Larry O’Connell, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate and Founder
Imperial College London | Department of Bioengineering
Micro- and milli-fluidics, bacteriophages, surface plasmon resonance, protein immobilization, lens-free microscopy, rapid prototyping…
Currently pursuing organ-in-chip approaches to personalised medicine in ovarian cancer.
PhD Defence Presentation
In May 2022 I defended my doctoral degree awarded by Université Grenoble Alpes with specialization in biotechnology, instrumentation, signal processing and imaging for biology, medicine and the environment.
Publications
L. O’Connell, P. R. Marcoux, P. Perlemoine, Y. Roupioz. Approaching the Geometric Limit of Bacteriophage Conjugation to Gold: Synergy of Purification with Covalent and Physisorption Strategies. ACS Biomater. Sci. Eng. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.2c00386
Our article was featured on the cover of ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering
L. O’Connell, B. Poirier, O. Bratash, C. Plénière, L. Leroy, Y. Roupioz, P. R. Marcoux. Rapid Fabrication of Interdigitated Electrodes by Laser Ablation with Application to Electrokinetically Enhanced Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging. Optics & Laser Technology (2023) doi:10.1016/j.optlastec.2023.109167
L. O’Connell, O. Mandula, L. Leroy, A. Aubert, P. R. Marcoux, Y. Roupioz. Ultrafast and Multiplexed Bacteriophage Susceptibility Testing by Surface Plasmon Resonance and Phase Imaging of Immobilized Phage Microarrays. Chemosensors (2022) doi:10.3390/chemosensors10050192
L. O’Connell, Y. Roupioz, P. R. Marcoux. Container Material Dictates Stability of Bacteriophage Suspensions: Light Scattering & Infectivity Measurements Reveal Mechanisms of Infectious Titer Decay. J. Appl. Microbiol. (2022) doi:10.1111/jam.15581
L. O’Connell, Y. Roupioz, P. R. Marcoux. Optical bacteriophage susceptibility testing by SPR (surface plasmon resonance). Proc. SPIE 11661, (2021). doi:10.1117/12.2578753
P. Perlemoine, P. R. Marcoux, […], L. O’Connell, E. Lacot. Phage susceptibility testing and infectious titer determination through wide-field lensless monitoring of phage plaque growth. PLoS One 16, 1–14 (2021). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0248917
L. O’Connell, P. R. Marcoux, Y. Roupioz. Strategies for Surface Immobilization of Whole Bacteriophages: A Review. ACS Biomater. Sci. Eng. 2021, 7 (6). doi:10.1021/acsbiomaterials.1c00013
Our review article was featured on the cover of ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering
Patents:
O’Connell, Larry et al. 2023. [Method for detecting sensitivity of a bacterial strain to phages or to antibiotics] FR Patent FR2302364, filed March 14, 2023.
Employment
Aug 2024 - present
Microfluidic Systems Ltd.
Co-founder
Developing cutting-edge technology for for biotechnology research and development applications.
July 2022 - present
Imperial College London
Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Overby Group
Organ-in-Chip Approaches to Personalised Medicine in Ovarian Cancer. Development and optimization of microfluidic platforms for ex vivo drug screening on ovarian cancer explants.
Qualifications
2022
PhD in Biotechnology and Instrumentation
Université Grenoble Alpes
My doctoral work was highly interdisciplinary, drawing from topics such as surface plasmon resonance, protein chemistry, electrokinetics, phage and bacterial microbiology, lens-free and phase imaging microscopy to name just a few.
2017
Master’s in Nanoscale Engineering (cum laude)
Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon
Recipient of the Projet Avenir Lyon Saint-Etienne (PALSE) Scholarship
