Prof. Athene Donald - Electron microscopy and soft material biophysics
Prof. Athene Donald
Department of Physics
Electron microscopy of biological materials Deputy Head of Department (Finance) Group: Biological and Soft Systems Biography: I have been at the Cavendish since 1983, where I became a professor in 1998. Research Interests: My activity sits within the sector of Biological and Soft Systems, and focusses on using the ideas of soft matter physics to study a wide range of systems of both synthetic and biological origin. There is an emphasis on using different types of microscopy, and in particular environmental scanning electron microscopy, but these are by no means the only approaches used. We have recently been developing passive microrheological techniques for the study of heterogeneous and oriented systems (clay gels and sheared DNA respectively), we are exploring the potential of a quartz crystal microbalance to study cell adhesion and the effect of surface patterns on this, and we have a substantial effort directed at protein aggregation at intermediate lengthscales, predominantly using model protein systems including beta lactoglobulin and insulin. The unifying theme is understanding structure-function-processing relationships. My group comes from a diverse range of backgrounds, as does my funding. Selected Publications:
Director of Women in Science, Engineering and Technology Initiative (WiSETI)
Fellow of Robinson College
FRS
Research Group - Biological and Soft Systems, Physics of Medicine.
