Co-author of a 2006 paper (now cited almost 10,000 times on Google Scholar) called “Sub-diffraction-limit imaging by stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM)”, Mark Bates is among the pioneers of  single-molecule localisation microscopy (SMLM). He takes pride in the successful implementation of the concept and its subsequent commercialisation by Nikon Instruments; the technology has led to numerous discoveries in cell and molecular biology.