89 Beaumont Avenue
Firestone Medical Research Building #164
Burlington, VT 05405
United States
- Ph.D., Cell Biology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- M.S., Anatomy and Physiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
- B.S., Biological Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
University of Vermont Cancer Center
Areas of expertise
Cell imaging and disease
BIO
My main research focus is the development and use of a variety of microscopy-based imaging techniques and image analysis procedures in the study of cellular secretion, lung pathology, and vascular disease. These studies, involving basic, translational, and clinical research include: (1) examining aspects of porosome secretory structure and function in pancreatic acinar cells, neuronal cells, and CF-related epithelial cells using transmission electron microscopy, immunoelectron microscopy, confocal scanning laser microscopy, and atomic force microscopy (in collaboration with Dr. Bhanu Jena, Wayne State University); (2) developing novel differential expansion microscopy techniques and machine learning to investigate tissues in health and disease states (in collaboration with Dr. Bhanu Jena, Wayne State University); and (3) using multifarious microscopy-based imaging techniques in the study of lung pathology (in collaboration with members of the Vermont Lung Center and Dartmouth College). In addition to these primary research efforts, I helped establish and have serve as Director of the Microscopy Imaging Center (MIC) in the Larner College of Medicine (LCOM) at the University of Vermont (UVM), since its inception in 1993. This is an LCOM Core facility serving the imaging needs of investigators at the UVM, as well as clients from outside institutions and commercial corporations primarily located in New England. In my capacity as Director of this facility, I collaborate and consult with investigators on the proper selection and use of microscopy-based imaging systems, experimental design, and image interpretation.
I am a member of and contribute to multiple international committees and organizations created to promote best practices in experimental rigor and reproducibility. To maintain state-of the-art instrumentation in the MIC, I serve as Principal Investigator for shared instrumentation grants to support high-end equipment purchases. Recently, in addition to my role as Director of the MIC, I was appointed Director of the nascent Center for Biomedical Shared Resources (CBSR) in LCOM, an innovative concept incorporating multiple shared resources including MIC, Vermont Integrated Genomics Resource, Proteomics Facility, and Flow Cytometry. In this developing role, I oversee all aspects of CBSR operations, including staffing, instrument purchases and upgrades, billing, outreach, and client consultations. I assisted with the NIH C06 grant proposal which funded construction of the CBSR container space in the new Firestone Medical Research Building.
I was elected as a “Distinguished Educator” (highest level) into The Teaching Academy at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, and teach classes on microscopy, imaging, imaging ethics, and scientific rigor and reproducibility. I have served as a faculty member for a course offered at the Jackson Laboratories in Bar Harbor, ME, entitled “Phenotyping Mouse Models of Human Lung Disease” since its inception in 2007 (offered 11 times since 2007). I serve on the editorial boards of three microscopy-related journals, as well as Editor-in-Chief (The Americas) for the journal Histochemistry and Cell Biology. All of my academic efforts revolve around developing, using and teaching all aspects of microscopy and quantitative image analyses, including a strong focus on experimental rigor and reproducibility.
Publications
Awards and Achievements
Distinguished Educator, UVM Teaching Academy
Bio
My main research focus is the development and use of a variety of microscopy-based imaging techniques and image analysis procedures in the study of cellular secretion, lung pathology, and vascular disease. These studies, involving basic, translational, and clinical research include: (1) examining aspects of porosome secretory structure and function in pancreatic acinar cells, neuronal cells, and CF-related epithelial cells using transmission electron microscopy, immunoelectron microscopy, confocal scanning laser microscopy, and atomic force microscopy (in collaboration with Dr. Bhanu Jena, Wayne State University); (2) developing novel differential expansion microscopy techniques and machine learning to investigate tissues in health and disease states (in collaboration with Dr. Bhanu Jena, Wayne State University); and (3) using multifarious microscopy-based imaging techniques in the study of lung pathology (in collaboration with members of the Vermont Lung Center and Dartmouth College). In addition to these primary research efforts, I helped establish and have serve as Director of the Microscopy Imaging Center (MIC) in the Larner College of Medicine (LCOM) at the University of Vermont (UVM), since its inception in 1993. This is an LCOM Core facility serving the imaging needs of investigators at the UVM, as well as clients from outside institutions and commercial corporations primarily located in New England. In my capacity as Director of this facility, I collaborate and consult with investigators on the proper selection and use of microscopy-based imaging systems, experimental design, and image interpretation.
I am a member of and contribute to multiple international committees and organizations created to promote best practices in experimental rigor and reproducibility. To maintain state-of the-art instrumentation in the MIC, I serve as Principal Investigator for shared instrumentation grants to support high-end equipment purchases. Recently, in addition to my role as Director of the MIC, I was appointed Director of the nascent Center for Biomedical Shared Resources (CBSR) in LCOM, an innovative concept incorporating multiple shared resources including MIC, Vermont Integrated Genomics Resource, Proteomics Facility, and Flow Cytometry. In this developing role, I oversee all aspects of CBSR operations, including staffing, instrument purchases and upgrades, billing, outreach, and client consultations. I assisted with the NIH C06 grant proposal which funded construction of the CBSR container space in the new Firestone Medical Research Building.
I was elected as a “Distinguished Educator” (highest level) into The Teaching Academy at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, and teach classes on microscopy, imaging, imaging ethics, and scientific rigor and reproducibility. I have served as a faculty member for a course offered at the Jackson Laboratories in Bar Harbor, ME, entitled “Phenotyping Mouse Models of Human Lung Disease” since its inception in 2007 (offered 11 times since 2007). I serve on the editorial boards of three microscopy-related journals, as well as Editor-in-Chief (The Americas) for the journal Histochemistry and Cell Biology. All of my academic efforts revolve around developing, using and teaching all aspects of microscopy and quantitative image analyses, including a strong focus on experimental rigor and reproducibility.
Publications
Awards and Achievements
Distinguished Educator, UVM Teaching Academy