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Interdisciplinary
imaging scientist, evolutionary developmental biologist,
specialist in biological and biomedical applications of
x-ray microtomography.
University
of Vienna, Department of Theoretical Biology, Althanstraße
14, 1090 Austria
tel:
+43 1 4277 56704
mobile: +43 (0)664 125 0656
brian.metscher@univie.ac.at
http://homepage.univie.ac.at/brian.metscher
EDUCATION
University
of California, Irvine, Ph.D. Biological Sciences, 1996.
Dissertation:
Expression of
Homeobox Genes in the Axolotl Lateral Line System.
Supervised
by Prof. Susan Bryant (UCI) and Prof. Glenn Northcutt
(UCSD/Scripps Inst.).
California
Institute
of Technology, B.S. Geophysics and Planetary Science,
1986.
Emphasis
in optics and applied physics.
Professional Experience
University
of Vienna
Mar 2001 -
present:
Senior Scientist, Dept. of Theoretical Biology
(permanent contract),
My main research interests are in using microscopic
3D imaging and analysis to study developmental processes
and animal diversity and for biomedical research. I
currently carry out research on biological imaging methods
and applications, with numerous diverse collaborations. I
supervise the laboratories and various student research
projects, and I presently teach several courses in imaging
and scientific writing.
Jul 2006 - Feb
2011:
Assistant Professor (Universitätsassistent),
Theoretical Biology.
I established a new microCT lab here and pioneered
contrast-enhanced microCT as an essential method in
comparative and developmental biology as well as for
molecular imaging.
Yale
University
2002-2005
(summers): Visiting
Assistant Professor, with Prof. Günter Wagner. Determined
5' Hox gene
expression patterns in basal pectoral fins as part of an
effort to understand the evolution of tetrapod limbs.
University
of Southern Indiana
Aug 2001 - Jun
2006: Assistant
Professor, Dept. of Biology. Primarily an undergraduate
teaching institution with limited allowance for research;
taught numerous lecture and lab courses and supervised
student research projects.
Penn
State University
Aug 1999- Jul
2001: Postdoctoral
Research
Associate with Prof. Ken Weiss, Dept. of Anthropology.
Research on molecular biology of mammalian dental
development.
The
Natural History Museum (London)
Mar 1999 - Aug
1999: Postdoctoral
Researcher with Dr. Per Ahlberg, Dept. of Palaeontology.
Further research on the origin of caudal fin symmetry in
fishes, incorporating developmental morphology and
fossil-based evolutionary studies.
University
of South Dakota
May 1998 - Nov
1998: Postdoctoral
researcher with Dr. Paula Mabee, Dept. of Biology.
Research on programmed cell death in cartilage patterning
of zebrafish pectoral fins.
The
Natural History Museum (London)
Apr
1997 - Mar 1998:
Postdoctoral Researcher with Dr. Per Ahlberg, Dept.
of Palaeontology. Research on vertebrate evolution, using
phylogenetic frameworks for evolutionary developmental
hypotheses, and zebrafish as a laboratory model.
University
of California, Irvine
Oct 1996 - Mar
1997: Adjunct
Lecturer, Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology.
Sep 1989 - Jun
1996: Graduate
Research and Teaching Assistant,
NASA Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (Caltech)
Jun 1986 - Aug
1988: Member Technical
Staff. Research and development of optical detectors and
optical computing for radiofrequency spectrum analysis.
Invited
Lectures
2017:
Invited
speaker, Joint American Association of
Anatomists/Anatomical Society meeting "Anatomists
on the Edge," 27-29 June, NUI Galway, Ireland.
Session organiser and speaker, European Medical and Biological
Engineering Conference (EMBEC), 11-15 June, Tampere,
Finland.
2016:
Invited
speaker and co-host, Zeiss XEN workshop, Vienna.
Instructor, EMBO course "3D Developmental Imaging,"
1-9 July, Oeiras, Portugal.
Invited speaker, Bridging Nordic Imaging 2nd
Symposium, Gothenburg, Sweden.
2015: The 30th
Boris Balinsky Life Sciences Lecture, 53rd
annual Microscopy Society of South Africa meeting,
Pretoria.
Invited speaker and participant, Zeiss XEN
workshop, Manchester, UK.
Invited speaker, Advancing
Contrast-enhanced CT Imaging in the Biological Sciences,
Austin, TX, USA.
Invited speaker, CEITEC/ICRC conference, "Frontiers in Life and
Materials Sciences," Brno, Czech Republic.
2014: Invited
speaker and participant, Zeiss XEN workshop, Copenhagen.
Instructor, EMBO course "3D Developmental Imaging,"
4-12 July, Oeiras, Portugal.
Invited seminar, Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste,
Italy.
Invited speaker, Tomography for Scientific
Advancement symposium (ToScA), The Natural History Museum,
London.
Invited seminar, School of Materials, University of
Manchester, UK.
2013: Invited
speaker and participant, Zeiss XEN workshop, CNRS/CEREGE,
Aix-en-Provence, France.
Invited speaker, Tomography for Scientific
Advancement symposium (ToScA), The Natural History Museum,
London.
Invited participant, workshop "Modern Taxonomy as a
Cyberscience," HCMR, Crete.
Co-organiser, workshop on voxel data management and
issues, ICVM10, Barcelona.
2012: Invited
speaker, Xradia workshop on 3D X-ray microscopy,
ICMCB-CNRS, Bordeaux, France.
Symposium organizer and invited speaker, Euro Evo
Devo meeting, Lisbon.
2011: Invited
speaker, International Conference on Invertebrate
Morphology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
2010:
Invited
speaker, Rank Prize Symposium on High Resolution X-Ray
Imaging, U.K.
2009: Invited
speaker, Henry Moseley X-Ray Imaging Facility opening,
University of Manchester, UK.
Grants
and Awards
2014-present:
Partner in the EU Marie Sklodowska Curie ITN
‘Biosystematics, Informatics and Genomics of the four big
insect orders’ (BIG4) international training consortium.
Summer
2002 and Summer 2005: NSF RUI/ROA grants for myself and a
student to carry out research at Yale University in Prof.
Günter Wagner’s lab.
2003-04:
University of Southern Indiana, three internal grants for
projects involving undergraduate students.
Mar
1999 - Aug 1999 and Apr 1997 - Mar 1998: Natural History
Museum (London) four-month Palaeontology Research Fund
grant and one-year Museum Research Fund grant to fund
postdoctoral work with Dr. Per Ahlberg and host an
international conference.
1993:
Committee of 1000 Graduate Student Fellowship “Homeobox
Genes and the Evolution of Vertebrate Morphogenesis”
1992:
Sigma Xi grant-in-aid of research for work on the
development and evolution of dentitions
1992:
Development (Company of Biologists) travel fellowship for
work in Manchester, UK
1991:
NASA recognition award for technical innovation
“Two-Dimensional Acousto-Optic Spectrum Analysis”
1987:
NASA recognition award for technical innovation “Cooled
Avalanche Photodiodes used for Photon Counting”