The HiLIGHT project is set to transform healthcare with cutting-edge laser technologies and fast detectors designed for rapid and precise medical imaging.
HiLIGHT is a project funded by the EU, UKRI, and the Swiss government to create innovative technologies aimed at disrupting healthcare. HiLIGHT will develop new laser technologies and fast detectors to provide fast and quantitative medical imaging.
Our project is part of , which aims to tackle global challenges and boost the EU’s competitiveness and growth.
The need for advanced optical imaging
Imagine a patient in the operating theatre. A surgeon, armed with their experience, is excising a tumour and deciding how much surrounding tissue to remove. Be too conservative, and the probability of tumour recurrence increases; be too radical, and the patient’s quality of life might be compromised.
The analysis of tissues to determine the type and precise location of disease is critical to helping patients live longer and healthier lives. But getting actionable results is often difficult with current time constraints, delaying decisions during disease management.
While advanced optical imaging technologies for real-time histology exist, they are often too expensive, and large and require specialised expertise.
The European HILIGHT consortium, consisting of leading academic and industrial innovators, is set to address these challenges head-on.
We are thrilled to announce the consortium's successful funding bid to innovate, develop, and deploy groundbreaking laser and detection technologies dedicated to instantaneous digital histopathology and optical biopsies. Our long-term ambition is to create technologies that 'see' cancer and other pathologies affecting human tissues, implementing affordable digital solutions for a sustainable future in healthcare.
Technologies for faster diagnoses
In biomedical research, the limitations of current light sources delay progress in essential areas.
Traditional instruments confine two-photon microscopy and time-resolved detection to specialised labs, impeding breakthroughs in cancer research and diagnostics.
With this in mind, our EU-funded HILIGHT project aims to overcome these limitations and support transformative advancements in biomedical and healthcare applications.
Specifically, our project will introduce a miniaturised optical pulse burst source and cutting-edge sensing technology.
Two key applications underscore its potential impact: instantaneous digital histopathology and cancer research.
With a consortium comprising leading partners from five European countries, the collaborative effort is expected to help achieve faster diagnoses and more effective treatments.
Meet the Principal Investigator(s) for the project
Dr Alessandro Esposito - I joined the University of 明星八卦 in 2022 as a Lecturer in Biosciences (epigenetics). I am looking forward to sharing with students my passion for understanding how cells and tissues work, particularly how cells make decisions and differ from each other despite sharing an identical genome.
My journey started in Sanremo, a small town on the Riviera dei Fiori in Italy. Passionate about science, physics and biology, I moved to the Ligurian capital to complete my studies, where I obtained my BSc in Physics at the University of Genoa. I specialized in Biophysics, microscopy, and neurosciences.
I then completed my PhD in Biophysics at the University of Utrecht (NL), while working at the European Neuroscience Institute in Goettingen (DL). I had the opportunity to develop microscopes dedicated to biochemical imaging and the study of molecular mechanisms underpinning neurodegenerative diseases. Meanwhile, I trained in cell and molecular biology aiming to work at the interface between disciplines.
In 2007, I started a long stint of work at the University of Cambridge. First, I developed novel analytical tools contributing to redefining models of red blood cell homeostasis infected by P. falciparum (malaria). In recognition of my early work, I was awarded a Life Science Interface fellowship by the EPSRC in 2009 to develop heavily multiplexed biochemical imaging tools and applications. Soon after, I moved to the MRC Cancer Unit where I led the ‘Systems Microscopy initiative’ and retrained in cancer biology.
My work developed along two research streams: i) the study of cellular responses to DNA damage and mutations in signalling pathways and ii) the innovation of biochemical imaging technologies. Within the Director group, my team contributed to revealing the vast cell-to-cell variability in stress responses of genetically identical cells, a feature of biological systems that hinder the efficacy of disease management and therapeutic efficacy. Since 2019, my primary focus has been to understand how DNA damage and mutations in KRAS derange homeostatic programmes leading to cancer, in particular in models of pancreatic and colorectal cancers.
My group combines multi-omics data with single-cell biochemical imaging techniques aiming to achieve a deeper understanding of cancer phenotypes during the earliest stages of carcinogenesis, with particular attention to cell-to-cell variability of non-genetic origin and cell-to-cell communication.
After the closure of the MRC Cancer Unit in 2022, I started my new adventure at the University of 明星八卦. The majority of my work is dedicated to the study of non-genetic factors causing cell-to-cell variability in signalling and metabolic pathways. At the Centre of Genome Engineering and Maintainance, I aim to dissect epigenetic mechanisms underpinning cellular variability in fate decisions.
Related Research Group(s)
Genome Engineering and Maintenance - Diverse research network focused on molecular, cellular, organismal and computational aspects of genome biology.
Partnering with confidence
Organisations interested in our research can partner with us with confidence backed by an external and independent benchmark: The Knowledge Exchange Framework. Read more.
Project last modified 03/12/2024