The Tissue Issue - MIMIT™ Seminar Series
Peter Gardner joined the Chemistry Department at UMIST as a lecturer in 1994, after periods of post doctoral re
search at the University of Cambridge and the Fritz Haber Institute in Berlin. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2000 and moved to the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science upon the merger to form The University of Manchester.
Dr Gardner's research interests lie in the field of biospectroscopy, particularly infrared, Raman and THz spectroscopy of small molecules, cells and biological tissue related to cancer. He is currently involved in various areas of research one of which is Prostate cancer diagnosis using infrared microscopy of prostate tissue biopsy samples and single cells. In this project in collaboration with Noel Clark at the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, infrared microscopy is being used to study tissue samples and subsequently grade the tissue based on the spectra observed. In a pilot study it has been found that it is possible to grade the tissue spectroscopically and this opens up the possibility of developing an automated system of diagnosis. In a related project Dr Gardner is also looking at other methods of diagnosis. In collaboration with Richard Snook cells are being trapped in an optical tweezer system and there are subsequently investigations as to the fundamental mechanical properties of different cell types.
Dr Gardner's presentation was throughly enjoyed by all and we are very much hoping that Peter will once again be guest speaker at another MIMIT Seminar in 2009.
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