Meet the Franklin’s new AI secondees
We are pleased to welcome two new secondees to the Rosalind Franklin Institute, Jacqui Cole and Owen Rackham, who have joined us to contribute to the Digital Cell project, part of the Artificial Intelligence and Informatics for Predictive Biology Challenge. Bringing expertise in artificial intelligence, computation and life sciences, they will work alongside our teams to better understand the structure and organisation of cells, and to help create a detailed 3D map of a biological cell.
Jacqui Cole
Jacqui Cole is an artificial intelligence specialist with a background in physics and mathematics, currently based at the University of Cambridge. She joins the Rosalind Franklin Institute to support the Digital Cell project with AI and mathematical approaches.
Her early work focused on crystallography and molecular structure, combining experimental and computational methods. Over time, her research has shifted towards artificial intelligence for materials science. She sees strong connections between these fields, particularly in bringing experimental data and computational approaches together to better understand complex systems.
At the Franklin, Jacqui is working with the Digital Cell team to explore how high-resolution imaging data can be combined with AI. The aim is to build a detailed picture of the cell that not only shows its structure, but also allows researchers to test ideas in a simulated environment.
“Together we are trying to solve a major challenge: can we image the biological cell at a very high resolution?” she explains. “This has not been done before, at least at the resolution that we can properly understand the contents and organisation of the cell. Once we have done this, we can start running virtual experiments. This could allow us to simulate how a drug interacts with different parts of the cell. It has the potential to transform the way we look at medicine.”
Jacqui is particularly interested in working closely with experimental scientists at the Institute, including those developing advanced electron microscopy techniques. She hopes to better understand how data is generated, and how that can inform AI models.
“For those of us working in AI, understanding where the data comes from is essential. That connection between experiment and AI is where the really great things will come together.”
Owen Rackham
Owen Rackham is Professor of AI for the Life Sciences at the University of Southampton. He has joined the Rosalind Franklin Institute as a secondee to contribute to the Digital Cell project.
Originally trained as a computer scientist, Owen became interested in biology through studying nature-inspired computing. Since then, his work has focused on understanding how cells function.
Much of his previous research has used “omics” technologies, which measure the abundance of molecules within cells. While these approaches provide valuable data, they do not capture how components are organised or interact.
“The challenge is that we’ve often treated the cell a bit like a collection of parts without really seeing how they fit together,” he explains.
At the Franklin, Owen is working with imaging data that offers much higher spatial resolution, allowing researchers to see where molecules are located and how they interact. This provides a more detailed understanding of cellular processes.
“The goal is to try and improve the clarity of our understanding of the cell. The kinds of technologies at the Rosalind Franklin Institute mean that we can see at a much greater resolution what’s actually happening. We can reveal what is where at a given moment, and how those components are interacting with each other. We are aiming to build a model that captures the chain of events within the cell, so that we can better describe what’s going on.”
He is also enthusiastic about the collaborative environment at the Institute.
“It’s a place where people with different expertise come together around shared goals. Working together with people to solve bigger problems is really exciting.”
“It’s a place where people with different expertise come together around shared goals. Working together with people to solve bigger problems is really exciting.”
Together, Jacqui and Owen bring complementary expertise in artificial intelligence, computation and biology. Their work contributes to the Digital Cell project, which aims to create a detailed digital representation of a living cell. This will enable researchers to perform virtual experiments and gain new insights into cell biology and human health. In the long term, this work could help researchers better understand disease and support the development of new treatments.