Author

Takeo Ogama is a senior product and strategy planner and a product manager for microscope cameras at Evident. He has eight years of experience working in the research and development department for various products, including cameras, and eight years of product planning, marketing, and management experience. He holds a master’s degree in neutrino physics from Osaka University in Japan.

Alket Mertiri, PhD has a background in optics and photonics. He received his PhD in materials science and engineering from Boston University where he worked on developing novel microscopy techniques. From 2018–2019, he was an associate product manager at Olympus, advancing scientists’ research by finding solutions from basic microscopy to advanced technology like total internal reflection microscopy.

Lauren Alvarenga is a senior product manager for clinical microscopy at Evident. She specializes in objective lenses and imaging software. She holds a Bachelor of Science in biomedical photographic communications from the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Ralf Schaefer graduated from Hamburg University with a degree in chemistry. He has worked in marketing communications in various technical environments for several agencies and companies. Ralf drove and shaped the visibility of the microscopy and industrial businesses at Olympus in various projects and roles.

Kerry Israel is the Manager of Marketing and Communications for Life Science at Evident. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brandeis University, and more than 15 years of experience in all aspects of marketing, from advertising and social media strategy to grassroots outreach. 

Alec De Grand is a product manager for virtual slide scanning and upright microscopes for life science at Evident. He has been with Evident for over 10 years, during which he has managed clinical products, marketing initiatives, imaging courses, and trade shows.

Carlo Alonzo, PhD is sales representative for life science microscopy at Evident. He helps scientists identify and understand technologies that support their research goals. His interest in biomedical optics drew him to the academic community in Boston, where he spent several years immersed in research using multiphoton microscopy. He holds a doctorate in physics from the University of the Philippines and pursued postdoctoral training at the Technical University of Denmark and the Massachusetts General Hospital of Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Joanna Hawryluk is a product manager for research imaging at Evident Scientific located in Waltham, Massachusetts. She received her doctorate degree from the University of Connecticut within the department of Physiology and Neurobiology. She has been with Evident since 2017 and is currently responsible for laser scanning microscopes, 3D cell analysis software, and lightsheet microscopes.

Laz Amador is a senior manager with the national applications team at Evident. Laz has 36 years of experience in microscope sales and has been with Evident since 1988. Prior to joining the applications team, Laz was the executive director of technical marketing in Latin America. Laz lives in Weston, Florida, with his wife, Jan.

Rebecca holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Endicott College and writes about trends and technologies in science and industry. She works closely with Evident engineers and scientists to write pieces about the latest laser scanning, super-resolution, multiphoton, upright, stereo, and inverted microscope systems, as well as leading-edge optics, cameras, and software. Follow her work to learn about Evident's latest for numerous applications, including cytology, pathology, education, and more.

James Lopez received his PhD in biomedical sciences from the University of Chicago in 2010. With nearly a decade of experience in calcium imaging, FRET, live cell imaging, and intravital imaging, James joined Evident as a confocal and multiphoton sales representative. He later transitioned to Evident’s Life Science Applications Group supporting confocal and multiphoton systems. Now he manages the Life Science Applications Group in the US, Canada, and Latin America markets.

Matthew Weitzman holds a PhD in biological sciences from the University of Delaware and has numerous years of advanced imaging experience. From 2014–2021, he worked with Olympus’ confocal and multiphoton imaging systems to assist with product development and application support.

Janeen Manning is a product manager for clinical and educational microscopes at Evident. Before joining Evident, she worked for a medical device company specializing in infectious diseases. She has a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry, microbiology, and molecular biology from the University of Maine and a Master of Liberal Arts in biotechnology from Harvard University.

Christopher Higgins is the business development manager for life science at Evident. A 24-year veteran of the microscopy field, he has spent much of his career in product management and applications for a wide variety of biological light microscopes used in both research and clinical applications.

In his current position, Chris works directly with researchers and pathologists on the development of new technologies and applications. Images captured with today’s virtual microscope systems tell the stories of not only individual cells but entire tissues, and are vital for research, education and more. Chris believes the next great frontier is preparing whole slide imaging and artificial intelligence analysis to enter its next era as it moves toward acceptance for wider application in the clinical realm.

A member of the Digital Pathology Association, Chris holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami. He is an avid outdoorsman and accomplished nature photographer, and lives in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, USA.

Dr. Cheng-Hao Chien received his PhD in biophotonics from National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan, and pursued postdoctoral training at the Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston. With a decade of experience in advanced microscopy and life science research, he worked with Olympus’ multiphoton microscopy and customized solutions from 2020–2021 to provide product and application support.

Brendan Brinkman spent years working in the stem cell field, including primary mouse neurosphere derivation. He joined Evident after several years as a core imaging facility manager and assisted in building novel systems. In 2017, he returned from 2.5 years with Evident Tokyo, where he helped develop next-generation solutions.

Dr. Rebecca Bonfig completed her graduate work at the University of Louisville in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, studying the post-transcriptional regulation of the renal phosphate transporter Npt2a by parathyroid hormone. From 2015–2022, Dr. Bonfig worked with our confocal microscopes, supporting the FLUOVIEW™ series as a product manager at Evident. 

Shohei Imamura is a strategic project manager at Evident. He has four years of experience working in scientific microscopy sales and seven years of experience in product planning, strategic project management, and project execution. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Meiji University in Japan.

Dr. Gulpreet Kaur completed her PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied organelle biology using live-cell spinning disk confocal microscopy.

Dr. Kaur has over six years of experience in microscopy, and has worked on various technologies including confocal, spinning disk, super resolution, and light sheet imaging. She served as a trainer for a microscopy and image analysis core facility at University of Wisconsin-Madison and consulted with scientists on experiment design and optimization of imaging conditions.

From 2018–2022, Dr. Kaur helped scientists apply Evident’s microscopy and imaging technologies in their research projects.

Sarah Williams worked for nearly a decade as a researcher and copywriter in the broadcast media industry. Now Sarah applies her skills as a writer and editor to produce compelling, high-quality material on topics related to Evident’s wide range of life science solutions. She writes about the latest laser scanning, multiphoton, super-resolution, stereo, upright, and inverted microscope systems, as well as the optics, cameras, and software that support them. She also explores their applications and contributions to cytology, pathology, education, and other fields. Sarah works at the office in Quebec City, where she resides with her partner, David, and her three children, Sophie, Anouk, and Éloi. 

Mike Woerdemann earned his PhD in optical tweezer technology based on structured light fields. He worked as an application specialist supporting high-content screening systems for many years, and during that time he gained in-depth, practical knowledge of the field. Mike is now a product manager for high-content screening stations and deep-learning products developed at the EVIDENT Technology Center Europe.

Chunsong Yan is a business development manager for life science at Evident in Australia and New Zealand. He is currently responsible for confocal, multiphoton, light sheet, and slide scanning systems. Since joining Evident, Chunsong has worked in various roles while always striving to offer the best imaging solution to customers.

Bunryu Arashi works as an OEM manager at Evident in Europe. With 12 years’ experience in microscope product development, Bunryu has designed objectives and camera adapters, as well as illumination optical systems for BX™ and CKX™ series microscopes. He has a master's degree in engineering from Osaka University in Japan.

Craig Rappaport is a senior microscope sales representative for Evident Life Science. He has 26 years of microscope sales experience, along with a dozen years in scientific and technical marketing. Since joining Evident, Craig has worked on market analysis, voice of customer surveys, and new product research. He has been with the sales team since 2012 covering San Diego and Imperial Counties in Southern California. Craig earned his Bachelor of Arts at UC Santa Barbara and his MBA at Duke University Fuqua School of Business.

Marcus Krauel is an OEM manager at Evident in Europe. With 12 years’ experience working with optics, he helps our OEM customers across Europe on applications ranging from industrial to medical. Marcus holds a degree in physics and optical engineering.

Klaus Willeke is a product marketing manager at Evident Life Science. Klaus has worked at Evident for more than 22 years. He started as a sales representative for industrial and life science microcopy in Germany for 17 years and later joined the European Product Marketing team, where he is responsible for upright clinical and research microscopes and X Line™ objectives.

Yu Kikuchi is an optical engineer for component products and microscope products at Evident. He has experience in optical design and evaluation of microscope products. Yu has focused on developing customized products, matching specifications to customer requirements, and on-site testing and alignment. He holds a master’s degree in molecular biology from Tohoku University in Japan.

Stephan Fliegel earned his university degree in physical engineering with a focus on laser application technology at the Münster University of Applied Sciences in 2007. He initially worked as an application specialist, then as a product and project manager in the industrial lasers field focusing on the design layout, development, and planning of customer-specific laser systems. He is now a product manager for light microscope cameras at Evident.

Daniel Göttel earned his PhD in human genetics at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany. He worked as an application specialist for virtual slide scanning systems for many years and gained in-depth, practical knowledge of the field. Daniel is now a sales support manager for the SLIDEVIEW™ VS200 research slide scanner and Net Image Server (NIS) SQL at Evident.

Lee Botes has 24 years of sales experience with Olympus microscopes. Bringing a background in microbiology, Lee began her microscope sales career in South Africa. As part of the sales team at Evident in New Zealand, she is responsible for our industrial, clinical, and research microscopes in Wellington and the South Island, as well as confocal microscopes and slide scanners in New Zealand.

Masato Yabe works in the Optical Development division at Evident, where he has been involved in the development of microscope products for 19 years, designing optical systems for objectives and autofocus units. He holds a master’s degree in engineering from Wakayama University in Japan.

Shodai Hosono is a member of Evident’s mechanical engineering department. He has been involved in developing microscope products for over a decade. As a mechanical engineer, he has designed various microscopes and modular microscope assemblies. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Saitama University in Japan.

Kei Sato works in the electrical engineering department at Evident and has been developing microscope products for nine years. As a product leader, Kei is in charge of electrical design for industrial microscopes and microscope components.

Dr. Joanna Hawryluk is a product manager for research imaging at Evident Scientific located in Waltham, Massachusetts. She received her doctorate degree from the University of Connecticut within the department of Physiology and Neurobiology. She has been with Evident since 2017 and is currently responsible for laser scanning microscopes, 3D cell analysis software, and lightsheet microscopes.

Dr. Hunter Hines received his PhD in 2019 while registered in a joint international collaboration with Bournemouth University (UK) and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) at Florida Atlantic University. He conducted research into microbial communities found in tropical aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in Florida, focusing on the biogeography and biodiversity of ciliates.  

Today, Dr. Hines continues his research at HBOI, where he examines microbial communities and the impact they have on ecosystems. He is also the senior scientist on the Amoray Marine Conservation Team at the Amoray SCUBA Resort in Key Largo, Florida.

On social media, Dr. Hines plays a significant science outreach role for microbiology and ecology. During his PhD, he created the Instagram account Microbialecology, which has over 140,000 followers. He is a frequent collaborator with the popular YouTube channel Brave Wilderness, assisting with everything microbial and featuring in several episodes.

Kenji Ono works in the Optical Component Department at Olympus. Since joining the company, he has helped to plan and develop optical systems for digital cameras in our imaging business. Applying his knowledge to the optical field, he is now in charge of marketing activities for OEM microscopes. Kenji earned his bachelor's degree at Kitasato University in Japan.

Kristina Mayer is a product marketing manager for inverted microscopes in the European Product Marketing team at Evident. She has worked at Evident for more than 10 years and is responsible for the IXplore™ inverted microscope series to support research imaging, including total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRF) and spinning disk confocal microscopy within the EMEA region. Kristina holds a PhD in cell biology from Jacobs University Bremen.

Yuan Yue works in the market strategy department at Evident where she is mainly in charge of digital marketing. She has nearly six years of experience in marketing communications at Evident.

Marie Kawasaki works in the Life Science Marketing division at Evident. She has been involved in the marketing of microscopes related to clinical research for seven years and is currently in charge of global sales promotion for the fertility treatment research (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) industry.

Wei Juan Wong is an application specialist for digital slide scanning systems at Evident. She started as a product specialist in Singapore to support our Southeast Asia customers using widefield microscopes, including the SLIDEVIEW™ VS200 research slide scanner. She later moved to Germany to join the EVIDENT Technology Center Europe as an application specialist for digital slide scanning systems, where she provides application and marketing support to customers worldwide. Wei Juan has a degree in physics and has worked in a biophysical research laboratory as well as a microscopy core facility.

Samuel M. Lawrence is the chief executive officer and cofounder of CytoViva, Inc. He led the development of the core, patented optical illumination technology that is the foundation of CytoViva’s products, as well as played a key role in the development of the patented CytoViva 3D imaging technology. He continues to lead all product development efforts and actively supports the company’s sales efforts both domestically and internationally.

Manoel Veiga earned his PhD in physical chemistry at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, working with picosecond and femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopy. Following two postdocs at the Complutense University of Madrid and the University of Münster, he worked for PicoQuant as a senior scientist in the fields of time-resolved spectroscopy, fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). Manoel now works as a global application specialist at Evident in Germany, where he focuses on high-content analysis (HCA) and deep learning.

Dr. Manfred Kässens leads the Technical Product Information department at the EVIDENT Technology Center Europe and is a member of the Global Marketing Communications department at Evident. He holds a PhD in physics from the University of Münster, Germany, and has worked at Evident since 1997.

Sara Quiñones González has a degree in biotechnology. She worked in several research and clinical laboratories before joining the EVIDENT Technology Center Europe as a product manager. She is responsible for the SLIDEVIEW™ scanner series, including the VS200 research slide scanner.

Maria Ada Prusicki received her PhD in biology from the University of Hamburg in 2019. During her doctoral studies she focused on live-cell imaging techniques to track plant cell divisions. While pursuing a postdoc, she continued to deepen her knowledge in microscopy techniques. In 2022, Maria became the application specialist for our SLIDEVIEW™ VS200 research slide scanner. Working out of Evident’s Munster, Germany office, Maria provides VS200 application support to our customers worldwide as well as Evident’s global sales and marketing teams.

Taichi Yoshikura leads the Global Life Science Marketing Communication team at Evident in Tokyo, Japan. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Waseda University and has worked at Evident since 2016.

Takuma Saito has been part of the industrial microscope sales team at Evident in Tokyo, Japan, since 2011. After developing a strong relationship with electronic component manufacturers in Japan, he currently leads the sales development projects for our laser scanning microscope and digital microscope products.

Dr. Yongjie Wang is an application specialist for Evident Life Science in Beijing, China. She currently focuses on the scientific applications of advanced microscopy. Dr. Wang received her doctorate degree from the department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Nanjing University.

For 12 years, Koji was involved in the development of digital cameras and oversaw optical system design for imaging lenses. Currently, he works in Evident’s Optical Development division where he develops microscope products. He holds a master’s degree in engineering from the University of Yamanashi in Japan.

Atsuya Toda is an assistant manager for Global Life Science Marketing at Evident. He has more than fifteen years of experience in life science microscopy sales, sales planning, and marketing in Japan. In 2021, he moved to the Global Life Science Marketing team where he is the marketing representative for the APEXVIEW APX100 all-in-one microscope. He holds a Bachelor of Economics degree from Doshisha University, Japan.

Since joining the company, Hikaru has been responsible for supporting confocal and super-resolution microscopy products, and she has been a member of the Life Science Marketing department since 2022. Hikaru holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Tokyo University of Science, Japan.

Jake Jones, PhD is an associate product manager for research imaging at Evident, working with inverted imaging systems, total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF), fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), luminescence, and multiphoton microscopy. As a member of the product management team, Jake works to identify the needs of scientists and researchers and helps provide imaging solutions that match the growing needs of the imaging community. He holds a doctorate in biomedical engineering from the University of Arkansas, where he pursued projects involving biomedical applications of multiphoton microscopy, confocal microscopy, in vivo imaging techniques, and neural network-based image processing.

Avi Smith is an associate product manager for research microscopy at Evident. He currently supports the product lines for cell culture, confocal spinning disk, and high-content screening software. Before joining Evident, he spent 10 years working in tissue engineering where he focused on developing skin models for drug discovery and development. Avi holds a master’s degree in engineering management from Tufts University.

With over 15 years of experience at Evident, Buelent Peker is a skilled specialist in laser scanning microscopy. His interest in microscopy and photonics began during his doctoral studies in physical chemistry, where he conducted research on time-resolved two-photon microscopy, and his passion for this field has persisted ever since. Buelent has been instrumental in introducing our leading-edge laser scanning microscopes to the market and is particularly intrigued by the potential applications of multiphoton systems as well as the customization options for laser scanning systems.

Kaori Hirayama currently works in the Life Science Marketing department at Evident where she is in charge of marketing customize products. She has over 10 years of experience working in confocal microscopy support. She holds a Bachelor of Hygienic Technology degree from Kitasato University, Japan.

Chloé Savard, also known as @tardibabe on Instagram, is a microbiologist from Montreal who discovered the world of microscopy three years ago. Formally trained as a musician (she plays the drums), Chloe decided to study microbiology to broaden her horizons and to answer some existential questions she had since childhood. On her @tardibabe Instagram channel, Chloé strives to transform the imperceptible into art while educating and raising awareness about the fragility of microscopic ecosystems. She also loves to experiment with various foods and everyday items.

Makoto Kuwano has been in charge of microscope product development for 12 years at Evident. He currently works in the Optical Development Division, where he is involved in optical design of objective lenses, development of component products, and development of measurement techniques for product performance. He holds a Master of Science degree from Tohoku University in Japan.

Dr. Grace Yuan earned her PhD at the Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She previously worked as a senior scientist in the field of imaging cytometry. Zhenhuan brings her imaging expertise to Evident as an application specialist with a focus on confocal microscopy, multiphoton microscopy, and high-content analysis (HCA).

Shyam Rathod holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. He works as the deputy executive engineer at the Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company (MSETCL) under the Government of Maharashtra, India. He is passionate about photomicrography and has been pursuing this unique art form consistently using his own limited resources. His efforts have earned him international recognition, and he is committed to popularizing this unique blend of art and science through consistent and diligent efforts in refining his images.

After working in sales for biological microscopy in top research fields in Japan, Masatoshi brought his expertise to Evident in 2023. As part of the Life Science Global Marketing team, he is responsible for innovative products such as the APEXVIEW™ APX100 all-in-one microscope and the CM30 incubation monitoring system. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Tokyo.

After obtaining his master's degree in biochemistry with a strong emphasis on molecular biology in Hannover, Timo moved to Göttingen to pursue a doctorate in the field of microscopy. At the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, he worked on new designs for switchable fluorescent proteins and their application in super resolution microscopy methods. Following the completion of his doctorate in 2019 and a brief postdoc, he joined Evident as an application specialist for our cellSens™ software, scanR high-content screening station, and TruAI™ deep learning technology at ETCE in Münster, supporting customers worldwide.

Kazuhiko Hosono has a background in biophysics and a Master of Science degree from Waseda University. He joined Evident in 2004 and has over six years of experience in optical development and customized solutions, followed by five years of technical support as a development representative in Hamburg, Germany. After returning to Japan, he joined the global marketing department, where he has been involved in the planning, introduction, and sales expansion of a wide range of life science research products, including confocal laser scanning microscopes, high-performance microscope objectives, and inverted microscope systems.

As territory manager for Evident’s Life Science Center, Italy, for over four years, Gianluca Franco is a skilled specialist with a strong understanding of optical microscopes and analysis techniques. His interest in this field began during university while working on fluorescence microscopy for his master’s thesis in bioengineering and biomedical engineering, and it has persisted ever since. Gianluca provides outstanding support to the team for microscope sales by delivering demonstrations and presentations of advanced imaging systems. He provides support for the growth of the optical microscopy business by identifying and developing new business opportunities.

Britta Frenzel has a strong commercial and technical background with a master's in biomedical engineering from Clemson University and several years of experience in the medical device industry. From 2022–2024, Britta supported Evident’s line of benchtop fluorescence microscopes, fixed stage microscopes, and macro zoom fluorescence microscopes on the product management team, where she worked to identify the needs of researchers and provide imaging solutions that match the growing needs of the imaging community.

Akira Saito studied veterinary medicine at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan, and graduated in 2007. Shortly after, he joined Evident as an application specialist responsible for in vivo imaging systems, high-content analysis systems, and laser confocal systems to support customers in Japan. In 2013, he took over sales promotion for all Evident life science products. In 2018, he moved to Singapore to provide marketing and application support for the APAC market, then moved back to global product marketing in 2023.

Enrico Poege is the Global Marketing Communications Lead for Material Science, based in Hamburg, Germany. He holds a diploma in Business Administration from the University of Leipzig and has more than 15 years of experience in marketing and communications.

Dr. Laura Lleras Forero is an accomplished product marketing manager for the EMEA region at Evident, with a strong academic background in biology and a PhD from King’s College London. With more than 10 years of professional experience, she has been with Evident since 2021, where she plays a key role in supporting advanced cell culture microscopy solutions, including the SLIDEVIEW™ VS200 research slide scanner and the APEXVIEW™ APX100 benchtop fluorescence microscope.