Jul 28 2010
A researcher from Cardiff School of Biosciences, Dr. Paola Borri, has won the EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) Leadership Award of £ 1.1 million, for the following five years.
The award will support her research, and also support two PhDs, a research associate, and a research programme’s resources. The School of Biosciences will introduce a lectureship post to backup the award.
A physicist in the biophotonics area, Dr. Borri, will utilize the award to create an optical nanoscopy technology, which will help in determining the nano-scale region’s chemical composition in living cells. The technology will also enable the study of living cells in much more detail without using fluorescent staining. The technology will offer solution to study different medical and biological problems that are not possible with the current technology.
EPSRC Leadership awards are given to researchers who have the capacity to become international leaders and set new research programs. David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science, stated that these awards would help in developing new technologies for the major challenges of the future.
Dr. Borri stated that she is privileged to have received the EPSRC leadership award, adding that she is totally committed in making the optical nanoscopy technology a success. The Director of the School of Biosciences, Professor Ole Petersen, commented that the research program would help scientists in solving various difficult problems, and would establish Paola as one of the best in the biophotonics field.
Source: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/