Blog

We followed up with Jonathan Kopechek, PhD, who attended the symposium for the first time in 2012 through the program. Kopechek presented his research titled, “Enhanced MR-guided HIFU Ablation of Rabbit VX2 Tumors In Vivo using Phase-Shift Nanoemulsions.”Q: It’s been just over a year since the symposium. What are you doing now? A. I am currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. My research involves ultrasound and microbubble-targeted delivery of therapeutics agents for treatment of cancer and cardiovascular conditions. Although my current position is not specifically in FUS, it is in a closely related research area. Q. Describe your experience at the 2012 Symposium.A. I benefited from the excellent and informative presentations at the Symposium, which expanded my knowledge on FUS research and applications. However, the most important benefit was the opportunity to meet in person with many outstanding researchers in the FUS field. It was an excellent networking experience, and many connections were formed that will likely continue for the duration of my career. Q: How did being a Young Investigator award recipient impact your experience?A: Presenting a poster as a Young Investigator awardee was very helpful to the networking process. Furthermore, without the Young Investigator award, I would only have been able to attend one day and would have missed out on meeting many FUS researchers at the Symposium. As a result of the Young Investigator award, however, I was able to attend the entire Symposium. Q. Would you recommend others to apply for the Young Investigator award? A. I would absolutely recommend applying for the Young Investigator award. The opportunity to attend the entire Symposium was important. In addition, the opportunity to present as a Young Investigator awardee at the poster session was a very beneficial experience. Q: Do you have any tips for researchers interested in applying for a Young Investigator award in 2014? A: I would recommend focusing on a research topic that will garner as much interest as possible in the FUS research community. Q: Do you plan to attend the 2014 meeting? A: I hope to return. It will depend on whether I can secure funding.