Roth: Dean award winner
By Diane Duke Williams
February 23, 2001
Robyn Roth, senior electron microscopy technician in the laboratory of John E. Heuser, M.D., equates coming to work with visiting an art museum.
"The images are humbling," Roth said. "I'm always struck by how intricate cells are."
Roth: Dean award winner |
Roth, winner of the third annual Dean's Distinguished Service Award, produces electron micrographs of deep-etched cells and molecules. "Our goal is to become the 'eyes' of the cell biology community," she said.
Deep-etch electron micrographs are used in many modern cell and molecular biology textbooks as well as in presentations at scientific meetings.
Roth was recognized with the award for exceeding her job responsibilities, enhancing the reputation of the medical.html school, creating a positive working environment and improving the community.
"Robyn is a most deserving recipient of this award," said William A. Peck, M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical.html affairs and dean of the medical.html school. "In addition to her technical expertise, she has an enormous capacity for hard work. She also has a strong commitment to the excellence of our school."
Roth has worked in Heuser's laboratory for 21 years. After learning the deep-etch electron
 Electron micrograph |
microscopy technique that he pioneered, she has become the lab's sole producer of electron micrographs.
Roth helps scientists throughout the world plan their experiments and then prepares their samples for this form of electron microscopy. Using highly sophisticated machines, she manipulates the quick-frozen samples by remote control, carefully cutting into their delicate frozen surfaces and then gently freeze-drying or deep-etching them and coating them with ultra-pure platinum.
"Robyn is well known throughout the cell biology community, and she is considered by many outstanding scientists to be a national resource," said Heuser, adding that she also trains technicians in other laboratories on this technique.
She is involved in many volunteer activities at St. Gerard Majella Catholic Church in Kirkwood. Roth, her husband and four children and another family also recently raised $20,000 in door-to-door penny drives to help establish a temporary emergency foster-care facility called GEM House.
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