Nongjian Tao, PhD, director of the Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute and professor in the School of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, talks to contributing editor Tanuja Koppal, PhD, about a new technique called plasmonic-based electrochemical microscopy (P-ECM) developed in his lab for imaging localized chemical reactions from single nanoparticles. He talks about the advantages of this technique when compared to conventional optical microscopy and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and its potential uses in diverse areas.

David Patterson, PhD, professor of computer science at the University of California at Berkeley, talks to contributing editor Tanuja Koppal, PhD, about big data—what it is, where it applies, and what lab managers can expect to gain by investing in it. He also provides guidance on where people can get more
information about (and help with) big data and the possible concerns they need to be aware of.

Louis Scampavia, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Molecular Therapeutics at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida, talks to contributing editor Tanuja Koppal, PhD, about how automation has been a critical part of their high-throughput screening activities. He goes into the details of what can and should be automated and the due diligence that needs to be performed before these decisions are made—decisions that have a long-standing impact on the workings of a lab.

Philip Schwartz, PhD, supervisor and senior scientist and director of the National Human Neural Stem Cell Resource at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County Research Institute, talks to Contributing Editor Tanuja Koppal, PhD, about the subtle particulars and expertise needed to design and maintain a laboratory dedicated to culturing stem cells.

Justin Ringling, senior scientist in Analytical R&D at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, talks to contributing editor Tanuja Koppal, PhD, about his work, which involves developing and validating analytical methods using HPLC, UHPLC, ICP, and MS.

Contributing editor Tanuja Koppal, PhD, talks to Sunia Trauger, PhD, director of the Small Molecule Mass Spectrometry facility at Harvard University, about the recent trends in mass spectrometry. Advances in instrumentation, automation, and remote access seem to be leading the way to improved detection, faster results, and more diverse applications. While challenges in sample prep and data analysis remain issues, access to emerging informatics tools and experience handling and analyzing samples seem to mitigate some of the problems.

Tips for evaluating and implementing the right electronic lab notebook (ELN)

Gary W. Procop, MD, MS, chair of the Department of Molecular Pathology, section head of molecular microbiology, and director of mycology and parasitology at the Cleveland Clinic, talks to contributing editor Tanuja Koppal, PhD, about the clinic’s $75 million state-of-the-art medical testing laboratory that opened in 2012. The building houses microbiology, molecular pathology, cytogenetics, and immunopathology as well as administrative offices. He talks about the thinking that went into designing the building and its labs and shares some insights on what people need to consider when embarking on such initiatives, however small or large. He emphasizes that both people and laboratories should always be open to change, making way for new advancements in science and technology.

Angelo Filosa, PhD, associate director in chemistry and head of Analytical Chemistry and Compound Management at Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd., discusses the pros and cons of consolidating the servicing of all his laboratory equipment with one vendor.

Scott Martin, Ph.D., team leader for RNA interference (RNAi) screening at the National Institutes of Health, Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, talks to contributing editor Tanuja Koppal, Ph.D., about recent trends in the use of different types of cells and reagents for screening drug targets and cellular pathways.

Matthew Sullivan, an environmental specialist in the Field Operations section of the Bureau of Environmental Services for the city of Portland, Oregon, talks to contributing editor Tanuja Koppal, Ph.D., about how field testing, particularly for water analysis, has changed over the years. The testing equipment is now better suited for field analysis, in terms of its size, compactness, and robustness. The newer instruments have also allowed for sampling and testing to be done remotely and in an automated fashion. Overall, field instrumentation is striving to provide faster, cheaper, more robust, and more real-time measurements for routine analysis.

Joel Dudley, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences and Director of Biomedical Informatics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, talks to contributing editor Tanuja Koppal, Ph.D. about the current changes impacting bioinformatics.