Research

Our mission is to advance our understanding of tumour evolution using next-generation imaging sciences.

We are an international team of physicists, engineers, chemists, and biologists who work at the clinical interface. We develop novel imaging approaches that can be applied to study tumour evolution. Our imaging innovations arise primarily from low cost optics and photonics technologies, applied both in cancer models and in patients. Optical imaging is of particular interest because the absorption of light by the main endogenous ‘chromophores’ in biological tissue provides rich contrast linked to the underlying physiology or pathology of the tissue. For example, a key area of interest in the lab is using the distinct absorption spectra of oxy- and deoxy-haemoglobin to visualise changes in the tissue vascular network during the earliest stages of cancer. Importantly, we place emphasis on biological validation of our imaging biomarkers, connecting our non-invasive imaging signatures with the processes that generate them at the cellular and molecular levels.

As a team, we employ a combination of: innovative instrument design, integrating new technologies to enable advanced spectroscopy and imaging; and biophysical and light transport modelling, to better understand our imaging signals. By applying these new methods to preclinical disease models and ultimately in patients, we aim to better understand tumour evolution, from early development through to treatment resistance. You can learn more about our research interests using the links to the right.