Melissa Mather - ISTM's New Professor of Biomedical Imaging

I was born in Brisbane, Australia and had an interest in science from an early age. At university I undertook a Science degree (Physics Major, Maths Minor) at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Outside of university I was a member of the Young Scientists of Australia, which saw me deliver science demonstrations at schools and run a 5 day science summer school for secondary school students. I was also a volunteer at the Brisbane Science Museum and travelled to outback Queensland to volunteer on a Science and Technology train, the highlight of which was getting to drive the train!

ISTM's new Professor of Biomedical Imaging, Melissa Mather

My postgraduate studies were carried out in the Centre for Medical and Health Physics, QUT where I developed an ultrasound technique for imaging radiation dose distributions in three dimensional soft tissue phantoms. Following completion of my PhD I moved to the UK to take up a research position at the University of Nottingham developing ultrasonic techniques for characterisation of solid-in-liquid suspensions and the detection of phase transitions in supercritical fluids. I soon realised I was not inspired by slurries and took up research in the field of Regenerative Medicine where I worked on the development of sensing and monitoring techniques of Regenerative Medicine products. In 2011 I was awarded an EPRSC Career Acceleration Fellowship and in 2013 I was appointed as the Engineering lead and Deputy Director of the Institute of Biophysics, Imaging and Optical Science.

In August 2015 I moved to Keele University to take up my current post as Professor of Biomedical Imaging. I am very keen to apply my expertise in the discovery, development and translation of novel non-invasive imaging tools with a particular focus on optical, ultrasound and opto-acoustic techniques for studying samples ranging from proteins to native tissue. My move to ISTM offers me an excellent opportunity to move my work closer to the clinic by providing access to a broader range of imaging modalities (e.g. PET, MRI) and to further expand my work in the development of imaging technologies to address unmet clinical needs and deliver high impact research.