澳门六合彩appReceives Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Award to Fund New Imaging Scientist

Contact: Diana Kenney dkenney@mbl.edu; 508-289-7139

WOODS HOLE, Mass. 鈥 聽Microscopy innovator Abhishek Kumar, Ph.D., has received a national award from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) to join the staff of t澳门六合彩app (MBL) as a key collaborator in the聽MBL鈥檚 Imaging Initiative, an emerging, interdisciplinary center dedicated to research, discovery, and training in biological imaging and analysis.

Kumar is one of 17聽聽by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Redwood City, Calif.-based philanthropy.聽聽will receive three years of salary support at one of 17 imaging centers across the United States.

Abhishek Kumar with a super-resolution optical microscope he built in collaboration with James Marr of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Credit: Anthony MautinoAbhishek Kumar with a super-resolution optical microscope he built in collaboration with James Marr of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Credit: Anthony Mautino

鈥淢icroscopy鈥娾斺妕he core method of cell biology鈥娾斺奿s central to basic biomedical science,鈥 said Edwin McClesky, Science Program Officer at CZI. 鈥淚mproving imaging means improving broad areas of biomedicine, which is central to CZI鈥檚 mission of supporting the science and technology that will make it possible to cure, prevent, or manage all diseases by the end of this century.鈥

Kumar brings expertise in developing optical (light) microscopes to the 澳门六合彩appImaging Initiative鈥檚 extraordinarily fertile environment for collaboration, innovation, and dissemination of discoveries. Hundreds of scientists, faculty, students, and industry experts convene at the 澳门六合彩appeach year for research at the interface of biology, microscopy instrument development, and computational image analysis. Kumar will be directly engaged in imaging research and training, and will also catalyze collaborations and help ensure that innovations are disseminated quickly and broadly through the MBL鈥檚 educational courses and workshops.

鈥淎ll microscopes have strengths and weaknesses, depending on the biological problem you are trying to solve. That鈥檚 why we are developing all types of instruments for specific needs and applications,鈥 Kumar said. 鈥淥ne of my goals at the 澳门六合彩appis to innovate new imaging technologies that address an increasingly diverse set of biological questions, ranging from the development of new model systems, to the structure of microbial communities, to understanding how organisms adapt to ecological changes.鈥

鈥淲e are very grateful for this CZI Imaging Scientist award to Dr. Kumar, which will help ensure that 澳门六合彩appwill continue to lead as a catalyst in advancing imaging technologies and driving biological discoveries,鈥 said 澳门六合彩appDirector Nipam Patel. 鈥淒r. Kumar will be a key contributor to our Imaging Initiative, which seeks to synergize and accelerate the innovation cycle in imaging and image-analysis technologies at MBL, and disseminate new findings widely throughout the broader community.鈥

Kumar is presently an Assistant Scientist at the University of Maryland, College Park, and he is already embedded in the MBL鈥檚 innovation culture. After receiving his Ph.D. in physics at University of Massachusetts, Lowell, in 2013, Kumar began a postdoctoral position with neurobiologist Daniel Col贸n-Ramos of Yale Medical School and biophysicist Hari Shroff from the National Institutes of Health. The three scientists began building a light-sheet microscope for fast, gentle live imaging of cells and smaller embryos, such as聽C. elegans聽(roundworm) embryos. That summer, they convened in the MBL鈥檚 Whitman Center to finish developing the instrument there.

Kumar developed control software for this new microscope (), which allowed them to map brain-wide activity of the developing聽C.elegans聽nervous system during embryogenesis. He then became part of a wider collaboration at 澳门六合彩appto develop a light-sheet system to map the location and 3D orientation of single molecules in cells.

Kumar received a Grass Fellowship at 澳门六合彩appin 2015, and has participated in the MBL鈥檚 Analytical and Quantitative Light Microscopy course.

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罢丑别听Marine Biological Laboratory聽(MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery 鈥 exploring fundamental biology, understanding marine biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the 澳门六合彩appis a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the聽.