Alumnus Dr. Patrick Mears Continues Spring 2015 Physics Careers Series on April 16

The Spring 2015 Physics Careers seminar series continues on Thursday, April 16, 2015 with Dr. Patrick Mears, Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, IL

Time: 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 16, 2015 (refreshments served at 10:30 a.m.)

Location: Rm 204 Loomis Laboratory (Interaction Room)

Title:  Careers for Physicists in the Medical Device Industry

Speaker: Dr. Patrick Mears, Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, IL

Abstract: Medical diagnostics is a large and growing field. I will provide an overview of the field and the wide variety of career options available for physicists in medical diagnostics and devices. I will then describe my own experience working as a Systems Integration Specialist on automated instruments for rapid testing of human samples.The instruments that I work with are used to screen the US blood supply and diagnose cancers, infectious diseases and a wide variety of clinically important biomarkers. I will also offer advice on exploring, choosing and securing a position in private sector R&D.

Bio: Patrick is a Systems Integration Specialist at Abbott Laboratories near Chicago, Illinois. He has worked in Abbott's Diagnostic Division developing high-throughput, automated, medical diagnostic devices for one year. He received a BS in Physics from Hope College in 2006, where he conducted Nuclear Physics research as an undergraduate. He received his PhD in Physics from UIUC in March 2014, after studying experimental biophysics under Yann Chemla and Ido Golding. His thesis research focused on bacterial swimming using optical traps.

You can see the rest of the Spring 2015 Physics Careers Seminar series here: http://physics.illinois.edu/events/seminars.asp?cal=4014