The Programme Committee for “Advances in Photonic Tools and Techniques for the Life Sciences” conference in Glasgow has announced their choice of invited Keynote speaker.

Prof Banafshé Larijani will give a headline presentation on “Oncoprotein activation and dynamics in cancer: A new vision of cancer diagnostics”. Banafshé Larijani is the Director of the Centre for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) at the University of Bath and her Cell Biophysics laboratory is currently bridged between the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology at Bath and The Biophysics Institute (Instituto Biofisika) at the University of the Basque Country, Spain. 

Her earlier career path has led her to be Head of Cell Biophysics Laboratory at Cancer Research UK, followed by (in 2014) award of an Ikerbasque Research Professorship at the Biophysics Institute and the Research Centre for Experimental Marine Biology and Biotechnology (PiE) Bilbao, Spain. She holds adjunct professorships with Stony Brooks University NY and University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA, (USA).

Professor Larijani's laboratory is cross-disciplinary, drawing upon the physical sciences to develop novel avenues for investigation of biological processes in signalling. Her fundamental research involves the application of quantitative imaging (FRET-FLIM) for investigating molecular mechanisms of phosphoinositide-modifying and phosphoinositide-dependant enzymes and has resulted in various clinical applications.

Other speakers include Dr Caroline Muellenbroich (University of Glasgow), Dr Marti Colom-Cadena (University of Edinburgh), Dr (Associate Prof) Viji Draviam (Queen Mary University of London), Dr Brian Patton (University of Strathclyde), Dr (Associate Prof) Jonathan Shephard, Heriot Watt and Dr Juan Varela (University of St Andrews).

The one-day conference takes place at the Technology and Innovation Centre at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow on 5 June 2019, one of the co-located events at Photonex Glasgow.

The organisers are keen to involve Young Researchers and a ‘Call for Posters’ is downloadable here - click here