Helena Filipsson, professor at the Department of Geology, together with colleagues, has received seed funding from Lund University for the interdisciplinary project From Microns to Models: Leveraging μCT and Machine Learning for High-Resolution Morphological Diversity Analysis (MICROMORPH). The project brings together expertise in geology, biology, mathematics, and statistics, and is carried out in collaboration with LINXS and the National Research Infrastructure for Data Visualization (Infravis).
Congratulations on the grant, Helena! How does it feel?
– Thank you! It feels both exciting and inspiring. The grant allows us to test new ideas and build bridges between different research fields, united by our shared interest in image analysis.
Can you tell us about your project MICROMORPH?
– The project is about exploring nature’s forms in completely new ways. We use micro-computed tomography (µCT), a technique that creates three-dimensional images in extremely high resolution, and combine it with machine learning. Our strength is that we come from different fields – biology, geology, mathematics, and statistics – but share a common interest in automated image analysis.
We will analyze both marine microfossils (foraminifera) and cereal grains such as oats and barley. Even though these research objects may seem different, they are both excellent examples of how µCT and artificial intelligence can help us understand forms and structures in depth.
What do you hope to achieve with the project?
– We want to develop new methods to analyze complex forms and handle large datasets, thereby answering important questions. In marine paleoecology, for example, we can study how foraminifera have responded to past climate change, and in plant biology, we can gain new insights into the properties of barley and oats. At the same time, we want to refine and broaden the use of image analysis and machine learning so that the results can be of value even beyond our own research fields.
What does the grant mean for you?
– This project grew out of my and Mats Hansson’s respective collaborations with Infravis, where we realized that we had the same needs despite our different research orientations. Mats Hansson, professor of plant biology at the Department of Biology, and I therefore saw the call as a chance to develop a joint project. The seed funding enables us to launch the collaboration, test our ideas, and also recruit a young researcher – something that is absolutely crucial for building further.
What are the practical applications of the results?
– The methods can be applied in many different contexts – from interpreting how marine environments have changed over time to developing crops with improved properties. In addition, our image analysis algorithms can be used on entirely different types of biological and geoscientific materials. In the longer term, this could have an impact on food security, environmental monitoring, and sustainability research.
The collaboration builds on expertise from three of the university’s strong research environments, BECC, MERGE, and eSSENCE, and is in line with both Lund University’s sustainability efforts and the strategic investment in MAX IV. The project receives start-up funding for the period 2025–2027, with a budget of SEK 2 million. It is one of three projects to receive seed funding from Lund University.
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