Professor Gail McConnell

Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences

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Expertise

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Prize And Awards

Honorary membership of the British Biophysical Society: Recipient; 1/5/2023
Royal Microscopical Society Medal for Light Microscopy: Recipient; 1/7/2019
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Recipient; 25/5/2019
Tom Gibson Memorial Award: Recipient; 10/10/2014
Fellowship of the Royal Microscopical Society: Recipient; 1/5/2011
Nexxus Young Life Scientist of the Year: Recipient; 31/1/2011

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Publications

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Publications

The impact of methylparaben and chlorine on the architecture of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia biofilms: Pereira Ana Rita, Rooney Liam M, Gomes Inês B, Simões Manuel, McConnell Gail; Science of the Total Environment Vol 951 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175646
Printing, characterizing, and assessing transparent 3D printed lenses for optical imaging: Rooney Liam M, Christopher Jay, Watson Ben, Susir Kumar Yash, Copeland Laura, Walker Lewis D, Foylan Shannan, Amos William B, Bauer Ralf, McConnell Gail; Advanced Materials Technologies Vol 9 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.202400043
A novel 3D imaging approach for quantification of GLUT4 levels across the intact myocardium: Geiser Angéline, Currie Susan, Al-Hasani Hadi, Chadt Alexandra, McConnell Gail, Gould Gwyn W; Journal of Cell Science Vol 137 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.262146
Multimodal optical mesoscopy reveals the quantity and spatial distribution of gram-positive biofilms in ex vivo tonsils: Clapperton Megan, Kunanandam Tash, Florea Catalina D, Douglas Catriona M, McConnell Gail; Journal of Microscopy Vol 295, pp. 121-130 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1111/jmi.13266
Open, reproducible hardware for microscopy: Bowman Richard, Müllenbroich Caroline, Diederich Benedict, McConnell Gail, Faez Sanli, Arancio Julieta; Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences Vol 382 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2023.0112
Sensing across scales : three approaches to study biofilm oxygen gradients to inform the design of better antimicrobial therapeutics: Rooney Liam, Bottura Beatrice, Dietrich Lars, McConnell Gail; European Light Microscopy Initiative Congress 2024 (2024)

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Research

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Research Interests

The optical microscope is so important to biomedicine that it is used as an icon to symbolise all science, but in the age of lasers, computers, digital detectors and new photochemistry the basic design of this classic tool of research can be greatly improved. My research involves the development of new optical instruments and technologies for cell and tissue imaging: this includes linear and nonlinear optics, new light sources, and new ways of preparing the specimen for imaging that reveals more structural information than the light microscope can normally provide.

An example of my interests is the Mesolens, where we have redesigned the microscope so that internal details of every cell of the millions present in a biological specimen of more than 100 cubic millimeters in volume can be seen. Our microscope does not use an eyepiece for recording, since the image exceeds the power of the human eye to perceive detail: our image datasets from a volume specimen are typically hundreds of gigabytes in size. We specified the novel optics for screening transgenic mouse embryos to discover human genes that might produce congenital abnormalities, such as vascular disease, which affects approximately one in two hundred human births. However, we are now finding applications throughout bioscience, e.g. in neuroscience and developmental studies. At the Strathclyde Mesolab, a newly created MRC-supported facility, we are working with life, physical and computer scientists worldwide to explore applications of our current technology and to develop new mesoscopic imaging modes that will provide a new insight into development and disease.