£1.7M grant to fill major gaps in our understanding of human diseases  

A new UK endeavour that will focus on gaining a much better understanding of major human diseases, like cancer and other medical concerns such as deafness and ageing, is to be undertaken by an STFC-MRC consortium, thanks to a £1.7M grant from the Medical Research Council (MRC).

The project is bringing together “big science” and “small science”, using technology developed for the study of the Universe to observe individual molecules inside living cells, and living cells inside organisms, at ultra-high definition and in 3D. It uses the adaptive optics techniques used to remove the ‘twinkle’ of a star caused by atmospheric distortion to create clearer images at the molecular level where a similar imaging challenge exists due to the distortions created by the murky environment deep inside cells.

It is also bringing together experts in imaging with biological and medical researchers, allowing the fundamental processes at play in diseases to be examined much more closely than ever before.

Marisa Martin-Fernandez, project leader for STFC, said: “This project is a springboard to bring together the different biomedical imaging groups on the Harwell Oxford campus, and will create a unique resource for UK scientists to help the translation of fundamental research into the clinic.”

The grant has been awarded to a consortium based at the campus, formed by the Central Laser Facility (CLF), the Research Complex at Harwell (RCaH) and MRC Harwell under the Next Generation Optical Microscopy call. Preliminary work funded by the Harwell Imaging Partnership (HIP) was crucial in securing the grant.

Megan Morys, Harwell Oxford’s Innovation Manager, said “The campus is a melting-pot of expertise across many sectors and this is the latest in a series of collaborations facilitated by the close association of scientific organisations in this unique location. Imaging is a major technology strength at Harwell Oxford and we’re delighted to see this new partnership which will enable more ground-breaking research into human diseases. This is great work by all the partner organisations.”