Maria Harkiolaki is the Principal Beamline Scientist for beamline B24. Maria joined Diamond in 2013 after working at the University of Oxford.
Email: [email protected]Tel: +44 (0) 1235 778757
Maria Harkiolaki is the Principal Beamline Scientist for beamline B24. Maria joined Diamond in 2013 after working at the University of Oxford.
Email: [email protected]
Maria is the Principal Beamline Scientist (equivalency to an associate professor) of the correlative cryo-imaging beamline B24 at the UK synchrotron Diamond Light Source. She is responsible for the design, build and application (including user support) and delivery of the facility which now encompasses an X-ray tomography setup with correlated super resolution fluorescence microscopy and a fully commissioned pipeline that involves all steps of the process from sample preparation to data analysis and dissemination. Her duties extend to teaching and supervision and she delivers both workshops and lectures on microscopy theory and applications (in person and online) while providing day-to-day supervision to a team of scientists, engineers, students, and technical staff.
Research-wise, she has an extensive network of collaborators (national and international from academia and industry) and a personal research portfolio that focuses on: (a) cutting-edge microscopy technology development, (b) structural cell biology and morphogenesis pathways and (c) understanding host pathogen-interactions at the cellular and molecular level with an emphasis on viral escape and clearance pathways.
Before her appointment at Diamond, Maria was a Principal Investigator at the Structural Biology Division of the Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford, UK from 2008 until 2012 (funded through a long-term fellowship from the European Molecular Biology Organisation and subsequently through a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin fellowship). Her research at the time focused on understanding the structure of molecular interactions that define antigen recognition and autoimmunity.
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* Corresponding author
** Joint first author
Dr Harkiolaki has been at Diamond since 2012. She has been involved with the design, procurement and installation of B24 components as well as the development of other high resolution microscopy methods that will be used in a correlative fashion to the data generated by the B24 full field X-ray microscope. Previously, she was a Principal Investigator at the Structural Biology Laboratory at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine of the University of Oxford. While there she worked on a range of biomedical research projects with emphasis initially on human adaptive immunity, later expanding to model studies of innate immunity. In specific, she studied MHC class II molecules relating to multiple sclerosis, MHC class I molecules relating to allo reactivity & HIV response as well as MHC class I complexes expressed upon antigenic challenge in livestock. Moreover, she has developed a library of innate immunity molecules relating to two species of honey bee: western and asiatic, to be studied further and in conjunction with emerging data from other laboratories. Dr Harkiolaki studied for her PhD at the University of York, under the supervision of Professors K. Wilson and E. Dodson.
1. A Walter, E Pereiro, M Harkiolaki. Soft X-ray tomography. Chapter 34 in “Imaging Modalities for Biological and Preclinical Research: A Compendium, Volume 1” Edits Andreas Walter, Julia G Mannheim and Carmel J Caruana. IOP Publishing Ltd. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1088/978-0-7503-3059-6ch23
2. M Harkiolaki, MC Darrow, MC Spink, E Kosior, K Dent, E Duke. Cryo-soft X-ray tomography: using soft X-rays to explore the ultrastructure of whole cells. Emerg Top Life Sci. 2018. Apr 20;2(1):81-92. https://doi.org/10.1042/ETLS20170086
3. M Spink, M Darrow, H Fisher, A Burt, K Marshall, I Luengo, M Harkiolaki, L Duke. Correlation of cryo soft x-ray tomography with cryo fluorescence microscopy to characterise cellular organelles at beamline B24, Diamond Light Source. Microscopy and Microanalysis. 2018. Aug 24(S2), 374-375. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1431927618014162
4 M Darrow, M Harkiolaki, M Spink, I Luengo, M Basham, E Duke. Cryo soft x-ray tomography and other techniques at Diamond Light Source. Microscopy and Microanalysis. 2017. Aug. 23(S1), 972-973. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1431927617005529
1. New x-ray imaging technique investigates cells hosting Chlamydiae bacteria. Physorg 2021. https://phys.org/news/2021-09-x-ray-imaging-technique-cells-hosting.html
2. 3D high-res cryo-imaging reveals organisational behaviour of chlamydiae bacteria. Diamond Light Source News 2021.https://www.diamond.ac.uk/Home/News/LatestNews/2021/22-09-21.html
3. Super-resolution 3D cryo imaging techniques for vaccine candidate assessment. Diamond Science Highlights 2021. https://www.diamond.ac.uk/Science/Research/Highlights/2021/Super-resolution-3D-cryo-imaging-techniques-for-vaccine-candidate-assessment.html
4. Kounatidis I, Harkiolaki M. Correlative imaging - a novel approach to investigate the cellular world. ScientistLive 2021. https://www.scientistlive.com/content/correlative-imaging-novel-approach-investigate-cellular-world
5. Okolo CA, Harkiolaki M. The intracellular world in 3D and in colour: developments at the biological cryo-imaging beamline B24 at the UK’s national synchrotron, Diamond Light Source. Labmate Online 2020. https://www.labmate-online.com/article/microscopy-and-microtechniques/4/diamond-light-source-ltd/the-intracellular-world-in-3d-and-in-colour-developments-at-the-biological-cryo-imaging-beamline-b24-at-the-ukrsquos-national-synchrotron-diamond-light-source/2825
6. Harkiolaki M. The dynamic duo. Diamond Light Source. ScientistLive 2020. https://www.scientistlive.com/content/dynamic-duo
1. DPhil in Chemistry (April 2002), University of York, UK.
2. BSc in Biochemistry (July 1995) Wichita State University, Kansas, USA.
Structural immunology, innate and adaptive immunity, pathogen recognition & adaptation.
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