News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from the Beckman Center.
Cell Sciences Imaging Facility Adds Resources to Help Researchers Use Bio-Atomic Force Microscopy
Fall 2024
Atomic force microscopy (AFM), which uses a tiny, sharp probe to map surfaces down to the nanoscale, has long been a valuable tool for materials engineers to quantitively understand the surface morphology and mechanical, electrical, magnetic, and thermal properties of their samples.
PAN’s MERSCOPE Platform Provides High-Resolution Spatial Transcriptomics for Stanford Researchers
Fall 2024
To better understand lung maintenance and how it can progress to disease, postdoctoral fellow Laura Crowley, PhD, wants to know how different cell types in mouse and human lungs are arranged, and how these cells communicate and interact. To do this, she needs not only to take precise measurements of the genes being expressed in a variety of lung cells, but also to map that gene expression spatially, on a cell-by-cell basis.
Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute’s Neuroscience Microscopy Service Merges with the Beckman Center’s Cell Sciences Imaging Facility
Fall 2024
The Neurosciences Microscopy Service (NMS), a VPDoR service facility led by Gordon Wang, PhD, has merged with the Cell Sciences Imaging Facility (CSIF), a School of Medicine service facility led by Jonathan Mulholland, to forge a unified microscopy service for the Stanford campus.
Technology Development Seed Grants: Applications Accepted Soon
Fall 2024
The Beckman Center will soon be accepting applications for the next round of Technology Development Seed Grants.
These grants support innovative projects that focus on 1) the development of new and improved instruments or devices, or 2) the development of new methodologies to be used in biomedical research.
Stanford’s Shared Facilities Make World-Class Equipment Accessible to Researchers
The operations groups within the university’s Community of Shared Advanced Research Platforms (c-ShARP) organization are increasing access to and understanding of top-of-the-line scientific facilities at Stanford. This democratization and centralization of resources encourages new ideas and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
Protein and Nucleic Acid Services Made-to-Order at PAN Facility
Fall 2023
Academic core labs such as the Beckman Center’s Protein and Nucleic Acid (PAN) Facility play a vital role in advancing biomedical research, as do for-profit life science service companies. However, the two types of labs have distinctly different missions, operate under dissimilar models, and offer different areas of expertise.
In Memoriam: Nobel Laureate Paul Berg, PhD, Founder of the Beckman Center
Spring 2023
Paul Berg, PhD, the founding director of the Beckman Center, and the Robert W. and Vivian K. Cahill Professor of Cancer Research Emeritus at the Stanford University School of Medicine, passed away on February 15, 2023, at the age of 96.
Hands-on Learning Takes Center Stage at Beckman Service Centers
Spring 2023
Two years ago, the team of instructors who teach Analytical Methods in Biotechnology, a Stanford engineering course, approached Jon Mulholland, director of the Cell Sciences Imaging Facility (CSIF) and Lisa Nichols, PhD, director of the Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting (FACS) Facility, with a proposal.
Three New Faculty Members Join the Beckman Center
Winter 2023
Please join us in welcoming three outstanding new faculty members to the Beckman Center!
· Lauren Goins, PhD
· Ruth Huttenhain, PhD
· Tino Pleiner, PhD
Alex Gao, PhD, Joins the Department of Biochemistry
Fall 2022
We are happy to announce the hiring of a new assistant professor of biochemistry: Alex Gao, PhD
Beckman Staff Inspire High School Students Through Administrative Work Study
Fall 2022
The Beckman Center is teeming with students—from undergraduates getting their first taste of science and medical students trying out basic research to graduate students immersed in their fields. But it is not just the center’s labs that teach and inspire students. For the past four years, the Beckman Center Administrative Office has been a work site for a series of students from Cristo Rey San José, a Jesuit high school in San Jose.
A Letter From Lucy Shapiro, PhD, Director of the Beckman Center
Spring 2022
I am pleased to let you know that the Beckman Center is emerging from the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic stronger than ever!
Two Generous Grants Boost CODEX Imaging Capabilities
Winter 2022
Two new grants to Beckman Center service centers expand researchers’ access to highly multiplexed tissue imaging.
A Renewed Focus on Diversity and Inclusion in the Sciences
Fall 2021
Developmental Biology graduate students ramp up efforts to make their department more diverse and inclusive.
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The Beckman Symposium Returns:
Join Us for “Pandemic Preparedness” on December 6
Fall 2024
Nearly five years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are still coping with the now-endemic virus and the consequences of long COVID. And now, another viral threat is on the horizon: the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 is infecting dairy cows and spreading among mammals across the U.S.
The Beckman Center Welcomes Will Allen, PhD
Winter 2024
Will Allen, PhD, did his undergraduate work at Brown University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and biology. After college, he attended the University of Cambridge, where he received a master’s degree in computational biology and conducted research at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology.
The Beckman Center Welcomes Sarah Bowling, PhD
Winter 2024
Sarah Bowling, PhD, completed her PhD at Imperial College London in the labs of Tristan Rodriguez and Jesus Gil, where her project focused on understanding the mechanisms and roles of cell competition in early mouse development.
Cut Your Software Costs: CSBF Offers Shared Licenses to Research Labs
Spring 2023
To help scientists save on costs, the Beckman Center’s Computational Services and Bioinformatics Facility (CSBF) offers researchers discounted and shared licenses on some of the priciest and most popular software packages.
Stanford Scientists Enjoy a Growing Network of State-of-the-Art Imaging Technologies
Fall 2022
Imaging is a mainstay of nearly every branch of biomedical research; it lets scientists visualize what they can’t see with the naked eye—the minutiae of life.
Read the full Growing Network of Imaging Technologies article
Lucy O’Brien, PhD, and Jon Mulholland Receive $600,000 NIH Grant for New Microscope
Fall 2022
Lucy O’Brien, PhD, associate professor of molecular and cellular physiology, and Jon Mulholland, director of the Cell Sciences Imaging Facility (CSIF), received a $600,000 National Institutes of Health S10 Shared Instrumentation Grant for a new Leica STELLARIS 8 DIVE microscope.
Spotlight On: The Beckman Lab Management Team
Spring 2022
At its core, the Beckman Center is a physical space—a space that brings scientists together for collaborative, innovative research.
Investing in our Service Centers: New Instrumentation
Spring 2022
The Beckman Service Centers have a goal of providing our researchers with state-of-the-art scientific technologies.
Flora Rutaganira, PhD, Joins the Beckman Center
Winter 2022
Flora Rutaganira, PhD, will join the departments of Biochemistry and Developmental Biology this fall.
A Letter From Lucy Shapiro, PhD, Director of the Beckman Center
Fall 2021
The pandemic years, which began in early 2020 as a result of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, have been some of the most difficult for the Beckman Center since its inception in 1989. Laboratory work was curtailed, service centers were closed, and dissertations were postponed.
Beckman Service Centers in the Time of COVID-19
Fall 2021
A willingness to try completely new ways of doing things helped the Beckman Service Centers continue to support researchers.
Read the full Beckman Service Centers In The Time Of Covid-19 article
Beckman Center Awards Seed Funding to Five Projects
Fall 2021
The Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine recently awarded nearly $1.1 million in Technology Development Grants to five teams of investigators.
Get to Know the Beckman Center Programs
Winter 2022
The Beckman Center supports discovery and innovation through diverse programs, including seminars, symposia, grants, and more.
Read the full Getting To Know The Beckman Center Programs article
How the COVID-19 Pandemic Changed Us
Fall 2021
Across academic departments, Beckman Center researchers and administrative staff found lasting value in new ways to communicate and collaborate.