Emily Louise Micklethwaite

PhD thesis:

Optical coherence tomography as a platform for renal tumour profiling and therapeutic response assessment

Kidney cancers can be either overtreated or undertreated because of barriers to diagnosis via invasive biopsies. Therefore, improved diagnosis and characterisation of kidney tumours would be a significant way to reduce these harms. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive 3D imaging technology with the capability to image large scale tissue areas, removing the need for invasive biopsies. My PhD project will first characterise the optical properties of various kidney tumour subtypes by comparing OCT imaging results with molecular and histopathological analysis, with aims to develop a comprehensive library of different renal cancel phenotypes. I will then apply OCT technology to tissue slice cultures which have been exposed to novel therapeutics, enabling the evaluation of treatment responses. The overall aims of the project are to take steps towards developing a platform for personalised medicine, with a long-term goal of enabling real-time cancel assessment, reducing the dependence upon invasive biopsies.

Who or what inspired you to pursue your research interests?

During my Master's degree and professional experience, I developed a strong interest in interdisciplinary research and in applying physics to challenges in medicine and healthcare. I am particularly interested in the development of non-invasive and non-destructive approaches to cancer detection and diagnosis, with the potential to improve clinical decision making and patient experience. My research interests bring together physics, biomedical imaging and data-driven analysis and I am motivated to translate fundamental scientific principles into technologies with a meaningful clinical impact.