Speakers: Jay Unruh, PhD

Jay Unruh, PhD

Molecular Microscopy
Stowers Institute for Medical Research

Microscopist Jay Unruh specializes in the use of advanced microscopy to study protein interactions and dynamics. This information is crucial to the understanding of complex cellular processes governing the establishment of polarity in developing embryos and cell cycle progression. He utilizes advanced microscopy techniques such as fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) along with computational modeling. He applies his extensive expertise in advanced microscopy techniques to a wide variety of model organisms studied at the Institute. Additionally, Unruh collaboratively leads the activities of the Microscopy Center where he and other scientific staff assist with experimental design and microscope and software training as a means to enable Stowers researchers to obtain state-of-the-art microscopic images.

Unruh received a B.S. in biochemistry from John Brown University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Kansas. He completed his postdoctoral studies in the Laboratory of Fluorescence Dynamics at the University of California, Irvine before joining the Stowers Institute as a research specialist in 2008. In 2010, Unruh took on the role of research advisor and in 2015 added the role of Co-Head of Microscopy.