
Dr. Jodie Malcolm, Dept. Biology, York
Time lapse microscopy is a valuable tool for studying cell characteristics and predicting treatment response in disease, including in breast cancer. Automated analysis of time lapse datasets is of significant interest, and recently the Brackenbury, and York Technology Facility labs have developed the CellPhe toolkit to streamline processing of time lapse data. However, researchers in low-resource settings are limited in these abilities and this project will address these challenges by generating time lapse datasets using low-cost options. The student will learn how to culture breast cancer cell lines and carry out pharmacology assays to test effects of low-dose chemotherapy on cell morphology and migration during time lapse experiments. A particular focus will be to improve the quality of data generated by ioLight and OpenFlexure microscopes. Additionally, the student will have opportunities to learn about the development of the CellPhe toolkit. The data will be shared with an international community across the US, Brazil, Nigeria and South Africa. This will foster understanding of different microscopy techniques and their uses in research, particularly in low-middle income countries. Students will need to find their own accommodation and be expected to present their findings orally at a research day in York in September 2025.