Meet Ulrich Dobramysl of Wellcome Trust / CRUK Gurdon Institute at the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom). Uli is a Herchel Smith Postdoctoral Fellow at Jennifer Gallop's lab and our visitor of the week. He is a CSHL first-timer and it was the annual Quantitative Imaging: From Acquisition to Analysis Course that brought him across the pond.

What are you working on? 
I am interested in understanding the dynamics and regulation of filopodia, which are thin, finger-like protrusions that cells use to explore their environment, from a statistical physics point of view. To this end, I am using a data-driven mathematical modeling approach combined by a variety of different microscopy techniques to generate data.

What is your key takeaway from the Course?
My key takeaway is that in order to do quantitative imaging and microscopy correctly, one needs to plan ahead, think about the available techniques and choose the most appropriate one for the biological question. Furthermore, it is necessary to be familiar with the methods and know all the necessary trade-offs. This course gave us the tools to do this confidently and efficiently.

Was there something specific about or a skill set covered at the Quantitative Imaging Course that drew you to apply for the course?
I wanted to learn about state-of-the-art fluorescence microscopy techniques used in biology and, in particular, how to do quantitative imaging and image analysis correctly. This course exceeded beyond my imagination, due to the vast expertise of the instructors and the hands-on experience we got on the many different microscopes.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL? 
CSHL is a beautiful and quiet place that allows one to focus solely on the topic of the course. Instructors, TAs and organizers are exceedingly approachable and friendly. I enjoyed my stay at CSHL.

Thank you to Ulrich for being this week's featured visitor. To meet other featured scientists - and discover the wide range of science that takes part in a CSHL meeting or course – go here.