The Etch A Cell Team

The Francis Crick Institute

Lucy Collinson
Head of Electron Microscopy
Lucy is Head of the Electron Microscopy Science Technology Platform (EM STP) at the Francis Crick Institute in London. She has a research background in microbiology and cell biology, and previously ran biological EM facilities at UCL and Cancer Research UK. The EM STP works with research groups at the Francis Crick Institute to address a range of biological questions that involve imaging a diverse range of samples, from molecules to whole organisms.
 

Martin Jones
Deputy Head of Microscopy Prototyping
Martin is Deputy Head of Microscopy Prototyping at the Francis Crick Institute in London. Originally an experimental physicist, with an interest in evolutionary and adaptive computation, he switched to biological research at Cancer Research UK’s London Research Institute. After initially working in a vascular biology lab, Martin joined the Electron Microscopy Science Technology Platform where he now works on developing new hardware and software solutions to help acquire and efficiently interpret image data.
 

Helen Spiers
Zooniverse Biomedical Research Lead
Dr Helen Spiers is the Biomedical Research Lead of the Zooniverse (www.zooniverse.org). Currently based across the University of Oxford and The Francis Crick Institute, where she is presently seconded, Dr Spiers collaborates with multiple national and international research groups to develop, deploy and novel biomedical citizen science projects. Although diverse in subject matter, these projects are united by the common aim of applying collective intelligence to perform distributed data analysis of large volumes of biomedical data. Additionally, Dr Spiers analyses the meta-data produced by the Zooniverse platform and applies citizen science to advance electron micrograph segmentation approaches. Prior to her current role, she completed a PhD in developmental epigenetics at King’s College London after obtaining a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford.
 

Anne Weston
Senior Laboratory Research Scientist
Anne is a Senior Laboratory Research Scientist within the Electron Microscopy Science Technology Platform at the Francis Crick Institute in London. She has a background in Zoology and Bioinformatics. She first began working in the field of electron microscopy during her undergraduate degree in 1996 and her work involves the use of scanning and transmission electron microscopes and microCT systems studying a variety of cellular and biological systems.
 

Christopher Peddie
Principal Laboratory Research Scientist
Chris is a Principal Laboratory Research Scientist within the Electron Microscopy Science Technology Platform at the Francis Crick Institute in London. Originally a biochemist, he has a background in light and electron microscopy of central and peripheral nervous systems, and in cell biology. At the Francis Crick Institute, his work focuses on the development and application of complex 3D imaging techniques and technologies to answer the biological questions from research groups within the institute.
 

Amy Strange
Head of the Crick Digital Development Team
Amy Strange leads the Digital Development Team for the Francis Crick Institute, focussing on the delivery of digital and web development projects across both science and operations.
 

Matt Russell
Senior Laboratory Research Scientist
Matt is a Senior Laboratory Research Scientist within the Electron Microscopy Science Technology Platform at the Francis Crick Institute in London. He has a background in intracellular membrane trafficking and organelle biogenesis research in animals and yeast, using approaches centred on light and electron microscopy. At the Francis Crick Institute, his work focuses on answering subcellular biological questions, usually in isolated cells, from the institute research groups. He enjoys addressing these questions using a range of appropriate electron microscopy techniques, often correlated with other types of analysis. He is also interested in how features from volume EM images can be modelled, and those models then analysed to extract meaningful data.
 

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King's College London

Jez Carlton
Jez Carlton runs the Organelle Dynamics laboratory at the Francis Crick Institute and King’s College London. His group focuses on the membrane-bound compartments within cells, and how they are rearranged during cell division. Jez has a background in microscopy and cell biology and has worked on a number of aspects of membrane trafficking and cell division. Jez is an EMBO Young Investigator and a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow.

Guy Pearson
Guy Pearson is a postdoctoral researcher in Jeremy Carlton’s lab at the Francis Crick Institute. One of his main projects in the Carlton lab is to understand how the Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) remodels during cell division. He first became interested in the ER during his PhD at the University of Cambridge.

Hannah Jones
Hannah Jones is a PhD student in Jez Carlton’s lab at the Francis Crick Institute and King’s College London. The focus of her PhD project has been to investigate ER (endoplasmic reticulum) remodelling in dividing cells, using a combination of different microscopy approaches.