Holly Linford is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Dr Antonio Benedetto’s NanoBioPhysics lab at University College Dublin, Ireland, investigating the interactions of ionic liquids (ILs) with biomembranes and live cells by atomic force microscopy and other approaches, as part of a 4-years cross-disciplinary major research grant recently awarded to Dr Benedetto by Science Foundation Ireland. ILs are known to interact with the cell membrane and this is thought to be key to their toxicity. By using AFM in combination with biological assays, the group aims to determine the mechanism of action of ILs and identify effects at subtoxic concentrations.
Holly Linford
Recent AFM-related papers:
Biography: Holly began her journey in science in the chemistry department of Durham University (UK) and there discovered a love for advanced microscopy during her master's project. Following on from that, she took up AFM as part of her PhD at the University of Leeds (UK) with Dr Simon Connell. In this, Holly used AFM, along with a wide range of other biophysical and biochemical techniques, to probe the polymers and interactions that play a role in inter-cell adhesion in plant tissue. After completing her PhD, Holly moved to Dublin to join the group of Dr Antonio Benedetto at UCD, continuing to use AFM as a key technique for mechanical characterisation of cells on the nanoscale, this time looking at the interactions of ionic liquids with the mammalian cell membrane.
Twitter: @HollyVLinford
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-linford-5bb280159/
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