Name: Sammy Weiser Novak
Hometown: Victoria, Canada
Lab: Waitt Advanced Biophotonics Center
Lab website: https://www.salk.edu/science/core-facilities/advanced-biophotonics/
Hobbies: Surfing, making and eating food, listening to and playing music, reading
What do you study? I use light and electron microscopes to study the relationships between structure and function in living things at different spatial scales. When a researcher at Salk has a question about a structure-function relationship, they can come to me for help. I help many researchers design and perform experiments using cutting-edge microscopic techniques. I also help them with image analysis, developing software and programming solutions to turn imaging data into information and insights.
Why is it important? Not everyone can do everything at once, so it can be beneficial for institutions like Salk to delegate technical expertise common to many labs to a core facility, like the microscopy core where I work. As a core facility microscopy specialist, I can help other researchers with experimental techniques that could take years and millions of dollars to develop independently. We have ~20 high-end microscopes, including 2 electron microscopes – and I have unlimited access to all of them (endless fun)! By connecting different microscopy techniques like laser scanning microscopy and volumetric electron microscopy, we can develop a deeper and more coherent understanding of the structural basis of health, metabolism, and disease in cells and tissues. With this information, the scientific community can go on to develop interventions that can lead to translational medicine and better therapies for patients, or address climate change with biological-insights and solutions.
What piqued your interest in science? In grade 7 science, my teacher showed me how to look at swamp water and my own blood under a light microscope.
What do you like about being a scientist? I learn something new every day and am surrounded by people that excited about the things I am learning about. Another way to describe my work is that I get to work with brilliant people that bring me samples to play with on amazing toys that take pretty pictures. Those pictures help me and others understand the world around us in a deeper way, which I think is neat.
What are 5 general vocabulary terms someone should know going into your field of science?
Microscopy, gene, protein, membrane, metabolism
What are 5 specific vocabulary terms someone should know about your research?
Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, laser scanning microscopy, diffraction limit of light, fluorescence
Sneak peek! Here is a link to a video describing the structure of spiny and shaft synapses in a nerve cell.