Our laboratory investigates a few fundamental problems at the cross-roads of optics, soft-matter physics and cell biology, through experiments and theory. Over the years, we used a range of concepts and tools from molecular genetics, statistical physics, imaging, optics or epistemology. In cell biology, we raise the issue of intrinsic vs. emergent properties of cells, and we proposed an operational definition of this problem. We now wish to experimentally resolve intrinsic from emergent properties, using randomly activated genetic switches. Our fascination for light and its multiple interactions with living and non-living objects drives our research on imaging and applied optics, luminescence, light scattering and statistical optics. Following our recent discovery of random-light interferometry, we now explore this new field of statistical optics using theory and experiments, with applications to biology, soft-matter dynamics, dielectric spectroscopy, and optical sensor technologies. Cavity-amplified light scattering is one of the promising applications.