‘To truly understand science, is to collaborate with others’

Lab product reviews can change the world by helping other scientists find the best equipment to accelerate their vital work. Here at SelectScience^®, we are dedicated to promoting peer-to-peer communication that will make the difference - but we couldn't do it without our esteemed reviewers. In this regular new feature, we put the spotlight on some of our most dedicated and impactful reviewers and find out what inspires them to keep sharing their knowledge with the global scientific community.

In this week’s Reviewer in the Spotlight, Samer Sansil, core staff scientist at Moffitt Cancer Center, tells us about his motivations, the huge importance of collaboration in science, and why he thinks unbiased lab equipment reviews on SelectScience play a vital role in scientific progress.

Tell us about your role and your current research

I am a core staff scientist at Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, a top cancer hospital in the nation ranked by the US News and World Report. I oversee pharmacokinetic services in the Cancer Pharmacokinetics & Pharmacodynamics Core, part of the shared resources here at Moffitt. I work on drug quantitation of novel and standard chemotherapy agents in pre-clinical and early phase human clinical trials.

What inspired you to get into the world of science?

My father is my biggest inspiration. Growing up, education (and the knowledge acquired by it) was instilled in our home. This coupled with my father’s leadership and drive to help others in need has guided me on this path. Not just to learn how avenues of science can help impact the world, but to utilize that knowledge and create meaningful impact to help uncover mechanisms to combat a terrible disease, such as cancer.

Why is communication vital in science?

To truly understand science, is to collaborate with others. To learn from other scientists' and researchers’ successes and failures and help improve upon current technologies to further expand the limitations of our time. The greatest example is happening now, with the COVID-19 pandemic. When the whole world can join forces and put their knowledge and resources together, we can produce a vaccine for a virus in a historic time.

Why do you think lab equipment reviews are important?

Lab equipment reviews give a real, unbiased representation of equipment, techniques and technologies that fellow researchers can utilize to impact their own laboratory needs. Being able to read a review and make an informed decision about a product is vital in the purchasing world. Researchers need a place to gather feedback on different equipment before making a costly purchase that can negatively affect their funding.

What is your favorite piece of lab equipment?

In my HPLC world surrounded by mass spectrometers and diode array detectors, my favorite technology is the CTC PAL open autosampler. The ingenuity of this autosampler coupled with the dynamic washing setup makes this an ideal tool to deliver my samples from my vials or well plate and inject them into the HPLC with little concern over carryover or contamination.

How do SelectScience reviews help you with your research?

SelectScience is an excellent tool to help me gather reviews from the application and bench scientists who can offer constructive criticism or helpful insight on sample preparation, chromatography columns, and brand name mass detectors.

What would you like to achieve in your work?

Any way I can contribute to help aid in the prevention and cure of cancer. In current projects, I am hoping to continue to provide investigators, clinicians, and basic scientists the measurements and analysis they need to help the team combat this disease.

Samer shares his top 5 lab instruments

1. Thermo Scientific™ TSQ Quantiva Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer

"Robust, rapid, and reproducible."

2. Sirocco Protein Precipitation Plate by Waters

"My go-to plate for PPT."

3. Waters Positive Pressure-96 Processor by Waters Corporation

"This product is reliable and highly encouraged for your sample preparation needs."

4. HTC PAL LC Autosampler by CTC Analytics AG

"An all-in-one autosampler customized for your needs."

5. LabDoctor 12 Mini Centrifuge by MIDSCI

"Small footprint with great value."

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