PSI Biology Sandpits

Please register for this event and purchase a ticket for one or more of the below events

• 28th Feb: Biomedical engineering and clinical solutions
• 2nd March: Spectroscopy and imaging in biological systems
• 9th March: Probing dynamics and quantum effects in biology

All of the events will run from 10am - 4pm and will be hosted in the Royce Hub building with registration for the event taking place on the mezzanine. For details of each event including a list of speakers, see below and if you have any questions about these sandpits, please contact Jon Rodd (jonathan.rodd@manchester.ac.uk).

28th Feb: Biomedical engineering and clinical solutions

This sandpit will highlight the techniques available for the characterisation of biomedical devices from the internal microstructure to interactions on the atomic and molecular scale at surfaces and interfaces. We would like to invite colleagues from FMBH and related disciplines to highlight clinical issues where they think a more thorough understanding of the underlying science may be targeted by the techniques available in the Photon Science Institute.

Speakers:

• Tim Burnett “X-ray CT for Life Science Research”

• Andrew Thomas “Sum-frequency spectroscopy and near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for surfaces studies under realistic conditions.”

• Floriana Tuna “Electron Paramagnetic Resonance for Biology: Probing Electron Transfer and Metal Ion Environments”

• Alice Bowen “Electron Paramagnetic Resonance for Biology: Long Range Applications”

• Jessica Boland “Non-destructive, non-contact imaging on nanoscale length scales using scattering-type near-field optical microscopy”

• Katie Moore “Chemical mapping with NanoSIMS (Secondary ion Mass Spectrometry) at the subcellular scale.”

• Mark Dickinson “Photoacoustic imaging and polarisation sensitive optical coherence tomography”

• Peter Gardner “FTIR and OPTIR hyperspectral imaging of cells and tissue”

2nd March: Spectroscopy and imaging in biological systems

This sandpit will showcase the state-of-the-art imaging and spectroscopy equipment located in the Photon Science Institute and demonstrate examples of how it can be used to image and analyse complex biological samples to provide unique information. Instrumentation includes X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT), elemental and molecular mapping with secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR), optical imaging techniques, X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Infrared Spectroscopy.

Speakers:

• Tim Burnett “X-ray CT for Life Science Research”

• Louise Natrajan “Multiphoton imaging in biological systems”

• Mark Dickinson “Photoacoustic imaging and polarisation sensitive optical coherence tomography”

• Nick Lockyer “Chemical Imaging with Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry”

• Katie Moore “Chemical mapping with NanoSIMS (Secondary ion Mass Spectrometry) at the subcellular scale.”

• Alice Bowen “Electron Paramagnetic Resonance for Biology: Long Range Applications”

• Floriana Tuna “Electron Paramagnetic Resonance for Biology: Probing Electron Transfer and Metal Ion Environments”

• Patrick Parkinson “High-throughput optical imaging and spectroscopy, non-linear spectroscopy, single-photon measurement and time-resolved emission”

• Alex Walton “X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy”

• Iain Crowe “Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuits for chip-based sensing and imaging applications”

• Jessica Boland “Non-destructive, non-contact imaging on nanoscale length scales using scattering-type near-field optical microscopy”

• Tom Waigh “Microrheology and single molecule experiments”

• Ali Gholinia “Correlative microscopy for life science applications using PFIB and fs-laser in SEM”

9th March: Probing dynamics and quantum effects in biology

Over the past two decades, quantum effects have been proposed in biological processes spanning photosynthesis, magnetoreception, enzyme reactions, proton tunnelling in DNA and coherence in neuronal ion channels. The study of such effects is often complicated by the short time- and length-scales involved in quantum coherent processes; ultrafast optical processes and locally sensitive magnetic tools provide a route to investigate these. This sandpit is open to both PSI-based researchers working in ultrafast, optical near-field and magnetic characterization and theoretical and experimental colleagues in quantum and biological-related domains.

Speakers:

• Patrick Parkinson “High-throughput optical imaging and spectroscopy, non-linear spectroscopy, single-photon measurement and time-resolved emission”

• Jessica Boland “Non-destructive, non-contact imaging on nanoscale length scales using scattering-type near-field optical microscopy”

• Floriana Tuna “Electron Paramagnetic Resonance for Biology: Probing Electron Transfer and Metal Ion Environments”

• Alice Bowen “Electron Paramagnetic Resonance for Biology: Long Range Applications”

• Andrew Thomas “Sum-frequency spectroscopy and near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for surfaces studies under realistic conditions.”