This year we welcome Andrea J. Radtke, PhD, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID.) Dr. Radtke will give a horizon lecture on Multiplexing methods and antibody validation for large scale tissue mapping initiatives.

Dr. Radtke is an Associate Scientist at the National Institutes of Health. Andrea specializes in advanced microscopy techniques including a multiplexed antibody-based imaging method, IBEX, she developed with colleagues. Andrea is passionate about team science and leads several community efforts within the field of spatial biology.

Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Carbondale, Illinois 

Joe Cheatwood is Associate Professor and Chair of Anatomy and Neurobiology at (SIUSOM-C).  He also serves as Director of Education, Histology, and Imaging Resources for SIUSOM-C, where he oversees the Histology Core and microscopy facilities, which include light, fluorescent, and confocal microscopes. Dr. Cheatwood has utilized many different histochemical and imaging techniques in his translational neuroscience laboratory and in many collaborative research projects, spanning disciplines from comparative neuroanatomy, experimental psychology, nutritional neuroscience, reproductive physiology, and beyond.

Amber Leigh Ortiz, PhD, Senior Image Scientist at Indica Labs, Corrales, New Mexico

Amber completed her PhD in Immunology at the Anschutz Medical Campus of the University of Colorado. Her research interests were in Cancer Lung Immunology. Particularly, Innate Immunology and the effects of bacterial proteins on inflammatory activation and tumor burden. She utilized research tools such as protein production, flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry, and mouse models to investigate the immune mechanisms. Following a short postdoc, her interest in immunocytochemistry lead her to her current career in digital pathology. Today, she utilizes digital pathology and quantitative image analysis to help Pharmaceutical, contract research organizations and research institutes all around the world answer questions to achieve their research goals.

Frank Peale, MD PhD, Distinguished Pathologist, Genentech, San Francisco, CA

Frank Peale has 24 years’ experience in Genentech’s Research Pathology department collaborating with other investigators to provide tissue-based endpoints, including immunohistochemistry, for basic science and early clinical development projects. He has a particular interest in developing methods to allow antibody-mediated staining to be performed and evaluated consistently in different labs.

Leon Schermerhorn, DVM, Relief Veterinarian, VCA Animal Hospitals,
Denver, CO

Leon Schermerhorn is a licensed small animal veterinarian with a special interest in veterinary anatomic and experimental pathology. He has worked with Sally Davis on various projects including IHC protocol automation and primary cell culture of zoonotic mammalian pathogens. He particularly enjoys immunohistochemistry and exploring its uses in diagnostic and experimental settings.