of the Janelia Farm Research Campus at dusk.

Credit: Brad Feinknopf

The Janelia Farm model frees scientists of constraints commonly found in other research environments, providing access to world-class resources and a talented support staff.

Graduate scholar John Tuthill prepares a Drosophila specimen for imaging.

Credit: James Kegley

In addition to our resident scientists and fellows, we offer visiting scientists, graduate, and undergraduate candidates a range of scientific programs.

Graduate scholar Arbora Resulaj (left) and her mentor, Janelia Fellow Dmitry Rinberg (right).

Credit: James Kegley

Janelia Farm regularly hosts scientific meetings, ranging from workshops to intensive, specialized conferences. See what's coming up and visit the archive of past events.

Janelia's large auditorium seats 250 people.

Credit: Matt Staley

Janelia provides outstanding employment opportunities, at all levels.

Credit: James Kegley

Many tools developed in Janelia Farm labs are made freely available to outside researchers, while others are taking shape through collaborations with industry, academia, and government.

A virtual arena for the study of flight in insects.

Credit: James Kegley

Janelia’s sense of community comes from a core belief that people of diverse disciplines and backgrounds can accomplish great things when working with a common purpose.

Research specialist Trevor Wardill (left) and group leader Vivek Jayaraman (right).

Credit: James Kegley

Harris Lab - APIG

Director of Applied Physics and Instrumentation Group

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Tim Harris received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1978. He spent the following 18 years at Bell Labs, Murray Hill, NJ. While at Bell, his work included high sensitivity fluorescence and Raman scattering instrumentation, the characterization of quantum dots in collaboration with Lou Brus, the tapered fiber probe for Near-Field Microscopy, a collaboration with Eric Betzig, and many follow on applications of near field including the first reports of single molecule images and single quantum dot imaging and spectroscopy.

In 1996 Harris moved to Seq Ltd. a small biotech startup in Princeton, NJ. There he led a team that invented and developed a high throughput confocal fluorescence microscope. This company and technology was acquired by Amersham PLC and commercialized as the InCell Analyzer. Harris moved to Helicos Biosciences in 2004 as the founding technical employee where his team reported the first single molecule DNA sequence data in 2008. This single molecule sequencing technology was commercialized by Helicos and has resulted in many publications in the ensuing 3 years.

Since 2008 Tim has been at HHMI Janelia Farm where he is a Fellow and Director of Applied Physics, an in house group for neuroscience measurements research and development.