NEWSLETTER APRIL 2016 ISSUE NO. 2
IN THIS ISSUE: Shamil Mirkhanov
2
T
Ivo Leite
2
6 months since our last newsletter the fellows have been very busy
Valentina Ferro
3
Meet the fellows:
2
he PHOQUS (PHOtonic tools for Quantitative imaging in Cells and tissUeS) programme has now been running for more than 2 years
and the fellows have all reached the halfway point in their projects. In the
High Speed Light Sheet Based Fluorescence Microscopy 4
• working on their research projects, both in Dundee and on secondment
Getting to the Heart of the Matter 7
• participating in a variety of training events;
PHOQUS fellows are (still) reaching out 8
events.
with some of the PHOQUS partners; • presenting their results at conferences throughout Europe; • interacting with the general public via outreach and public engagement
In this issue you will meet more of the PHOQUS fellows and find out
Join us at the PHOQUS Conference in August 2016 10
what they have been doing since they joined the project, hear about
Latest Events
11
the PHOQUS Conference that will be happening later this year.
About PHOQUS
12
recent outreach activities the PHOQUS fellows have been involved in and
READ MORE ON PAGE 10 This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 608133
NEWSLETTER APRIL 2016 ISSUE 2
MEET THE FELLOWS... Shamil Mirkhanov (PHOQUS fellow no. 1) My name is Shamil Mirkhanov and I am from Russia. I graduated from Lyceum 180 "Poliforum", in Ekaterinburg and got my BSc and MSc degrees in Physics from Kazan Federal University, Russia. I am interested in the field of Photonics, Laser Physics and applications of different types of laser sources. I joined PHOQUS because I believe it will help me to develop strong scientific skills in the fields of both Photonics and Optical microscopy. My project is called "Compact femtosecond lasers for multiphoton imaging". So far, I have been dealing with femtosecond fiber lasers, VECSELs and Multiphoton microscopy setup to benchmark available laser sources and working on producing a “parameters map" that could help to assess laser sources for multiphoton imaging applications. I recently presented a poster “Multi-photon imaging with high peak power VECSELs” at the SPIE Photonics West conference in San Francisco, USA.
Ivo Leite (PHOQUS fellow no. 11) My name is Ivo, and I am originally from Porto, Portugal. There, I attended the local university, having obtained my MSc. degree in engineering physics from the University of Porto, Faculty of Sciences. Besides developing general skills in applied and experimental physics, my training at this stage already included a significant emphasis on Optics and Photonics. Close to the end of my MSc. Studies, I have spent one year at the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain, as an Erasmus student, where I had my first experience in scientific research. At this stage I knew I wanted to specialize in Optics and Photonics, and I was very happy to join the Applied Optics Complutense Group to work on fibre-optic sensors based on thin-film plasmonics. This work resulted in my MSc. dissertation, which experimentally addressed the fine tuning of the surface plasmonic resonance to an absorption band of the target analyte, as a prospective configuration for label-free selective sensing. From 2012 and until 2014, I worked as a research assistant at the Centre for Applied Photonics of the INESCTEC institute, in Porto. There, I joined a collaborative effort with the Institute for Materials Science (IFIMUP) to develop nanostructured optical materials. My research work was mainly devoted to the design, fabrication, and optical characterisation of nanowire metamaterials, and their use for enhanced sensing applications. As the next step, I wanted take my PhD studies abroad, and participate in the interdisciplinary PHOQUS IDP, a programme interfacing Photonics with the Life and Medical Sciences, was just the kind of challenge I was looking for. Not only was the innovative character of the programme particularly attractive to me, but also the strong cohort and mobility between multiple academic and industrial partners made this feel like the right choice. Additionally, it was clear that the University of Dundee has the ideal environment for an optical physicist to work side by side with biologists and clinicians. Fortunately, the interest
2
turned out to be mutual, and I joined the programme in July 2014.
Within PHOQUS, my individual project is titled “High-resolution holographic micro-endoscopy and manipulation”, and I am proud to be supervised by both Dr. Tomáš Čižmár and Prof. Sir Alfred Cuschieri. My project aims at further developing the techniques that recently made it possible to devise hair-thin microendoscopes comprised of a single multimode fibre. This technology has a tremendous potential for applications in life sciences and clinical diagnostics requiring imaging with optical resolution at the nanometre scale deep inside living tissue, and where the footprint of conventional endoscopic probes can, due to their dimensions, affect the function and damage the tissue. The project focuses in particular on the implementation of new schemes that can take full advantage of specialised fibres, allowing for observations with much higher resolution comparable to that of standard microscope objectives. Moreover, the same technology can be put to use to optically trap and manipulate microscopic objects – by exploiting the forces exerted by light beams – remotely via the multimode fibre. This could also find exotic applications on in situ biomechanics measurements and nano-surgery. So far I have designed and built a digitally controlled holographic setup for beam-shaping of light outputs through advanced, novel optical fibres. My current efforts are focused on characterising the system with quantitative measurements to provide direct evidence which demonstrate the potential of the approach. This will pave the way for the next generation of minimally invasive, single-fibre based endoscopes which will be able to deliver the advanced modalities of modern optical microscopy at the tip of an optical fibre.
Valentina Ferro (PHOQUS fellow no. 3) My name is Valentina, and I come from Italy. I studied physics at the University of Catania for both my BSc and MSc. During the masters I took majors in material sciences, nanotechnology and photonics. In 2013, I left Catania for a one-year long internship in IMEC, Belgium. The experience shaped my professional career in many ways. It inspired me to explore new countries and new cultures, it taught me to acquire a problem solving approach, and more importantly to push my boundaries. This is why I decided to join the PHOQUS project. With its interdisciplinary nature, PHOQUS represents a great oppurtunity to be involved in cutting edge research. Here I am not simply learning about biology, but also about the complexity associated with it, and the contribution physics can bring to the field. For my specific project, I am studying cell motility and tissue dynamics making use of photonic tweezers, and trying to extend the technique to nanonewton regime; to shine light over a whole set of biological phenomena that would not be accessible by state-of-the-art optical tweezers. To achieve this goal, I have been taking care of every aspect of the project, from engineering the trapping system over cell culture to the synthesis of a set of photonically structured probes for the tweezers to improve the trapping efficiency, making everything exciting and new. To learn the chemistry associated with the production of these probes, I spent four months at University of Tuebingen as a visiting researcher in the group of Prof. Erik Schaeffer. This is just one of the many experiences PHOQUS has to offer to enrich my personal career path. Other aspects that I have been loving are the many outreach opportunities, like collaborating with the OSIS project and chairing the first year of the Scotland Chapter of Marie Curie Alumni Association. Now I am half way through the project, and although I feel like I have already acquired lots of new skills, I feel like the remaining time here will not be any less exciting,
FULL INFORMATION ON ALL PHOQUS FELLOWS CAN BE FOUND ON THE PHOQUS WEB SITE. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 608133
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NEWSLETTER APRIL 2016 ISSUE 2
High Speed Light Sheet Based Fluorescence Microscopy
T
Study of the early stages of development of the chick
embryo
requires
a
microscopic
technique
he PHOQUS project addresses topics at the
capable of collecting high resolution images visualising
interface of Life and Medical Sciences and
all parts of the embryo. The resolution needs to be
Photonics. This project aims to investigate early stages
sufficient
of embryonic development using a recently developed
behaviours, such as shape change, cell division and cell
optical technique, light sheet microscopy. In this
ingression over the period that gastrulation takes place
project the development of the chick embryo is
(10-20 hours). The best technique to achieve this is
studied, since the chick embryo is easy to manipulate
Light Sheet based Fluorescence Microscopy (LSFM).
and to culture and the embryo develops outside of the
Like in the more common confocal approaches, LSFM
mother.
avian
images samples labelled with fluorophores. The chick
embryos is very similar to that of mammalian
embryos we use in these investigations are transgenic
embryos. A key event in early embryonic development
and their cell membranes are tagged with Green
is gastrulation, a process resulting in the formation of
Fluorescent Protein (GFP). These transgenic eggs are
three germ layers, the ectoderm giving rise to the skin
provided by the Roslin Institute, in Edinburgh.
Furthermore
the
development
of
to
allow
observation
of
single
cell
and the nervous system, the mesoderm giving rise to
In LSFM, the illumination and detection light paths
the muscles and the skeleton and the endoderm giving
are separated into two perpendicular axes (Figure 2).
rise to the lining of the digestive tract and associated
The light sheet illuminates a thin section of the sample,
glands. In avian and mammalian embryos the onset of
which is imaged at right angles by the detection
gastrulation is characterised by the formation of the
objective.
Primitive Streak. The primitive streak is the structure
techniques like confocal, LSFM imaging results in low
through which the precursors of the mesoderm and
photobleaching and photo-damage since only the area
endoderm move inside the embryo (Figure 1).
to be imaged is illuminated.
Compared
with
other
microscopic
In the chick embryo formation of the streak and initial ingression of the mesendoderm occurs within the first 12 hours after egg laying. Gastrulation is one of the most critical events during embryonic development. Any malfunction of gastrulation will have grave and detrimental consequences for the development
of
the
embryo.
Understanding gastrulation is one of the key objectives of the study of development.
4
FIGURE 2: I) ILLUSTRATION OF THE ORTHOGONAL LIGHT SHEET ILLUMINATION AND DETECTION AXES. II) THE DSLM IN USE HAS THE ILLUMINATION AND THE DETECTION AXES ORIENTATED IN 45째 IN RELATION TO THE SAMPLE, SINCE THE CHICK EMBRYO NEEDS TO BE KEPT HORIZONTAL.
FIGURE 1: THE FORMATION OF ECTODERM, MESODERM AND ENDODERM IN A CHICK EMBRYO. CHARACTERIZED BY THE INWARD MOVEMENT OF CELLS FROM THE EPIBLAST TOWARDS THE PRIMITIVE STREAK GROOVE (WHITE ARROWS). LEWIS WOLPERT, 2007, PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPMENT, 3RD EDITION Different optical setups are used to build a LSFM.
Light sheet Microscopy (DSLM).
The main distinction between systems results from the
The DSLM system that we use is designed to image
manner in which the light sheet is generated. Selective
large flat chick embryos. Chick embryos are much
or Single Plane Illumination Microscopy (SPIM) is one
large samples compared to other developmental model
of most common forms. SPIM creates a static light
systems such as C. elegans, Drosophila or Zebrafish.
sheet by focussing light through a cylindrical lens to
These fragile embryos need to be kept horizontal
achieve a thin light sheet. The system in use in this
during their development. For this reason the light
project creates the light sheet by fast scanning of a
sheet bisects the sample at a 45° angle to the horizontal
laser beam up and down, known as Digital Scanned
plane (Figure 2.II). The embryo is imaged by taking a large series of images at regular spacing, by moving the embryo through the light sheet. This large data set is transformed into a rectangular
3D
process
repeated
is
stack,
and for
this many
successive time points. From this 3D stack it is possible to reconstruct the surface of the embryo (Figure 3.I). An
experiment
over
which
the
development of the chick embryo is
CONTINUED ON This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 608133
PAGE 8
5
NEWSLETTER APRIL 2016 ISSUE 2
imaged over 20 hours, produces around 600-800 time
It is now possible to scan embryos at up to 100
points, resulting in approximately 1TB of data. From
frames/s. This now allows us to scan around 90-95% of
these 600-800 time points the surface of the embryo is
the embryos surface in two scans within two minutes,
reconstructed for every single time point, and an
compared to ~ 45% of the embryo every three minutes
animation is produced showing the changes in the
previously. This allows us to gain much more
uppermost cell layers of the embryo during the
information on the development of the embryo since
experiment.
we can see most of the embryo and the improved time
Once the data is acquired the dynamics of the tissue
resolution that we can now achieve enables us to
and the cells is analysed. One of the analysis methods
follow fast processes like cell division (~15 minutes) in
which we apply to the data is the Particle Image
considerable detail.
Velocimetry (PIV), providing an overview of the tissue flow (Figure 3.II).
Currently we are pursuing other goals. We want to further improve the microscope image quality and
Before the start of the project individual sections
resolution. We are currently investigating whether
were acquired at 12-14 frames per second while
changing the illumination from a light sheet formed by
scanning approximately 45% of the embryo’s surface.
a scanned Gaussian light beam to light sheets formed
This meant that we could take successive time points
by different beams, such as Bessel or Airy beams will
not closer than approximately 3 minutes apart. The
allow a large depth of focus as well as possibly
first goal achieved in this
enhanced light penetration deeper in the sample. For
project
make
chick embryos this implies the access to deeper regions
in
the
in the embryo during the later stages of development
hard
and
(figure 1). Until now, there is not yet much evidence
software
that these altered beam shapes improve the imaging of
to allow
thick samples.
was
to
improvements microscope
a ROTATIONAL FLOW, ARROWS POINTING TOWARDS THE STREAK
FIGURE 3.II: PIV CALCULATIONS ALLOWS THE CALCULATION OF THE
much
Nowadays, in microscopy it is also very important
higher
to investigate the role of different proteins at the same
acquisiti
stage of development. For that reason, we plan to
on rate.
perform experiments with the chick embryo labelled
TISSUE FLOW FIELD, TO REVEAL TWO VISIBLE FLOW PATTERNS.
with more than one fluorophore allowing us to assay the localisation and action of different proteins simultaneously. A final goal is to build a second more robust LSFM, in an improved version of the current system. During my Secondment in
FIGURE 3.I: SURFACE OF THE EMBRYO DURING GASTRULATION, THE RED ARROW POINTS TO THE PRIMITIVE STREAK. SCALE BAR: 200MICRON.
EXPANSION FLOW IN THE PERIPHERY OF EMBRYO FROM PIV CALCULATION
Prof. Ernst Stelzer group, at the University of Frankfurt, I had the chance to learn and absorb knowledge to develop an improved LSFM.
ARTICLE BY RICARDO BANGO DA CUNHA CORREIA
6
(PHOQUS FELLOW NO. 8)
Getting to the
study the damage to the small blood vessels in the skin which is a key
Heart
abnormality in the early stage of cardiovascular
of the Matter
The
techniques allow the measurement of tissue
D
pathologies.
oxygenation,
blood
vessels
functionality, heart rate, and the iseases of the heart and
people with high-risk for CVDs, e.
amount
of
g. diabetes patients.
vitamins in the skin which might be
the
blood
vessels
of
various
proteins
and
have
related to the onset of CVDs. The
are the leading cause of deaths in
prevented a large part of deaths
advantage in using optical techniques
the world. Large part of risk
for CVDs, they continue to increase
is
factors for CVDs are due to life
for
measurements
habits acquired from childhood.
inappropriate
Behavioral
factors
as
measures, the globalization and
and
smoking,
alcohol,
physical
modernization of the world society
reflected/emitted light.
inactivity, and unhealthy diet play
that have induced changes in life
The application of the methods
a key role in the development of
style especially in relation to diet
described in healthy people and
obesity, diabetes, hypertension and
habits, and the absence of classical
subjects at risk of CVDs may aid the
other risk factors that might cause
risk
subjects
discovery of novel unknown risk
CVDs in later life. Bad habits are
affected
Therefore
factors appearing before any clinical
frequently related to poverty, and
research is essential to increase the
manifestation of the diseases. The
lack of education that increase
knowledge
exposure to cardiovascular risk
improve
factors. The measures adopted to
control measures.
(Cardiovascular
Diseases,
CVDs)
such
Although
interventions
different
reasons,
such
as
preventive
factors
in
by
many
CVDs.
non-invasive which
nature
of
work
by
shining a beam of light at the skin measuring
the
amount
of
CVDs
and
targets of our research will not
preventive
and
impact directly and immediately on
about the
the
the current measures adopted to previous
address CVDs, however we could add
surveillance of CVDs epidemic, and
considerations, one of the PHOQUS
a piece in the puzzle increasing the
the reduction of the exposure to
research projects aims to help
knowledge
risk factors through population-
provide
factors.
wide
health-care
evaluation of CVDs risk, through a
improving the future studies for the
based approaches. Examples of
multidisciplinary approach based
evaluation and monitoring of the risk
interventions are raising taxes on
on the combination of physics, life
at pre-clinical level, allowing when
tobacco
sciences and medical knowledge to
necessary to apply all of the required
address the problem.
preventive measures to reduce the
address these diseases are the
or
individual
and
alcohol,
adverti-
sements to inform people about
In
view
a
of
the
better
pre-clinical
the dangers of tobacco and alcohol,
A variety of optical methods
the reduction of salt and saturated
such as Laser-Doppler Flowmetry,
fat
Tissues
in
industrial
products,
Reflectance Oximetry,
Oximetry,
promotion of healthy diets and
Pulse
and
exercise, and efficient therapies for
Fluorescence are being used to
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 608133
Laser
related
This
can
to
CVDs
contribute
risk to
burden of premature deaths for CVDs.
ARTICLE BY SALVATORE SMIRNI (PHOQUS FELLOW NO. 12)
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NEWSLETTER APRIL 2016 ISSUE 2
PHOQUS fellows are (still) reaching out “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” (Carl Sagan) … and all it takes is for someone to show it to the world.
S
ince our last newsletter, the ESRs have been busy. Not only with their research projects (though obviously, this has taken up most of their time), but also with the
organisation of some exciting public engagement activities. Most notably, the MCAA Scotland Chapter has organised their first two events in a series of seminars about the science of science fiction in Dundee! While the ink of Asimov's pages has inspired many young minds to pursue engineering, the roar of revived dinosaurs in Jurassic Park has lead to a generation of bright geneticists, the unknown mysteries of galaxies far far away have called to many children to become physicists, even those that have not pursued a career in science, cannot help but dream of the thrilling but distant realities pictured in Science Fiction. In the Science of SciFi seminar series, the connection between scientific research and sci-fi is explored. The advances being made in fields that have been subject to science fiction novels, movies and TV, are the main focus. Questions that arise with these new technologies are discussed in an informal setting, complemented by media and book fragments. The first seminar was held on the 9th of December and revolved around robotics and artificial intelligence. Three speakers talked about their field of research and the impact of ever evolving technologies on our lives. Prof. Ravinder Dahiya talked about his research on electronic skin. By developing flexible sensors that can provide feedback on information such as pressure or temperature, perhaps we can make better robots, robots that can feel. Prof. Emanuele Trucco’s field of research focuses on another aspect of artificial intelligence: automatic image recognition. Using advanced
machine
learning
algorithms,
computers
can
accomplish one of our most powerful senses: sight. Finally, Prof. Endre Szécsényi explored the philosophical and sociological implications of robotics. Using ancient and more recent literature, we explored a different aspect to robotics: How will relationships change with the existence of artificial
8
intelligence?
The first seminar finished with a chance to discuss over some nibbles and a drink. The second seminar was held on the 1st of April, and was hosted by the Centre for Synthetic and System Biology at the University of Edinburgh. Two speakers took the approximately 80 attendees on a journey through time and space, one of the most intriguing
topics
in
science
fiction
media
and
literature. Dr. Sebastian Steinlechner, a MCAA Scotland Chapter member based in Glasgow, took us on an historic journey explaining how researchers got to the point
of
measuring
gravitational
waves.
Dr.
Steinlechner is one of the 1000(!) scientists who helped work on the LIGA systems that measured the gravitational signal of two black holes colliding. He explained how this was possible and why this caused such a wave of enthusiasm throughout the community. This was followed by an interview with Alistair
Reynolds,
a
world-
renowned science fiction writer and
former
researcher,
astrophysics
known
from
his
Revelation Space trilogy amongst other books. He talked about being a science fiction writer and a scientist, and how these two worlds could interconnect. The evening concluded with a discussion between the audience and both speakers. It’s safe to say that the evening was a great success and everyone went home knowing a bit more about gravitational waves and having more questions about the marvels of space and time. The MCAA Scotland Chapter and the ESRs involved in the chapter are looking forward to organising the next set of seminars in the future; there are so many topics in science fiction left to explore. How about genetically modified dinosaurs, nanorobots or life elsewhere in the universe? Follow @phoqus_fp7 on twitter to know more about upcoming research activities, or the project twitter accounts: @MCAA_Scotland and @OSISDundee.
ARTICLE BY VALERIE BENTIVEGNA (PHOQUS FELLOW NO.10) This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 608133
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NEWSLETTER APRIL 2016 ISSUE 2
JOIN US AT THE PHOQUS CONFERENCE IN AUGUST 2016 Biophotonic approaches: From molecules to living systems 22-23rd August 2016, Dundee, UK.
T
he main goal of the PHOQUS PhD programme is to train a new generation of young scientists in the
field of biophotonics: 13 phoqusers! From the very beginning of the programme, networking has been highly encouraged, through cooperation with several universities and companies all over Europe. In the past two years, the PHOQUS coordinators have worked hard to organise a biophotonics workshop and the 1st PHOQUS summer school. These helped to consolidate collaborations established since the start of the project and helped the PHOQUS PhD students interface with other scientists. This year, the phoqusers are actively taking part in the organisation of the PHOQUS Conference 2016. We are pleased to announce a two day conference in biophotonic approaches to life sciences, which will be held in Dundee between 22nd and 23rd August 2016! Since the aim of the PHOQUS programme is to develop new and innovative photonic tools for imaging, this conference will cover all aspects of the topic, including in vivo imaging as well as high resolution techniques and biomechanical imaging. This conference will be free to attend and aimed at a wide audience of both physicists and biologists. The idea is to gather together experts in imaging and optical systems applied to different fields of biology and nanomedicine and to discuss recent cutting-edge advances at the interface of these fields. The program will include talks from invited speakers as well as from the phoqusers. So far, we have 16 confirmed and 4 tentative speakers joining from all over Europe.
10
Additionally,
oral
and/or
poster
contributions will be more than welcome! More info can be found on the conference website: www.phoqus.eu/conf2016.shtml. Therefore, we warmly invite you to have a look on the event website and register for the event. Looking forward to meeting you in August!
ARTICLE BY ALESSANDRA CECCHINI (PHOQUS FELLOW NO.4)
Next on Phoqus August 22nd23rd 2016
Biophotonic approaches: From molecules to living systems. Dundee, Scotland Deadline for abstracts:
20th June, 2016
Deadline for registration: 22nd July, 2016
Do not miss... April 1st 2016
Through Time and Space Science of SciFi Seminar #2 University of Edinburgh, Scotland
April 6th8th 2016
BioNanoMed 2016 Krems, Austria
April 7th8th 2016
British Microcirculation Society 66th Annual Meeting Newcastle, UK
July 24th 2016
Soapbox Science 2016 featuring Valerie Bentivegna Edinburgh, Scotland
Recent Presentations ‘A multimodal approach to measure mechanical properties of three-dimensional tissue structures over different length scales’, Valerie Bentivegna (ESR10), Yuting Ling, Zhihong Huang, Sandy Cochran (University of Glasgow) and Inke Näthke. University of Dundee School of Life Sciences Research Symposium, Crieff, Scotland. ‘Non-invasive laser-based scans in mice to investigate novel surrogate markers of Cardiovascular Disease risk’, Salvatore Smirni (ESR12), Michael MacDonald, Alison McNeilly and Faisel Khan. University of Dundee School of Medicine Research Symposium, Crieff, Scotland. ‘Multi-photon imaging with high peak power VECSELs’, Shamil Mirkhanov (ESR1), Adrian H. Quarterman, Samuel Swift, Bavishna B. Praveen, Conor J. C. P. Smyth, Keith G. Wilcox. SPIE Photonics West 2016, San Francisco, USA. ‘High Strength Photonics Tweezers’, Valentina Ferro (ESR3). 43rd Scottish Microscopy Group Symposium, Dundee, Scotland. ‘Measuring the mechanical properties of three-dimensional tissue structures’, Valerie Bentivegna (ESR10), Yuting Ling, Sandy Cochran (University of Glasgow) and Inke Näthke. 43rd Scottish Microscopy Group Symposium, Dundee, Scotland. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 608133
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ABOUT PHOQUS
P
Associated Partners
HOQUS is funded by the EU's FP7 Marie Curie Innovative Doctoral Programme to train 13 early
stage researchers as interdisciplinary scientists at the interface between Physics/Photonics, Medicine and Life Sciences. The fellows are primarily based at the University of Dundee in Scotland however they also have access to academic and commercial expertise and training provided by academic and industrial and partners from across Europe. Specific aims of PHOQUS are to • Train a new generation of exceptional scientists in the life and physical sciences, without the historic barriers that have existed between these disciplines • Develop new photonics tools that will feed into the design and development of smaller, more cost effective instruments • Use these new tools to investigate the cellular and molecular dynamics which drive the process of cell division • Use newly developed imaging techniques to investigate the role of cell behaviours during embryonic development and disease. Project Duration:
FULL INFORMATION ON ALL ASSOCIATED PARTNERS CAN BE FOUND
1st November 2013 – 31st October 2017
ON THE PHOQUS WEB SITE.
For comments and suggestions, email us at PHOQUS@dundee.ac.uk
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 608133
NEWLETTER DESIGN BY VALENTINA FERRO (PHOQUS FELLOW NO. 3)