Martin Farley is the Associate Director of Environmental Sustainability at UKRI. He has worked extensively around sustainable research and developed the LEAF programme, and is currently leading UKRI’s SPARKHub. He is the editor of the book titled “The Sustainability of Science”, and initiated sustainable science & laboratory programmes at Edinburgh, King’s College London, and UCL, as well as co-founded UK Network for Sustainable Research (formerly LEAN).
Richard Haindl is a Principal Investigator in Host-Pathogen Imaging at the Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering at the Medical University of Vienna. Trained in medical physics, he develops imaging methods and quantitative analysis tools for biomedical research. His work spans optical coherence tomography, photoacoustic imaging and multimodal microscopy, with applications ranging from ophthalmology and pharmaceutical imaging to organoid and tissue models.
Through the European ISIDORe research infrastructure programme, he contributed to the development of label-free, multimodal 3D imaging workflows for infected organoid and tissue models, extending his work into infectious disease. His current research addresses host-pathogen interactions in tuberculosis. One recent example is his work on the higher-order architecture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis biofilms, combining structural and spectroscopic imaging with biochemical approaches to investigate how these bacterial communities are organized. Alongside experimental imaging, he develops quantitative image-analysis, machine-learning and software tools to extract information from imaging data beyond standard analysis workflows.
He is also a Unit Head within Austrian BioImaging/CMI, the Austrian Node of Euro-BioImaging, where he represents optical coherence tomography and photoacoustic microscopy and contributes to providing access to these technologies for the wider research community.
Saskia Lippens holds a Ph.D. in Biotechnology from Ghent University. With over a decade in fundamental Life Sciences research at Ghent University and the University of Lausanne, she switched gears in 2012 when she joined the endeavor to launch VIB's BioImaging Core. Initially, her primary focus revolved around the implementation of volume EM and the development of correlative light and electron microscopy workflows, catering to diverse research domains within the Life Sciences.
In 2017, Saskia took on the role of Head of the Bioimaging Core, where she expanded its capabilities and services. In 2023, she assumed the position of Deputy Technology Director at the core facilities program that is branded as VIB Technologies, and works together with the VIB Technology Director and a team of over 100 tech professionals dedicated to advancing life science research through cutting-edge technology.
Saskia's passions are deeply rooted in interdisciplinary collaboration and the creation of frameworks to attract, nurture, and cultivate the talent needed to drive future life science technologies.
Sebastian Peer is a postdoctoral researcher in the Cytometry Unit Innsbruck, where he is responsible for operating a range of instruments. He currently serves as Vice President of the Austrian Society for Cytometry.
After obtaining his master’s degree in Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of Innsbruck in 2014, he completed the doctoral programme Molecular Cell Biology and Oncology at the Institute of Cell Genetics, Medical University of Innsbruck, in 2019. His doctoral research focused specifically on T-cell biology.
He continued this research as a postdoctoral researcher, during which he already used several instruments at the Cytometry Core Facility, before joining the facility in 2023. Since then, he has supported a variety of research groups in operating the FACSDiscover S8, Cytek Aurora 5L, Symphony A5, and MACSima systems, continually expanding his technical and cytometry expertise.
Gerald is the Head of the Flow Cytometry Facility at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Rome, Italy. His career in advanced biological research and flow cytometry spans decades and continents, beginning with his studies in Austria, where he earned a Master's in Biology and two PhDs in Biology/Protistology and Biomedical Sciences. Gerald also holds a Specialist in Cytometry (SCYM) certification from the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP). Before joining EMBL in 2021, he led the Bio-optical Center of the Institute for Biomedical Aging Research in Innsbruck, contributed to research at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Brazil, trained professionals across Europe in flow cytometry and cell sorting for BD Biosciences in Belgium, and developed and managed the Flow Cytometry Core Facility at the Qatar Biomedical Research Institute. Gerald is passionate about exploring new technologies and in general embracing new experiences and challenges - especially in international and multicultural settings.
Gert Van Isterdael is head of the VIB Flow Core Ghent. After obtaining his Bachelor of Science, he was subsequently a member of the De Jaeger lab (2003-2007) and the Beeckman lab (2007-2013) at the VIB Center of Plant Systems Biology (PSB). During his time at PSB, he became the cell sorter operator for the department and his passion for flow cytometry started. Early 2013, he joined the VIB Center for Inflammation Research (IRC) in the Lambrecht and Hammad lab. He became responsible for all flow cytometers and cell sorters located at IRC and was strongly involved in the conception of the IRC Flow Core facility, which matured in the VIB Flow Core Ghent. His primary role is to provide flow cytometry expertise to the users of the core facility.
He is an active member of ISAC, the International Society for Advancement of Cytometry and has received an ISAC SRL Emerging leader award (2016-2020).
