
Dr Catrin Williams
Sêr Cymru II Research Fellow
- williamscf@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2087 0292
- Room C3.13, Queen's Buildings - Central Building, 5 The Parade, Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 3AA
Overview
Health, Technology and the Digital World
I have multi-disciplinary research interests, from pure microbiology to physico-chemical techniques and microwave engineering. My work addresses important research themes, including antimicrobial resistance, biomedical imaging and bioelectromagnetics. The latter is the focus of my current Sêr Cymru II Fellowship (sponsored by the ERDF, Welsh Government and Cardiff University), where I am investigating fundamental interactions between microwave fields and biological systems. These include bioluminescence in the bacterium, Vibrio fischeri, calcium signalling in human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, ‘suicide’ in cancer cells, and DNA release in hospital ‘superbugs’. Potential biomedical applications of this work include enhanced methods to treat and detect these diseases.
I am also a keen science communicator, media commentator and STEM ambassador.
Biography
During my research career to date, I have developed a strong cross-disciplinary theme, applying novel physico-chemical techniques to address important questions in biology.
Education and qualifications
2009-2013: PhD (Microbiology), Cardiff School of Biosicences
2005-2008: BSc (hons) Microbiology, Cardiff University
Career overview
2016-present: Sêr Cymru II Research Fellow, Cardiff School of Engineering
2014-2016: Sêr Cymru (NRN) Postdoctoral Research Associate, Cardiff Schools of Bioscience & Engineering
2013-2014: KTP Postdoctoral Research Associate, Cultech Ltd. & University of Reading
Honours and awards
2017: Wales Online’s Top 35 Business and Professional Women Under 35 award
2017: Telegraph’s Top 50 Women in Engineering award, see Figure 4
2015 & 2012: Awarded 1st prize for student poster presentations at the NRN Distinguished Lecture and All Wales and South West Microbiology Forum, respectively, both at Swansea University
2013: Certificate of Commendation by the Zoological Society of London for the Thomas Henry Huxley award
2009: City and Guilds Professional Development Award
Professional memberships
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), membership number: 93806199
- Society for General Microbiology (SGM), membership number: 1081390
- Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM), membership number: 504010
- Associate Fellow of The Higher Education Academy, recognition reference: 51715
- STEM Ambassador: ID number 211056
Speaking engagements
Oral presentations
2017: International Microwave Symposium (Invited Speaker), Honolulu, USA, and GW4 Biosensors Workshop, Bristol and Exeter, UK
2016: International Microwave Symposium, San Francisco, USA
2014: Edward Llwyd Society (Invited Speaker), National Eisteddfod, Llanelli, UK
2011: Plant-Micro Wales, Bangor, UK, and European Congress of Protistologists, Berlin, Germany
2010: Plant-Micro Wales, Aberystwyth, UK, and International Society of Protistologists, Canterbury, UK
Poster presenations
2017: Microbiology Society Annual Meeting, Edinburgh, UK
2015: Society for General Microbiology Annual Conference, Birmingham, UK; GW4 Biosensors Workshop, Bath, UK and NRN Distinguished Lecture Event, Swansea University, UK
2013: European Netowrk for Gastrointestinal Health Research, Valencia, Spain
2012: 5th International Conference on Anaerobic Protists, Los Angeles, USA, and All Wales and SOuth West Microbiology Forum, Swansea, UK
2011: European Congress of Protistologists, Berlin, Germany and Nano Meets Spectroscopy, London, UK
2010: British Society for Parasitology, Cardiff, UK, and South Wales and South West Microbiology Forum, Cardiff, UK
Committees and reviewing
2016-present: Member of the Athena Swan Self-Assessment Committee
2015-present: Review Editor for Frontiers in Microbiology
Publications
2020
- Ahortor, E. K.et al. 2020. The biological effect of 2.45 GHz microwaves on the viability and permeability of bacterial and yeast cells. Journal of Applied Physics 127(204902), pp. IMPORTED. (10.1063/1.5145009)
- Lloyd, D.et al. 2020. Functional imaging of a model unicell: Spironucleus vortens as an anaerobic but aerotolerant flagellated protist. Advances in Microbial Physiology 76, pp. 41-79. (10.1016/bs.ampbs.2020.01.002)
2019
- Williams, C. F.et al. 2019. Bioluminescence of Vibrio fischeri: bacteria respond quickly and sensitively to pulsed microwave electric (but not magnetic) fields. Journal of Biomedical Optics 24(5), article number: 51412. (10.1117/1.JBO.24.5.051412)
- Malyshev, D.et al. 2019. Model of microwave effects on bacterial spores. Journal of Applied Physics 125(12), article number: 124701. (10.1063/1.5085442)
- Groves, L. M.et al. 2019. Fluorescent functionalised naphthalimides and their Au(i)–NHC complexes for potential use in cellular bioimaging. Dalton Transactions 48(5), pp. 1599-1612. (10.1039/C8DT04069A)
- Williams, C. and George, C. 2019. Connect and conquer: collectivized behavior of mitochondria and bacteria. Frontiers in Physiology, pp. -. (10.3389/fphys.2019.00340)
2018
- Williams, C.et al. 2018. Real-time microscopic observation of biological interactions with microwave fields. Presented at: International Microwave Biomedical Conference (IMBioC), Philadelphia, USA, 14-15 Jun 2018International Microwave Biomedical Conference (IMBioC). IEEE pp. 199., (10.1109/IMBIOC.2018.8428902)
- Leitsch, D., Williams, C. F. and Hrdy, I. 2018. Redox pathways as drug targets in microaerophilic parasites. Trends in Parasitology 34(7), pp. 576-589. (10.1016/j.pt.2018.04.007)
2017
- Langdon-Jones, E. E.et al. 2017. Luminescent 1,8-Naphthalimide-Derived ReI Complexes: syntheses, spectroscopy, X-ray structure and preliminary bioimaging in fission yeast cells. European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry 2017(44), pp. 5279-5287. (10.1002/ejic.201700549)
- Pope, S. J. A.et al. 2017. Anticancer, azonafide-inspired fluorescent ligands and their rhenium(I) complexes for cellular imaging. European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry 2017(3), pp. 759-766. (10.1002/ejic.201601271)
- Williams, C. F.et al. 2017. Corrigendum to The redox-active drug metronidazole and thiol-depleting garlic compounds act synergistically in the protist parasite Spironucleus vortens [Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 206 (1-2) (2016) 20-28]. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 211, pp. 104. (10.1016/j.molbiopara.2016.07.007)
2016
- Williams, C. F.et al. 2016. What the deep sea can tell us about microwaves. Presented at: International Microwave Symposium IMS, San Francisco, California, 22-27 May 2016Microwave Symposium (IMS), 2016 IEEE MTT-S International. IEEE, (10.1109/MWSYM.2016.7540432)
- Williams, C. F.et al. 2016. The separated electric and magnetic field responses of luminescent bacteria exposed to pulsed microwave irradiation. Applied Physics Letters 109(9), article number: 93701. (10.1063/1.4961970)
- Williams, C. F.et al. 2016. The redox-active drug metronidazole and thiol-depleting garlic compounds act synergistically in the protist parasite Spironucleus vortens. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 206(1-2), pp. 20-28. (10.1016/j.molbiopara.2016.03.001)
2015
- Lloyd, D. and Williams, C. F. 2015. Avoid excessive oxygen levels in experiments with organisms, tissues and cells.. Advances in Microbial Physiology 67, pp. 293--314. (10.1016/bs.ampbs.2015.09.001)
- Stacey, O. J.et al. 2015. Water soluble, cyclometalated Pt(II)–Ln(III) conjugates towards novel bimodal imaging agents. Chemical Communications 51(61), pp. 12305-12308. (10.1039/C5CC02623G)
- Lloyd, D. and Williams, C. F. 2015. New tunes from the heart. Biophysical Journal 108(8), pp. 1841-1842. (10.1016/j.bpj.2015.01.041)
- Williams, C. f.et al. 2015. Comparative analysis of intestinal tract models. Annual Review of Food Science and Technology 6(1), pp. 329-350. (10.1146/annurev-food-022814-015429)
- Lloyd, D.et al. 2015. Motility of the diplomonad fish parasite Spironucleus vortens through thixotropic solid media. Microbiology 161(1), pp. 213-218. (10.1099/mic.0.082529-0)
2014
- Lloyd, D. and Williams, C. F. 2014. Comparative biochemistry of Giardia, Hexamita and Spironucleus: Enigmatic diplomonads. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 197(1-2), pp. 43-49. (10.1016/j.molbiopara.2014.10.002)
- Williams, C. F.et al. 2014. Antioxidant defences of Spironucleus vortens: Glutathione is the major non-protein thiol. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 196(1), pp. 45-52. (10.1016/j.molbiopara.2014.07.010)
- Lloyd, D.et al. 2014. Intracellular oxygen: similar results from two methods of measurement using Phosphorescent nanoparticles. Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences 7(2), article number: 1350041. (10.1142/S1793545813500417)
2013
- Millet, C. O. M.et al. 2013. Mitochondria-derived organelles in the diplomonad fish parasite Spironucleus vortens. Experimental Parasitology 135(2), pp. 262-273. (10.1016/j.exppara.2013.07.003)
- Williams, C. F.et al. 2013. Diversity in mitochondrion-derived organelles of the parasitic diplomonads Spironucleus and Giardia. Trends in Parasitology 29(7), pp. 311-312. (10.1016/j.pt.2013.04.004)
- Pritchard, V. E.et al. 2013. Simple Polyphenyl Zirconium and Hafnium Metallocene Room-Temperature Lumophores for Cell Imaging. Organometallics 32(12), pp. 3566-3569. (10.1021/om400212y)
- Williams, C. F. 2013. Life cycle, biochemistry and chemotherapy of Spironucleus vortens. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.
- Williams, C. F.et al. 2013. Non-invasive investigation of Spironucleus vortens transmission in freshwater angelfish Pterophyllum scalare. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 105(3), pp. 211-223. (10.3354/dao02618)
- Leitsch, D.et al. 2013. Unexpected properties of NADP-dependent secondary alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH-1) in Trichomonas vaginalis and other microaerophilic parasites. Experimental Parasitology 134(3), pp. 374-380. (10.1016/j.exppara.2013.03.034)
2012
- Williams, C. F.et al. 2012. Disrupted intracellular redox balance of the diplomonad fish parasite Spironucleus vortens by 5-nitroimidazoles and garlic-derived compounds. Veterinary Parasitology 190(1-2), pp. 62-73. (10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.05.011)
- Joshi, L. T.et al. 2012. Contribution of Spores to the Ability of Clostridium difficile To Adhere to Surfaces. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 78(21), pp. 7671-7679. (10.1128/AEM.01862-12)
- Balasingham, R.et al. 2012. Gold(I) complexes derived from alkynyloxy-substituted anthraquinones: Syntheses, luminescence, preliminary cytotoxicity, and cell imaging studies. Organometallics 31(16), pp. 5835-5843. (10.1021/om300475y)
- Fernández-Moreira, V.et al. 2012. Bioconjugated rhenium(I) complexes with amino acid derivatives: synthesis, photophysical properties, and cell imaging studies. Organometallics 31(16), pp. 5950-5957. (10.1021/om300610j)
- Balasingham, R. G.et al. 2012. Biologically compatible, phosphorescent dimetallic rhenium complexes linked through functionalized alkyl chains: syntheses, spectroscopic properties, and applications in imaging microscopy. Inorganic Chemistry 51(3), pp. 1419-1426. (10.1021/ic201654d)
- Williams, C. F.et al. 2012. Evaluation of two novel methods for assessing intracellular oxygen. Measurement Science and Technology 23(8), article number: 84005. (10.1088/0957-0233/23/8/084005)
2011
- Millet, C. O.et al. 2011. Effect of garlic and allium-derived products on the growth and metabolism of Spironucleus vortens. Experimental Parasitology 127(2), pp. 490-499. (10.1016/j.exppara.2010.10.001)
- Thorp-Greenwood, F. L.et al. 2011. A 'Sleeping Trojan Horse' which transports metal ions into cells, localises in nucleoli, and has potential for bimodal fluorescence/PET imaging. Chemical Communications 47(11), pp. 3096-3098. (10.1039/c1cc10141b)
- Williams, C. F.et al. 2011. Spironucleus species: economically-important fish pathogens and enigmatic single-celled eukaryotes. Journal of Aquaculture Research & Development(S2), article number: 2. (10.4172/2155-9546.S2-002)
- Millet, C. O.et al. 2011. In vitro culture of the diplomonad fish parasite Spironucleus vortens reveals unusually fast doubling time and atypical biphasic growth. Journal of Fish Diseases 34(1), pp. 71-73. (10.1111/j.1365-2761.2010.01213.x)
2010
- Fernández-Moreira, V.et al. 2010. Uptake and localisation of rhenium fac-tricarbonyl polypyridyls in fluorescent cell imaging experiments. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry 8(17), pp. 3888-3901. (10.1039/c004610h)
Teaching
Outreach
2017: National Eisteddfod of Wales: NRN exhibitor in the Science Pavilion
2017: Soapbox Science presenter, Swansea, see Figure 5.
2016-present: Various outreach activities within the School of Engineering and in collaboration with Science Made Simple, e.g. ‘Skype and Engineer’, ‘Superheros’ engineering videos and Smallpiece tours.
2013: Contributor for a BAFTA-nominated documentary on the life of Alfred Russel Wallace: “Darwin, y Cymro a’r cynllwyn” (S4C).
2009-2013: Various outreach activities within the School of Biosciences, including National Science Week activities and University open days.
My Sêr Cymru II fellowship aims to address a fundamental biophysical question: how do microwave fields interact with biological systems?
Radio frequency and microwave-based technologies have become ubiquitous in our modern, urban environment and play a critical role in society as a whole. These technologies have shaped the way we communicate (e.g. radio, telephones and Wi-Fi), travel (e.g. radar and GPS) and treat diseases (e.g. thermal ablation of cancer and heart disease). However, despite their widespread use, we do not have a thorough understanding of how the microwave fields emitted from these devices affect processes at the molecular level, leading to therapeutic or destructive biological effects.
This gap in our knowledge is reflected in the International Agency for Research on Cancer classification of microwave radiation from mobile phones as ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’. Furthermore, current safety standards for human exposure to microwaves, set by government agencies, vary across the world. Moreover, these safety standards only consider the thermal effects of microwaves to be relevant, despite the fact that there is mounting evidence which supports non-thermal mechanism(s) of interaction of microwaves in biology. Conversely, microwaves also have therapeutic value, and are used clinically in the ablation of tumours and cardiac arrhythmias.
Understanding the biophysical and molecular basis behind this non-thermal mechanism of action, as well as the induced biological consequences, will facilitate further research into optimizing the microwave dose required for therapeutic applications and serve to better inform government agencies on safety limits for human exposure.
During my previous position as a National Research Network Postdoctoral Research Associate (NRN 062), we showed that light emission from the bioluminescent marine bacterium, Vibrio fischeri (see Figure 1) is rapidly increased in pulsed microwave electric fields, but diminished at higher power levels. Whereas in pulsed microwave magnetic fields at 100-fold higher powers there are no short-term detectable effects (see Williams et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 109 (9), 093701, 2016).
I am building on this research in order to address the following aims:
- Optimize and validate the use of a coplanar waveguide device to allow microscopic observation of the real-time effects of low and high frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs, see Figure 2).
- Investigate non-thermal biological effects of EMFs and characterise the molecular and biophysical mechanisms which lead to therapeutic and/ or pathophysiological outcomes.
- Determine whether the same mechanism of action is transferrable across two domains of life: from bacterial organisms to the complex network of cells which comprises the human heart, separated by ~3-4 billion years of evolution.
My work utilizes a combination of engineering, applied biology and physico-chemical techniques in order to address the following objectives:
- To develop a standardised methodology for comparing the effects of different EMF-utilizing devices in terms of pulse patterns, frequency and power intensity on Vibrio fischeri and hESC-CM cells using the coplanar waveguide launchers integrated into the microscope set-up.
- To separate the thermal and non-thermal effects of EMFs by measuring localized intra-and extra-cellular temperature changes during EMF irradiation by developing novel ruthenium and europium-based luminescent temperature probes.
- To determine whether exposure of biological systems to 50 Hz and 2.45 GHz frequency EMFs disrupt or enhance cell-cell communication, and to probe the biochemical and molecular pathways involved in eliciting these effects.
This work is sponsored by the European Regional Development Fund (see Figure 3), the Welsh Government and Cardiff University.
Contracts
Title | People | Sponsor | Value | Duration |
---|---|---|---|---|
National Eisteddfod Outreach Fund | Dr CF Williams | National Research Network in Advanced Engineering and Materials | £500 | August 2017 |
Small Equipment Research Fund | Dr CF Williams | Cardiff School of Engineering | £5700 | July 2017 |
Conference Grant | Dr CF Williams | Microbiology Society | £270 | April 2017 |
Ser Cymru II Fellowship | Dr CF Williams | European Regional Development Fund, Welsh Government and Cardiff University | £185,298 | 2016-2019 |
Small Equipment Research Fund | Prof A Porch and Dr CF Williams | Cardiff School of Engineering | £16,932.73 | July 2015 |
Conference Grant | Dr CF Williams | Microbiology Society | £350 | April, 2015 |
Scientific Meeting Travel Grant | Dr CF Williams | Microbiology Society | £350 | July, 2011 |
Charles Coles Travelling Scholarship | Dr CF Williams | Cardiff University | £400 | March 2011 |
Travel Scholarship | Dr CF Williams | Welsh Livery Guild | £500 | 2010 |
Travelling Fellowship | Dr CF Williams | Journal of Experimental Biology | $800 | August, 2010 |
Travel Award for Students and Postdocs | Dr CF Williams | International Society for Protistologists | $500 | July, 2010 |
Gillian Powell Memorial Travel Scholarship | Dr CF Williams | Cardiff University | £100 | January, 2010 |
Supervised Students
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