The members of the Wellman Center Career Development and Promotions Committee (Tayyaba Hasan, Brett Bouma, Bobby Redmond, Gary Tearney and Andy Yun) are pleased to announce the promotion of Arutyun Bagramyan, PhD to the rank of Instructor at Harvard Medical School effective September 1, 2025. Dr. Bagramyan completed his PhD study in Physics at Laval University in Canada and joined Dr. Charles Lin’s Advanced Microscopy Laboratory at the MGH Wellman Center for Photomedicine. In his short time, he has transformed the research landscape in the laboratory, adding a new translational focus to a team that has previously focused on basic studies of the hematopoietic system in live mice using intravital microscopy. Dr. Bagramyan first developed a miniaturized microscope (mOBM) capable of label-free, phase contrast imaging of individual blood cells in the human microcirculation. Using this device, he captured stunning videos of leukocyte rolling and adherence on the vascular endothelium - the first steps of the leukocyte recruitment cascade and a hallmark of inflammation. This work was published in Scientific Reports (2023), “Miniaturized microscope for non-invasive imaging of leukocyte- endothelial interaction in human microcirculation". Dr. Bagramyan demonstrated the ability to detect not just the slow-rolling cells but also fast-flowing cells in the bloodstream. He validated the developed microscope system in 34 human volunteers and established the first benchmarks for reliable image-based WBC count measurements. These results are presented in his second paper, “Towards Non-Invasive White Blood Cell Count in Humans,'' Biomedical Optics Express (2025). In addition, he has a patent application, “System for Stabilized Noninvasive Imaging of Microvasculature in the Oral Mucosa.”, #WO2023230463A3 (2023), which is in the international PCT stage. Dr. Bagramyan is now developing an even more compact version of the device for use on neonates. Noninvasive blood cell analysis is useful for infants because of their high risk of infection and anemia from repeated blood sampling. Working in collaboration with Dr. Martha Sola-Visner, Director of Newborn Medicine Clinical Research Program at Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH), Dr. Bagramyan has assumed a leadership role on this project, responsible for everything from the development of the instrument to the submission of the IRB and coordination with the clinical staff at BCH. Well done Arutyun and we wish you the very best in the coming years and continued success!