Vadim Backman was named associate director for Research Technology and Infrastructure at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.
In addition to this new role, Backman, the Walter Dill Scott Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, will continue to serve as leader of the Cancer and Physical Sciences Program at the Lurie Cancer Center.
As associate director, Backman will oversee Lurie Cancer Center’s infrastructure for interdisciplinary programs and initiatives, which include the center’s 16 Shared Resources that foster basic, clinical and translational research. He will also lead the development of innovative tools, technologies and services to support emerging disciplines across the cancer center.
Backman succeeds Milan Mrksich, the Henry Wade Rogers Professor, who was recently named Northwestern University’s interim vice president for research.
An expert in biomedical optics, Backman has developed numerous imaging technologies. Through his nanocytology technique, he developed a simple, easy-to-use test for diagnosing multiple forms of cancer at the earliest stage of disease formation. He leads Northwestern’s new Center for Physical Genomics and Engineering, focused on the entirely new field using optical imaging and computational genomics to reprogram the genome’s chromatin, which regulates gene expression.
