A Letter From Lucy Shapiro, Ph.D., Director of the Beckman Center

Dear faculty, staff, students, and postdoctoral fellows at the Beckman Center,

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!

Despite the ongoing nature of the pandemic, and the curtailment of research activities over the last two years—which were necessary to protect faculty, staff, and students—we are in even better shape now than we were in early 2020.

Much of the credit for our current strong position goes to our outstanding lab management staff throughout the center, who have been instrumental in hastening the return of research capabilities. I hope you will enjoy reading about our lab managers and the extraordinary work they did during the pandemic in Spotlight On: The Beckman Lab Management Team.

Another bright spot during the pandemic has been the Beckman Service Centers, where staff members used the last two years to plan and actively invest in innovative new technologies that our researchers will need going forward. Since March 2020, we have invested close to $4.1 million, from numerous funding sources—a remarkable achievement! Be sure to read Investing in the Beckman Service Centers in this newsletter, to learn more about our new instrumentation and how these new technologies could benefit your research.

I also have good news regarding the Beckman Center’s extensive educational programs, which have long been highly appreciated by our faculty, staff, and students. While some of these programs were postponed or available only virtually during the pandemic, we are now ramping back up our full complement of programs.

For those who might not be familiar with these programs, we are dedicated to funding educational programs that highlight cutting-edge research, disseminate information about the latest research tools, and train researchers in the use of new technologies. We host annual symposia on numerous research topics, and sponsor seminar series such as the Frontiers in Biological Research Seminar Series, the Regenerative Medicine Seminar Series, the Get the FACS Seminar Series, and the What’s the SCOPE Seminar Series, to name just a few.

Our educational efforts also include the Beckman Center Medical Scholars Program. Launched in 1997, this program supports outstanding young medical students who are interested in doing translational biomedical research under the direction of a participating faculty member. Our support for these physician scientists also aligns with other goals of the Beckman Center: to mentor promising young researchers, and to ensure that the results of basic and applied research are made broadly available for clinical use and practical application.

You can read more about all of these programs in the Beckman Center 2022 Annual Report, which will be available soon.  

I hope you enjoy the Spring 2022 issue of Beckman Center News. If you have ideas for topics we can cover in future newsletters, please contact us at naomi.love@stanford.edu.

Have a wonderful summer!

Sincerely,
Lucy Shapiro, Ph.D.
Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor of Cancer Research
Director, Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine

For more information (media inquiries only), contact:
Naomi Love
(650) 723-8423
naomi.love@stanford.edu