Prof Pippa Hawes

Dr Pippa Hawes is an experienced, qualified microscopist with an established track-record in imaging virally infected animal cells and tissue. Pippa has specific expertise in confocal and electron microscopy and its application to the study of virus-host interactions.  With over 14 years’ experience operating, running and installing instruments in a high containment facility, Pippa has become an expert in this niche but expanding area of imaging.

She is regularly invited to lecture at residential courses and events in UK and further afield. Well known within the microscopy community she is a member of the Council of the Royal Microscopical Society and an active supporter of ImagingUK.  Pippa believes training and passing on knowledge to inspire future generations of scientists, particularly microscopists, is an important role for current researchers.

Recently, Pippa secured funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to expand the microscopy capabilities of The Pirbright Institute to include superresolution light microscopy and advanced transmission electron microscopy.  Consequently two new confocal laser scanning microscopes (Leica SP8 and Leica SP8 STED), a new 200kV TEM (JEOL 2100F) with in-column gaseous decontamination system, and a 120kV TEM (FEI T12) have recently been installed in the bespoke Bioimaging Suite within the National Virology Centre: Plowright building at Pirbright.