Supporting and Leading Research at Academic Core Facilities
Monday, July 14th, 5:30 – 6:30 PM CST
(Virtual)
Are you a STEM PhD interested in staying at the forefront of research while supporting a broad range of scientific projects?
Join myCHOICE for a panel discussion with professionals working in core research facilities at academic institutions. Panelists will share how they manage cutting-edge instrumentation, collaborate across disciplines, train users, and contribute to scientific discovery. Learn about career paths in core facility management, essential technical and leadership skills, and how to transition into these impactful, service-oriented roles within academia.
Arpita Kulkarni, PhD
Director of Functional Genomics and Bioinformatics Core, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School
Dr. Arpita Kulkarni is a cell and developmental biologist with a translational focus and currently serves as Director of the Functional Genomics and Bioinformatics Core at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School (2025–present). Previously, she served as Associate Director of the Single Cell Core at Harvard Medical School (2022–2025).
She earned her PhD from the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Germany, followed by two postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard University and Mass General Brigham/Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Kulkarni brings deep expertise in single-cell and spatial genomics and has led independent research initiatives that contributed to the development of three therapeutics in oncology, neuropsychiatry, and neurodegenerative disease. In her current role, she oversees the implementation of advanced single-cell technologies, supports translational research across disciplines, and manages the scientific, administrative, and financial operations of the core. Her background bridges developmental biology, engineering in medicine, and genomics, and she continues to mentor researchers and contribute to training efforts through her teaching roles with the Harvard Chan Bioinformatics Core.
Pei X Liew, PhD
Director of the Intravital Microscopy Core Facility, the Immunology Center of Georgia (IMMCG)
Dr. Pei X Liew is currently the Director of the Intravital Microscopy Core Facility at the Immunology Center of Georgia (IMMCG). He also has a research project that involves imaging the role of Kindlin-3 in regulating crawling and adhesion in murine neutrophils in real time using both single photon (1P) and multiphoton (2P) microscopes.
Pei X Liew attained his PhD under Dr. Paul Kubes at the University of Calgary in Canada. His Postdoctorate training was completed at Harvard Medical School under Dr. Tanya Mayadas. Pei Xiong’s expertise is in Immunology and he specializes in using Intravital Microscopy to visualize the behavior and function of immune cells in live mice using Spinning Disk Confocals, Point-scanning Laser Confocals or Multiphoton microscopes.
Pedram Esfahani, PhD
Jr. HPC System Administrator & Programmer, Research Computing Center at University of Chicago
Fu Chen, PhD
Director, NMR & EPR Facilities, University of Maryland
Dr. Fu Chen received his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Alberta, Canada in 2009 and completed postdoctoral training at Leiden University, The Netherlands and the Ames Laboratory. Dr. Fu Chen’s expertise is in both solution and solid-state NMR spectroscopy. He has over 12 years of NMR facility managing experience, including as the director of the Analytical NMR Service & Research Center at the University of Maryland (8+ years) and as the assistant manager of the Chemistry NMR facility at the University of Iowa (4+ years). As the Director, he will be training users on the instruments, guiding on experimental design, assisting with NMR analysis, teaching NMR course, helping faculty to prepare grant applications and collaborating with faculty for different research projects.
