Science Tech Forum draws experts from across region

By Jon Atherton

Technology experts gathered at West Campus May 10th for the Regional Core Facilities Technology Forum. The meeting was the first of its kind to bring together staff scientists from Yale, UConn, Wesleyan, and NYU alongside a host of technology providers to share learning and expertise across a growing network.

“Cores foster the democratization of science, enabling all scientists, no matter their experience, to make the most of the world’s best technology,” said keynote speaker Sheenah Mische, Executive Director of the Division of Advanced Research Technology at NYU Langone Medical Center.

Core facilities power scientific research by serving investigators with shared tools and technologies to optimize their research. Often unsung, the role of core staff as collaborative innovators and educators is vital to making progress towards numerous scientific advances.  

Interspersed with a range of technical talks from industry providers, the busy event heard from scholars such as Janie Merkel, Director of the Yale Center for Molecular Discover, whose organization works to connect faculty with funding for innovative research through the Program in Innovative Therapeutics for Connecticut’s Health (or “PITCH”), a State funded partnership between Yale and UConn that accelerates faculty spin out projects based on big ideas for new medicines. Daniel Schwartz, Associate Professor and Director of the Center for Open Research Resources and Equipment (COR2E), also presented on efforts to transform and expand centralized scientific core facilities at UConn.

“Events like this are critical for bringing core staff scientists together to learn, network, and grow professionally. Core facilities are the backbone of academic research - we need to cultivate collaboration among them,” said Chris Incarvito, Director of Research Operations and Technology at Yale’s West Campus.

West Campus alone is home to seven scientific cores, effectively positioning microscopy and other technological research investments into central areas for wide application across Yale. The Krios cryo-electron microscope, a technology that is enabling scientists to visualize the molecules of biological life in atomic detail, was unveiled at Yale in 2017.

The regional forum was organized by Mousumi Ghosh, Director of the West Campus Analytical Core.