Summary My group has a long–standing interest in understanding the molecular mechanisms that contribute to cancer biology and genome integrity. To provide new insights into the mechanisms of genome integrity we have pioneered the development of DNA curtains, which allow for the direct visualization of hundreds to thousands of individual molecules in real–time by optical microscopy. This experimental platform is applicable to many types of protein–nucleic acid interactions and allows us to address questions about complex biological problems that cannot be addressed through traditional approaches. Our success in with this technology has uniquely positioned the lab to reveal new concepts regarding the mechanisms of genome integrity