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Prof Nick Stone

Personal Homepage

I lead the Biomedical Spectroscopy team exploring the novel use of novel vibrational spectroscopic techniques for point of care testing, advanced spectral histopathology and rapid in vivo diagnostics. Here we explore the power of light to measure the changes in the molecular constituents of cells and tissues as disease develops. This can be achieved in short timescales, in a minimally invasive manner using fibre optics or deep scattering methods.

Further details of my research projects can be found at the Biomedical Imaging Research page.

Basic science, translated from bench to bedside.

I have worked for most of my career at the interface between physics, engineering and medicine. I have worked been working to pioneer the field of novel optical diagnostics within the clinical environment, working closely at the clinical/academic/commercial interface to pull-through novel technologies to be used where they have most clinical need. I have worked in multi-sectoral consortia to develop clinical tools for in vivo Raman endoscopy (RECaD), SERS diagnostics (Mesophotonics), in vivo optical coherence tomography (Michelson Diagnostics), novel infrared histopathology (MINERVA).  I was recently appointed to the position of Professor of Biomedical Imaging and Biosensing at the University of Exeter, leading me to relinquish the positions of Consultant Clinical Scientist and Head of the Biophotonics Research Unit at Gloucestershire Hospitals and Professor of Biophotonics at Cranfield University. There I established an internationally recognised research unit within a district general hospital pioneering novel optical techniques for diagnostics and therapeutics.

I currently hold the positions of Honorary Consultant Clinical Scientist at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and at the Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation Trust.

Funded research projects

Projects for which I was the Principal or Co-Investigator:

2013-2016 EPSRC Healthcare Technology £971,955
2013-2016 EPSRC Healthcare Technology £748,432 (PI)
2012-2015 STFC Research Studentship £38,500 (PI)
2012-2015 LINC Research Studentship £60,000 (PI)
2009-2012 BCSP Research Studentship £45,000 (PI)
2012-2016 Minerva – FP7 €7.4M (€578,000)
2012-2015 NIHR i4i Raman Needle Probe £700,846 (£531,000) (PI)
2012-2015 Cobalt Professorship £105,000 (PI)
2010-2012 Royal College of Surgeons
2011 Commercial Consultancy Income £24,000
2011-2014 Gloucestershire NHS Research Fellowship (DEng) £30,000
2011-2013 McIntyre Clinical Research Fellowship £100,000
2010-2012 BUPA Foundation £96,016 (PI)
2010-2011 NIHR i4i FPD 1 Subcutaneous Raman £97,434
2010-2011 CRUK £25,000
2010-2011 Bowel Disease Research Foundation £30,000
2009-2012 NIHR Fellowship (in group) Raman molecular cancer diagnostics £139,221
2009-2012 STFC Research Studentship £45,000 (PI)
2009-2012 LINC Research Studentship £60,000 (PI)
2009-2012 BCSP Research Studentship £45,000
2007-2012 DH Career Scientist Research Fellowship (NIHR Senior Research Fellow) £452K (PI)
2007-2009 Dti OCT at 1 Micron: Improved ContRast for Optimal detection of Neoplasm (OMICRON) £ 553K (£55K)
2006-2009 IPEM Research Fellowship (PhD) £75K.
2006-2009 CPMS Pump Prime Fund PhD Studentship (Vascular OCT) £60K. (PI)
2006-2007  Cobalt Appeal Fund Research Bursary £24K (DM prostate cancer diagnostics).
2005-2008 Dti Nano-photonics SERS applications for clinical diagnosis. £2M (£175K).
2005-2009 (IN GROUP) Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkins Research Fellowship £200K.
2005 Co-applicant CCLRC ULTRA (Ultrasensitive Lifesciences Time Resolved Analysis).
2005-2006 CCLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory £90K.
2005 Co-applicant Framework 6: Biomedical applications of IR synchrotron radiation.
2007-2008 Cobalt Appeal Fund Research Bursary (Breast) £40K. (PI)
2005-2008 LINC Robert Dalton Research Fellowship (PhD) £60K. (PI)
2005-2008 CPMS Pump Prime Fund PhD Studentship (Lymph nodes) £60K. (PI)
2004 Cobalt Appeal Fund, £110K, Equipment funding, ‘Enhanced Pathological Diagnosis of Cancers and Pre-Cancers.’ (PI)
2004-2007 CPMS Pump Prime Fund PhD Studentship (OCT) £60K. (PI)
2004 CCLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory £75K. (PI)
2004-2008 Health Technology Device Funding (DoH) £ 290 K. (PI)
2004-2005 NHS Research Programme Funding £43K.
2004-2005 Cobalt Appeal Fund Research Bursary (Urology) £20K.
2004 Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC) £18K.
2003-2004 NHS Research Programme Funding £24K.
2002 Royal College of Ophthalmologists £5K.
2002-2006 NHS R&D Postdoctoral Research Fellowship £ 180 K. (PI)
2001-2002 Research Contract, £ 27.3 K, ‘Raman Spectroscopy for Detection of Cancer in the Oesophagus.’ (PI)
2001-2002 South West Regional Development Agency Infrastructure, £29.6 K ‘Cranfield Medical Research Centre. (PI)
1998-2001 MEDLINK (DTI & Department of Health), £928 K ‘Raman Endoscope for Cancer Detection’ (in the oesophagus).
2000-2001 South West Regional Development Agency Infrastructure, £44.8 K ‘Cranfield Medical Research Centre.’
1995-1998 Winfield Research Bursary, £48 K ‘Tissue Viability Studies in the Anterior Cruciate Ligament with Optical Spectroscopy Techniques.’ (PI)
1996 Barnwood Trust Equipment Grant, £10 K ‘Tissue diagnostics with optical spectroscopy. (PI)

Facilities

CCLRC - Rutherford Appleton Laboratory / Daresbury Synchrotron / Diamond Light Source / Aladdin Light Source (Wisconsin)

Invited Presentations

Invited presentations since Jan 2008:
2008 Invited speaker Gordon Conference, Boston, USA.
2008 Invited speaker International Conference on Raman Spectroscopy, Uxbridge, UK.
2008 National Cancer Research Institute, ‘Molecular imaging without stains using Raman spectroscopy, a potential histopathological tool.’
2008 Invited speaker SPEC Brazil ‘Early Cancer Analysis and Diagnostics Using Raman Spectroscopy.’
2009 Invited speaker International Conference on Applied Vibrational Spectroscopy, Melbourne, Australia.
2009 Invited speaker Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS), Louisville, Kentucky, USA
2009 Invited IPEM Managing Grants
2009 Invited BMLA Conference – Optical Diagnostics Keynote
2009 Invited Dundee opening new biomedical interface centre.
2009 Invited BC-ISMRM Cardiff
2009 Lecture European Biophotonics Summer School (Ireland)
2009 Invited NIHR Faculty Trainees Conference
2009 Invited NHS Employers
2009 Invited NHS CSO Conference
2010 Invited SMI Imaging in Oncology
2010 Invited LSF Annual Users Meeting
2010 Invited European Laser Association International Symposium, Taragona Spain.
2010 Invited Strathclyde University lecture programme.
2010 Invited Royal College of Radiologists ASM
2010 Invited Renishaw spectroscopy workshop
2010 Invited Deep Raman talk IRDG Manchester
2010 Invited speaker Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS), Rayleigh, North Carolina, USA – Vibrational Spectroscopy of Lymph nodes
2010 Invited speaker Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS), Rayleigh, North Carolina, USA – Blood, sweat and tears, DCDRS
2010 Invited International Cancer Colloquium – St Andrews
2011 Invited CSO Modernising Scientific Careers Higher Education Breifing Event
2011 Invited Parliamentary Science Committee
2011 Invited Healthcare Innovation EXPO Keynote speaker
2011 Invited International Conferenece on Biomaterials Science, Tsukuba, Japan (Cancelled).
2011 Invited UK Chapter of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy inaugural meeting.
2011 International Conference on Applied Vibrational Spectroscopy, Sonoma, USA.
2011 Invited iNets SW.
2011 Invited NIHR Grants workshop mentor.
2011 European Medical Physics and Engineering Conference, Dublin. 2011 – Best Oral Presentations Prize
2011 Invited KTN Network - Advances in non-invasive biosensing techniques for medical diagnostics and monitoring.
2011 Invited Nano meets spectroscopy, NPL.
2011 Invited speaker Federation of Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS), Reno, Nevada, USA – SESORS.
2012 Invited Long term conditions – Effective Cancer Care, Monitoring and Treatment.
2012 Invited UK SAS FTIR London
2012 Invited speaker ICORS Bangalore.
2012 Invited Diamond Synchrotron Users Meeting
2012 Invited Renishaw Users meeting
2012 Invited speaker RSC session – SciX – St Louis
2012 Invited Aladdin Wisconsin Synchrotron Users Meeting
2012 Invited Photonex UK
2013 Invited SciX Milwaukee
2013 Invited Aladdin Wisconsin Synchrotron Users Meeting
2014 Invited Pittcon, Chicago
2014 Invited Plenary International Conference of Raman spectroscopy, Jena.
2014 Invited Plenary SPEC Shining Light on Disease, Krakow.

Contributions to the Community

Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM)

Vice President (Academic) (2013- )
Chair Academic Advisory Group (2011-2014)
Council Member   (2011-2014)
Vice-Chair Academic Advisory Group (2010-2011)
Director of  Science Board (2008-2010)
Council Member / Trustee   (2008-2010)
Vice-Chair Scientific Engineering and Technology Committee (2006-2008)
Council Elected Member / Trustee   (2003-2006)
IPEM Academic Development Group. (2003-2010)
IPEM Scientific Committee (2004-2006)
IPEM Communications Working Group (2006-2007)
Society of Applied Spectroscopy (International)
Meggars Award Committee Member (2013- )
Chair Lippincott Award Committee (2013- )

RSC Analyst Editorial Advisory Board (2013- )
British Standards Institute Non-Ionising Radiation Safety Committee(EPL/76). (2003-2009)

British Medical Laser Association Executive. (2002- )
Head and Neck Optical Diagnostics Society Council Member (2008-   )

Diagnostic Application of Synchrotron Infrared Microscopy (DASIM) Executive (EU Framework 6 Programme) (2006-2008)
STFC Biomedical Network Member

Review panel for Soleil Synchrotron (2009-  )

Conference Organisation since 2008

2008 Programme Committee and Session Chair for Advanced Laser Technologies Focused on Biomedical Optics, SPIE.
2008 Programme committee for SPEC 2008 Brazil.
2008 Organising Committee for Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine Annual Scientific Conference, Bath.
2009 Organising Committee for Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine MPEC, Liverpool.
2010 Chair of Session and Member of Programme Committee for International Conference on Biomedical Vibrational Spectroscopy, BiOS 2010, SPIE, San Francisco, USA.
2010 Co-Chair of SPEC 2010 Manchester.
2010 Organising Committee for Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine MPEC, Nottingham.
2011 Section Chair (5 half day sessions) for Biomedical and Bioanalytical Spectroscopy at FACSS, Reno.
2011 Section Co-chair British Medical Laser Association Photodiagnostics and OCT Session organizer and chair.
2011 Session Chair and International Committee for European Medical Physics and Engineering Conference, Dublin.
2012 Chair of Session and Member of Programme Committee for International Conference on Biomedical Vibrational Spectroscopy, BiOS 2010, SPIE, San Francisco, USA.
2012 International Advisory Board. SPEC Shedding Light on Disease, Thailand.
2012 Programme Committee Photonex.
2013 British Medical Laser Association Scientific Committee, Annual meeting, Manchester.
2014 International Advisory Board. SPEC Shedding Light on Disease, Krakow.

Memberships

• Fellow of the Institution of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM).
• Member of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy.
• Registered Clinical Scientist [CS 3557]
• Chartered Scientist [PEM 108 002563]
• Fellow of the Head and Neck Optical Diagnostic Society
• Member of the British Medical Laser Association.
• Member of the Coblentz Society.

Prizes Since 2008:

2009 The Chief Scientific Officers National R&D Award.
2010 Extraordinary Scientists – Top 100 Scientists in Health.
2011 European Medical Physics and Engineering Conference – Presidents’s Prize for Best Oral Presentation.
2012 FACSS/SAS/Coblentz/ISA Award at ICORS 2012 in Bangalore.
2013 Highly Commended NHS Innovation Challenge Prizes - Earlier Cancer Diagnosis and Improving Diagnostic Investigation.