This £5 million programme is made possible through funding from the Wellcome Trust Bioimaging Technology Development initiative.
Today, pathologists diagnose disease by analysing razor thin two-dimensional tissue sections under a microscope. But all components of the tissue, as for example cells and blood vessels, are three-dimensional objects. This is why the team will investigate how the analysis of the complex 3D tissue anatomy can aid the development of more informative disease models. Work in prostate cancer, bone marrow and skeletal health, and kidney disease, aims to connect fundamental pathological processes such as the build-up of scar tissue (fibrosis), inflammation, and changes in the vasculature. Using a concrete set of studies, the research programme will demonstrate potential impact on human health.
The programme is led by Professor Jens Rittscher, professor at the Department of Engineering Science in Oxford, and involves medical image analysis specialist Professor Konstantinos Kamnitsas, kidney disease expert Associate Professor Katherine Bull, Nuffield Department of Medicine, prostate cancer scientist Professor Ian Mills, Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences and bone marrow expert Associate Professor Daniel Royston, Radcliffe Department of Medicine. In Cape Town, Dr Bianca Davidson leads the kidney disease study with clinical scientist Dr Nicola Wearne, Groote Schuur Hospital, pathologist Dr Brendon Price, Anatomical Pathology, and imaging expert Dr Michael Reiche, Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine. Internationally, the team will collaborate with Yale University, Charite in Berlin and US National Cancer Institute.
Read the full story on the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences website.