Meet a Scientist: Steven Ruizin (Patreon)

Hey Deep Peeps,

It takes a lot of time and effort to produce each episode of Deep Look, but we couldn’t do it without the help of scientists and other valuable collaborators who have worked closely with us over the years. We’re introducing several of these wonderful partners to you in a series of short profiles so you can get a deeper look at their expertise.

Meet Steven Ruizin: He’s the director of the Biological Imaging Facility, UC Berkeley. Ruizin teaches students light microscopy techniques and supervises other educational and research activities that take place at this core microscope facility.

Located in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology in the College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley, students and researchers can look at and photograph a variety of specimens up close –– such as animal and plant tissue –– with a wide range of equipment.

Ruizin is an unsung hero of Deep Look, since the series doesn’t have the budget to buy or maintain a state-of-the-art microscopy facility –– so having access to the BIF in Berkeley is invaluable.

Behind the scenes: Deep Look cinematographer Josh Cassidy collects microscopic images of porcupine quills at the UC Berkeley Biological Imaging Facility. Credit: Laura Shields/KQED

“I have trained Josh [Cassidy, Deep Look’s lead producer and cinematographer] on a couple of microscopes in the facility, and now give him access when he needs magnified images for Deep Look. He's been coming to the BIF for quite a number of years,” Ruizin said.

Stunning close-ups of roly polies, sand, owl feathers, lice, porcupine quills, octopus suckers, bark beetles, tumbleweed seeds and rotifers living on mosses have all been featured in previous episodes with Ruizin’s help.

Image of the porcupine quill tip showing the microscopic barbs. Credit: Josh Cassidy/KQED.

“I very much enjoy the specimens Josh brings in. They are always interesting, sometimes surprising ... and sometimes even disturbing. The parasites he's brought in for imaging come to mind.”

A female adult head louse holds onto human hairs as it is filmed under a microscope. The brown line visible inside the louse, on the left side of its body, is the blood meal it took when it lived on a human host’s scalp.

Credit: Josh Cassidy/KQED