We're excited to introduce our newest team members and highlight some of the important work and research happening in the FlowCam community.
The Equinox represents a turning point from one season to the next, whether summer to winter or the reverse. With daylight and darkness in equal proportions, it marks an important transition and serves as a reminder to bring balance into our lives however we can.
Warm Regards from Maine,
Cybele Brooks
Marketing Operations
Collage of the Quarter
Microcystis is a globally pervasive colonial cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) which is seen in source water systems and recreational lakes. It can produce neurotoxins and hepatotoxins and large blooms can cause illness and even death. Keep reading for a recent news story about pet deaths caused by Microcystis.
In August, Harry Nelson and Savannah Judge transported a FlowCam by ferry to the Hurricane Island Center for Science & Leadership. This beautiful island is located off the rocky coast of Maine, and hosts the Women of Water Program, a week-long summer program for female-identifying students interested in oceanography, marine sustainability, biology, maritime history, aquaculture, and more.
Using FlowCam and Machine Learning to Classify Microcystis at the Genus and Species Levels
FlowCam was recently used by a team led by Natasha Barteneva of Nazarbayev University to develop a method for the classification of Microcystis colonial morphospecies in samples obtained from a long-term mesocosm experiment (the AQUACOSM Lake Mesocosm Warming Experiment). The team tested a machine learning approach to see if they could bring species-level identification capability to FlowCam, traditionally used to identify organisms to the genus level.
Flow-Through Microscopy (FlowCam) for Estuarine Research and HAB Monitoring Tuesday, November 9th, 2:45 - 4:45 PM ET
This workshop will introduce flow-through imaging microscopy utilizing FlowCam. Participants will be encouraged to mail in a sample to be analyzed on FlowCam in real time. Three samples will be selected to illustrate the implications of variables such as settings, sampling methodology, and location on FlowCam imagery and data. Real-world samples provide opportunity for frank discussion of the technology's benefits and limitations related to estuarine environments. Throughout the workshop, we will draw comparisons to traditional microscopy and introduce plankton identification assisted by semi-automated techniques.
Showcase your research and submit your paper online. A new article collection is being curated for research topics involving the measurement of planktonic components of the pelagic ecosystem.
Frontiers in Marine Science is assembling a group of researchers whose work will be featured in this new collection, providing a unique opportunity to collaborate and have your research showcased.
Deadline for abstract submission is October 8th, with manuscripts due by February 5, 2022.
Greater Cincinnati Water Works Uses FlowCam Cyano to Monitor Source Water
Applications Scientist Kay Johnson spent several days in Cincinnati training new FlowCam users at the Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) on their new FlowCam Cyano. GCWW is located on the Ohio River across the water from Kentucky. They will be using FlowCam Cyano to count and categorize cyanobacteria and other phytoplankton populations both before and after treatment.
GCWW previously used manual microscopy to analyze water samples, but this process was laborious, and required highly trained personnel to ID plankton species. With FlowCam they will be able to produce reports more quickly, and more employees will be empowered to use FlowCam, due to VisualSpreadsheet's ability to automatically categorize organisms.
Successfully Detecting Algal Blooms in Drinking Source Water with Flow Imaging Microscopy
"[Taste and Odor] problems are not considered risks to human health, but they sometimes serve as indicators that cyanobacteria are present in sufficient quantities to create a toxin event as well. Drinking-water aesthetic quality problems can occur in many cities, and consumers often mistakenly perceive T&O as a measure of drinking water safety. T&O events can be a costly nuisance to water systems. Analytical detection of T&O compounds can be difficult because of
their varying chemistry, the different required sampling techniques and source water management, and the subjectivity of methods (Nollet & De Gelder 2014)."
So begins the story of how one drinking water utility developed a multi-layered system to proactively identify cyanobacteria problems in their water supply before they grow to noticeable or harmful levels - saving themselves a lot of time and expense.
This quarter we are pleased to welcome five new members to the FlowCam team. Keep reading to learn more about them. (Pictured left to right: Sigrid Kuebler, Becca Mimmovich, Tom Parker, Eric Gottlieb, Austin Daniels)
Sigrid Kuebler, Marketing Director
Sigrid is joining our team on the East Coast after living more than 20 years in California. Prior to that she received her Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research and her MS degree from the University of Mainz (Germany). For the past 15 years, she has served in various customer-facing roles, most recently as Senior Director of Product Strategy and Director of Customer Service at Wyatt Technology. Sigrid has a diverse background in scientific instrumentation, biopharmaceutical and particle applications, marketing, and customer advocacy. She has a strong technical background with subject matter expertise in a variety of biopharma and macromolecule applications. In her spare time, Sigrid enjoys cooking, traveling, hiking, and photography.
Becca Mimmovich, Sales Support Specialist
Becca has a BS from the University Vermont, and worked at IDEXX Laboratories in neighboring Westbrook, Maine for ten years prior to joining our team. Most recently Becca served as a Technical Support Trainer, with a focus on customer experience and process documentation. Outside of work, Becca enjoys spending time with her family, game nights, walking her dog, and gardening. Becca will serve as liaison between our field sales team and the office to streamline the quote generation process and other pre-sales activities.
Thomas Parker, Manufacturing Engineering Technician
With an Associate’s degree in Electronics Technology from Southern Maine Community College and over 20 years of experience, Thomas returns to our company as a manufacturing/engineering technician. He has spent the last few years of his career in the healthcare industry as a biomedical technician and is excited to return to the FlowCam team. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two children.
Eric Gottlieb, Engineering Director
Eric has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from SUNY Plattsburgh and an MBA from Norwich University. He has spent the past 19 years in various roles at Particle Measuring Systems (Spectris) in Boulder, CO and Singapore, most recently as Director of Americas, Life Sciences Division. Eric brings a wealth of experience in software and hardware development and exceptional knowledge of GMP and related regulatory requirements. He was instrumental in building the Life Sciences business at Spectris and is uniquely suited to lead our Engineering and Operation teams into the future. When not working, Eric likes to spend time outdoors running, cycling and hiking with his family.
Austin Daniels, Applications Scientist
Austin is a recent graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, with a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering. His dissertation was titled Flow Imaging Microscopy and Machine Learning Methods and Applications for Particle Morphology Analysis. While in Graduate school, he developed microscopy and machine learning-based approaches for diagnosing bloodstream infections in collaboration with FlowCam. Austin also developed and patented machine learning-based approaches to analyze microscopy images of protein aggregates and blood cells. Austin is looking forward to exploring new and existing applications for the FlowCam especially when combined with machine learning techniques. Austin is also an avid guitarist in his free time!
We're hiring! We were recently recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in Maine for a fourth year. View our open positions by visiting our Careers Page.