Melissa Skala

Melissa Skala

Investigator, Carol Skornicka Chair in Biomedical Imaging

Area:

Phone:

(608) 316-4108

Email:

[javascript protected email address]

Research website

My lab develops biomedical optical imaging technologies for cancer research, cell therapy, and immunology. Current projects focus on tumor immunology and immunotherapy, cell-level metabolic heterogeneity, and cell-cell interactions. Collaborative projects leverage these unique photonics-based tools for clinical problems, including quality control in T cell and stem cell therapies, designing personalized treatment plans for cancer patients, monitoring diseases in the eye, discovering new therapies for a range of diseases, and many others. Projects are highly diverse and range from translational research to hypothesis-driven questions to algorithm / instrumentation development.

Areas of Expertise

  • Optical imaging
  • Tissue engineering
  • Cancer
  • Metabolism
  • Immunology and cancer immunotherapy
  • Machine Learning
  • High-throughput tool development
  • Cell-cell interactions
  • Cellular heterogeneity
  • Translational research

Selected Honors & Awards

  • 2022 Carol Skornicka Chair of Biomedical Imaging, Morgridge Institute for Research
  • 2021 Retina Research Foundation Daniel M. Albert Chair
  • 2019 Fellow, OSA (Optical Society of America)
  • 2019 Fellow, SPIE (International society advancing light-based research)
  • 2019 Fellow, AIMBE (American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering)
  • 2019 UW Carbone Cancer Center Ride Scholar
  • 2018 Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) – Innovation Award
  • 2017 Stand Up To Cancer – Sharp Collaboration Award
  • 2017 Chartered member, NIH study section: Emerging Imaging Technologies and Applications (EITA)
  • 2016 NSF CAREER Award
  • 2010 NIH/NCI Pathway to Independence Award (K99 / R00)

Selected Publications

Education

Ph. D. Biomedical Engineering, 2007, Duke University

M.S. Biomedical Engineering, 2004, University of Wisconsin–Madison

B.S. Physics, 2002, Washington State University