Oscar Trask

Oscar ("Joe") Trask is currently Head of Cellular Imaging Technologies at the Center for Drug Discovery and Associate in Research in the Department of Neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center.  Mr. Trask began his career in 1989 as a Research Associate at the Ohio State University, Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology and in 1993 he became the Analytical Cytometry Core Manager in the Comprehensive Cancer Center where he first used automated microscopy imaging.  In 1997 Mr. Trask joined Sphinx Pharmaceuticals, the worldwide drug screening division at Eli Lilly’s Center of Excellence in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, as an Associate Senior Biochemist where he implemented flow cytometry, Luminex, confocal microscopy, and high content screening (HCS) imaging technologies to support pipeline drug discovery programs.  In 2005 Mr. Trask joined Abbott Laboratories for 18 months as an Associate Research Investigator and used HCA/HCS technology to support and drive projects in early drug and biomarker discovery.  At Duke, Mr. Trask leads independent research programs and is responsible for implementing automated microscopy imaging to investigate live explant brain slices and primary co-culture systems in neurotoxicity models and neurodegenerative diseases including Huntington's and Alzheimer's disease.