DrThomas Else

I develop new ultrasound techniques to image gene expression non-invasively, deep inside the body. I work with genetically-encoded proteins called gas vesicles, structures which scatter ultrasound and can be engineered as the ultrasound analogue of the green fluorescent protein. I aim to take this technology from proof of concept status through to being a useful tool for basic life sciences research. 

Acoustic reporter genes have the potential to revolutionise how we conduct basic biological research. For the technology to be used with confidence, however, we must be able to understand and quantify its limitations. To do so, I have developed a tool that allows us to confidently detect gas vesicles and distinguish them from noise. This will help us to confidently identify gene expression or changes in gene expression when it is applied in discovery research. I presented this work at the European Symposium on Ultrasound Contrast Imaging, where I was awarded the Young Investigator Award. 

Prior to my postdoctoral work, I was a PhD student at the University of Cambridge. I worked on photoacoustic imaging, a technology that combines the molecular sensitivity of light with the deep tissue sensitivity of ultrasound. My work aimed to understand the confounding effects of skin colour in photoacoustic imaging. I designed and carried out a clinical study, alongside laboratory experiments and simulations to thoroughly characterise this phenomenon, showing that melanin in the skin severely degrades image quality in photoacoustics. I also looked at the clinical translation of photoacoustic imaging, demonstrating that photoacoustic imaging is sensitive to molecular changes associated with mitochondrial disease. To enable open science, I developed a Python toolkit for photoacoustics, called PATATO, which streamlines the process of reconstructing and analysing imaging data.