Science
Scientific Biography
Helen graduated from Bristol University with an MSci in Physics in 2000, and from Edinburgh University with a PhD in Soft Condensed Matter Physics in 2003.
Her PhD focused on the phase behaviour of proteins and colloid-polymer mixtures, imaged using confocal microscopy in COSMIC (the Collaborative Optical Spectroscopy Micromanipulation and Imaging Centre).
More details >>
Following a postdoc in Edinburgh studying non-equilibrium behaviour in microfluidic systems, she moved to the bioelectronics group at Glasgow University to work as part of the Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration in Proteomic Technologies RASOR (Radical Solutions for Researching the Proteome).
Her research at Glasgow involved isolating epithelial carcinoma cells in lab-on-a-chip devices for live cell imaging during exposure to drugs and growth hormones.
More details >>
Helen left full-time scientific research in 2008, but retains close links with the groups in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
She is currently working on a non-fiction novel about her research, as well as a flash fiction collection that incorporates ideas from different scientific fields including soft condensed matter, biophysics, astronomy and statistics.
Publications
Lab-on-a-chip technologies for proteomic analysis from isolated cells
H. Sedgwick, F. Caron, P. B. Monaghan, W. Kolch and J. M. Cooper, J. R. Soc. Interface 5, S123-S130 (2008).
Protein phase behavior and crystallization: Effect of glycerol
H. Sedgwick, J. E. Cameron, W. C. K. Poon, and S. U. Egelhaaf, Journal of Chemical Physics 127, 125102 (2007).
Metabolic monitoring of the electrically stimulated single heart cell within a microfluidic platform
Wei Cheng, Norbert Klauke, Helen Sedgwick, Godfrey L. Smith and Jonathan M. Cooper, Lab on a Chip 6,1424-1431 (2006).
Non-equilibrium behaviour of sticky colloidal particles: Beads, clusters and gels
H. Sedgwick, K. Kroy, A. Salonen, M.B. Robertson, S.U. Egelhaaf and W.C.K. Poon, Eur. Phys. J. E 16,77-80 (2005).
Equilibrium cluster formation in concentrated protein solutions and colloids
A. Stradner, H. Sedgwick, F. Cardinaux, S.U. Egelhaaf, W.C.K. Poon and P. Schurtenberger, Nature 432, 492-495 (2004).
Clusters and gels in systems of sticky particles
H. Sedgwick, S.U. Egelhaaf and W.C.K. Poon, J. Phys: Condens. Matter 16, S4913-S4922 (2004).
Gels in Protein Solutions, General Discussion
H. Sedgwick, Faraday Discussions 123, 82-83 (2003).
Conference Talks and Presentations
Cluster Formation in Colloidal Systems
6th Liquid Matter Conference, Utrecht, The Netherlands, 2005.
Clusters and Gels in Systems of Sticky Particles
18th Conference of the European Colloid and Interface Society, Almerimar, Spain, 2004.
Multiple Gel Transitions in Colloidal Systems
Structural Arrest Transitions in Colloidal Systems with Short-Range Attractions, Messina, Italy, 2003.
Non-equilibrium Behaviour of Lysozyme Solutions
5th Liquid Matter Conference of the European Physical Society, Konstanz, Germany, 2002.
Gelation of Lysozyme Solutions
Institute of Physics Complex Fluids Winter School, Warwick, UK, 2002.
Non-equilibrium Behavior in Protein Solutions
Faraday Discussion 123, Edinburgh, UK, 2002.
Transient Gels in Protein Solutions
Institute of Physics Condensed Matter and Material Physics Conference, Bristol, UK, 2000.
