bioinformatics - Machine learning for light microscopy -- problems to solve?

I would like solve some biological problems that would improve the state-of-the-art of biology or bioinformatics. In particular, I want to apply machine learning on light microscopic images. The equipment and experience I have are:

• Bright-field, dark-field, and phase-contrast microscopy


• Modern laptop


• 56-core super-computer with >100 GB of memory (on request)


• Intricate knowledge of machine learning algorithms and signal processing


• PhD-level research skills


• Programming skills that would get me to work at Google


• Limited knowledge about biology, bioinformatics, and microscopy (yet)

I want to do some publishable research free from all academic hassle. I will do this solely on my own time, without hurry to publish, in an attempt to do something good for the mankind. I can throw a few hundred dollars on the project every two months (or abour 1000 USD per year).

Much of the biological research published in Science, Nature, PNAS, Cell, etc. are so specialized that I find it difficult to detect important problems I could have a good chance of solving given my skill set. Thus, I am asking your help:

• What kind of software you always wanted for light microscopic research, but did not know how to build?


• What are some important biological problems you would like to get solved? (For machine learning, problems with a binary decision task are particular well suited -- e.g. "does this person have malaria or not"?)


• What are some recent, high quality reviews on open problems in biology?


• Something else?

While my question is a bit broad, I think this goes under the "good intention" (or whatever it is called) SE policy.