Optical computing for high-throughput biological image analysis

This project will use light to perform computations for a biophysical application. Coherent Fourier optical computing – using lasers and lens systems to perform calculations – has great potential for increasing the speed of mathematical operations, particularly those in the Fourier domain. The academic partners have a track record of applying bespoke holographic microscopy to biophysical systems [1,2,3], and we are currently investigating the swimming behaviour of the pathogenic genus Leishmania. This single-celled organism causes serious acute and chronic infections, and is the second deadliest insect-borne parasite after malaria. The parasites need to swim in order to complete their life cycle; this offers the opportunity for new interventions aimed at blocking their transmission. Holographic microscopy gives insight into cell morphology and dynamics through high-speed, three-dimensional imaging, but is computationally demanding. This project will expand upon the use of this technology toward the quantification of Leishmania motility dynamics and impact upon parasite transmission and infectivity. The commercial partners (Optalysys Ltd. [4]) have developed unique optical computing system that offers significant increase in processing speed over conventional CPU or GPU nodes. The successful candidate will work on developing and adapting existing algorithms for use with novel optical computation systems. They will spend several months working with Optalysys at their offices located in the local region.

Candidates should have a background in physics or a related discipline, and have an interest in biologically- and medically-relevant problems. This project is competition-funded, with the successful candidates receiving a 4-year BBSRC scholarship (tuition fees plus stipend, and £5k/year research and training fund) for UK students.

Eligibility: UK and EU students. Students from EU countries other than the UK are generally eligible for a fees-only award. Academic entry requirements: a first class degree in physics, computer science, bioinformatics, or a related discipline. Please note that this is a competition-funded place, so relevant a research/final-year project background is strongly desirable.

[1] Wilson et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 110(47) p.18769 (2013).

[2] Jikeli et al., Nat. Commun. 6 p.7985 (2015).

[3] Farthing et al., Opt. Express 25(23) p.28489 (2017).

[4] https://www.optalysys.com/