You don’t know what you can’t see

The living organisms from protozoans to humans possesses specialized cells antennae, known as cilia/flagella. These microscopic structures receive the information and process it. In recent decades, scientists have identified the importance of cilia in disease development, including establishment of body’s asymmetry, brain, eye, and heart diseases. Advances in microscopy means we can see these structures and identify the errors in cell signalling. This talk will explain the role of cellular antennae in our body to help us understand the human diseases better.

Blood flow to the brain must be strictly regulated to maintain healthy function. Blood flow is controlled by constriction and dilation of arteries. Arteries are able to constrict and dilate due to the movement of calcium ions in muscle cells of arteries. We can image calcium movement in these arterial cells in order to understand changes in blood flow in different diseases. My research focuses on Alzheimer’s Disease, in which one of the earliest indicators of disease onset is a reduction in brain blood flow.

Biomedical researchers spend a lot of time looking down the microscope at cells and their subcellular structures. We are interested in changes at this microscopic level as they underpin the function of the human body. For centuries, the light microscope has been one of our best tools for studying health and disease, but its resolution is limited by the wavelength of light. The electron microscope, which makes use of electrically charged subatomic particles instead of photons, has ushered in a new age of discovery across all fields of biology, including cardiovascular science.