Taking the scenic route: A scientist’s perspective

CURIOUS MINDS

Taking the scenic route: A scientist’s perspective

Embark on a journey through the world of extracellular vesicle (EV) research with Dan Zollinger, Manager and Staff Scientist at ONI. In this interview, Dan shares his path into EV studies, the critical questions facing researchers, and the future trajectory of the field.

In your view, what are the most critical questions facing researchers in the field?
How EVs play a role in disease progression, particularly in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

What do you find most fascinating about EVs?
How they are so integral to many aspects of biology, but we’ve been limited in our ability to study them in depth due to the technology available.

Where do you foresee the trajectory of the field?
I can see EV characterization becoming routine in the field once there is technology that allows it. Systems biologist may add EV characterizations in biofluids to their standard research. Long term, I can see EV characterization in biofluids having the same impact that cell-free DNA in plasma has had on cancer diagnostics and monitoring.

In your view, what are the most critical questions facing researchers in the field

What obstacles do you see within the field?
The field really needs a cheap, high-throughput, easy to use way to get in depth characterization of EV heterogeneity and biomarker expression.  Once this become ‘push-button’ other fields will adopt it into routine research.

If you could answer one open question in EV research, what would it be?
It would be around understanding the mechanism of EV uptake. Promoting or blocking EV uptake is likely going to be key for understanding EV-centric therapeutic application.

How does ONI contribute to advancements in the field of EV research?
ONI has the first easy to use, push-button approach to studying EVs with the latest EV Profiler System with automated sample prep, image acquisition, and analysis.  On top of that, ONI has years of experience in EV field and the ample feedback from our collaborators has been incorporated into our products to ensure we’re giving the field exactly what they need.

Where will your curiosity take you next? #CuriousMinds