Then a leap

All good things

From 1995 to 2001 I conducted my own experiments and supported the other researchers at DuPont Pharmaceuticals. In 2001 Bristol Myers Squibb purchased the company and in the span of one year closed down the research site I worked at.

My wife and I relocated to the Boston area where she was offered a nice research position. I relocated and was rehired by Bristol-Myers Squibb at the Medical Imaging site in Billerica, MA.

There I was able to reacquire a majority of the equipment I used at the DuPont site. I then set up a histology lab and a shadow of my digital darkroom.

Over the next 4 years I researched vulnerable plaque, PET perfusion imaging agent, and a variety of other imaging agents, mainly cardiovascular. I applied my knowledge and expanded into new technical areas like autoradiography, cellular kinetics, and special histology stains. All the histology efforts on the site were conducted by myself and my part time intern, Be Luu. Her attention to detail and concentration on the tasks at hand produced samples demonstrating morphology in cryosections better than what I have seen in paraffin sections produced by contract labs.

Again I conducted my own research and supported both discovery and development with my microscopy and imaging skills. Under my supervisor - Padmaja Yalamanchili I was given the opportunity to learn and grow not only in my imaging and histology skills but also in cell biology, tissue based assays, and radioligand based research.

The discovery biology group was small (< 20) and everyone needed to be able to conduct a wide variety of work. The Discovery Biology group put together and managed by Simon Robinson was a dedicated and talented group of people doing extraordinary work in both scientifically and productively with very limited resources. I was proud to be part of that team.