Gladstone Revitalized Its Histology and Light Microscopy Core

Gladstone thrives on the successes of its scientists, who use visionary science and technology to overcome unsolved diseases. To support its scientists, Gladstone provides exceptional resources, some of which are available to other research organizations in the Bay Area, including the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The Gladstone Histology and Light Microscopy Core is just one example of the many resources that Gladstone offers.

The Core provides state-of-the-art services, consultation, training, and technical support for preparing histological samples and visualizing them with microscopy. They also assist with more advanced techniques, such as live-cell microscopy, three-dimensional reconstruction, and image analysis. Over the years, the Core has evolved and recently welcomed new staff to its team.

Meredith Calvert, PhD recently joined the Core as the new director. She has remarkable expertise in all aspects of biological imaging, including designing experiments, preparing samples, and processing and analyzing images.

“The Core is already a valuable resource to Gladstone and the UCSF community in general,” said Dr. Calvert. “I am really looking forward to collaborating with Gladstone researchers to expand and advance the Core beyond its current capabilities.”

Dr. Calvert was previously the director of the Bioimaging and Biocomputing Facility at the Temasek Life Sciences Laboratories in Singapore. There, she managed a large number of confocal, advanced light, transmission, and scanning electron microscopes, as well as image processing and bioinformatics. Before joining Temasek as a senior research fellow, she earned a BS in biology from Reed College and a PhD in microbiology from the University of Virginia.

Dr. Calvert joins another recent hire to the Core, Fengrong Yan. Ms. Yan is a skilled histologist, especially in neurobiology, and will serve as the Core’s senior research technologist.

“I worked as a research associate with Lennart Mucke for many years before moving to an industry job,” said Ms. Yan. “I am so delighted to be part of the Gladstone community again and to support their exciting research.”

Before rejoining Gladstone, Ms. Yan worked for Allergan as a senior professional. She earned a BS in medicine from Beihua University in China.

Montana Horwitz, who worked as an intern in the Core last year, has also joined Gladstone as a full-time research technologist. She will be supporting both the histology and microscopy components offered by the Core.

“I appreciate and am excited to be surrounded by people who are globally impacting the scientific community,” stated Ms. Horwitz. “I was thrilled to be invited to join the Gladstone community full-time.”

Ms. Horwitz earned a BA in sociology from the University of Oregon, as well as certificates in histotechnology and optical and fluorescent microscopy from Samuel Merritt College. She is pursuing a histotechnologist certification through the American Society for Clinical Pathology and will take the exam soon.

Finally, Kurt Thorn, PhD, the director of the Nikon Imaging Center at UCSF, will complete the four-person team in the Core. He is a highly skilled microscopist who will provide part-time support to the Core by consulting and assisting with writing grants and other activities. Kurt earned a BS in chemistry from Princeton University and a PhD in biophysics from UCSF, and he completed a research fellowship at Harvard University.

“I have been directing the Nikon Imaging Center for nearly 10 years, and I am very pleased to share my expertise with my colleagues at Gladstone,” said Dr. Thorn.

“The Core strives to provide the best knowledge to successfully perform your experiments,” said Deepak Srivastava, MD, who oversees the Core with Todd McDevitt, PhD. “I believe we have assembled an outstanding and diverse team that will help differentiate Gladstone in the coming years.”