Staff case study: Luke Clifton
08 Sep 2024 - Rosie de Laune
Instrument scientist on the muon beamlines, part of the team developing Super-MuSR. Rhea did her PhD in St Andrews focussing on magnetism and superconductivity. This is where she got her first taste of doing muon experiments, at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) investigating thin films using low energy muons.
Dr Luke Clifton earned his individual merit promotion in April 2024 for advancing bio-membrane research at ISIS to address global healthcare challenges, fostering growth within the life science user community.
Luke has led the development of capability to reliably generate and examine realistic bio-membrane systems that can be used to study a range of biological processes ranging from quantitative assay systems to antimicrobial resistance. In doing so, he has engaged an international community of research groups and facilities, resulting in a large increase in proposals for beam time on ISIS reflectometers for membrane research. More broadly, this work is building awareness in the life science community of the relevance of neutron techniques, which complement the methods that are typically employed by this community.
Luke’s work focusses on using neutron reflectometry to probe the changes in the molecular composition and structure of bio-membranes during biochemical processes, using the unique capabilities of neutron scattering to do this. His future research will deliver new insights and research capabilities that align with the healthcare challenge area identified in the ISIS Science Strategy, and broaden and share this expertise to support the wider growth of the community in this societally-impactful research. Luke has led the development of bio-membrane research at ISIS and the Individual Merit position will enable him to deliver the ambitious research programme and the benefits described within.
