Dr. Heidi Smith: Why the future of biofilm research is microscopic

Today, we’re talking with Dr. Heidi Smith, who runs one of the most powerful microscopy facilities in the Pacific Northwest. Heidi took on the task of managing the Bio-Imaging Facility at the Center for Biofilm Engineering in 2018. And one of her first orders of business was to undertake an ambitious plan to upgrade the microscopy hardware. She landed more than $1.5 million in grants, which enabled the purchase of research-expanding equipment that can peer deeper into biofilms than ever before, Importantly, by some standards, the new hardware will exceed the lab’s current capabilities eightfold.