Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/297333
Faces of Technology Peter R. Mouton, Ph.D. Stereology Resource Center Inc. | www.disector.com President, Chief Scientific Officer Education: B.A. in Chemistry and B.S. in Biology, University of South Florida; M.A. in Medical/Scientific Writing, Johns Hopkins University; Ph.D. in Neurobiology, University of South Florida Company: With an office in Tampa-St. Petersburg, the Stereology Resource Center offers stereology-related resources to the global community of biomedical researchers. These resources include computerized stereology systems (Stereologer™), professional contract services, comprehensive workshops, grant writing support and peer-reviewed textbooks. When the "father of stereology" wants to make you his protégé, you accept. Peter R. Mouton did just that and is now one of the few experts world- wide in stereology, with big name pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Merck, university researchers and government agencies seeking his help to unravel mysteries and treatments for human disease. Stereology translates into the study of 3-D objects in Greek. Stereol- ogists analyze tissue samples and use mathematically rigorous approaches to quantify structural characteristics of a disease. Mouton's research focuses on brain changes in aging and age- related diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. As a graduate student, he ana- lyzed alterations in rat brains infected with an experimental form of Al- zheimer's and became frustrated with primitive methods to study physical changes in the brain. He decided to find a better way and accepted an invi- tation from Denmark to learn stereol- ogy after graduation. Mouton studied with Hans J. Gundersen, "the father of stereology," in Denmark for two years. Upon re- turning to the U.S. for a neuropathol- ogy fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, he quickly found researchers and faculty members seeking help with research projects. In response, Mouton found- ed the Stereology Resource Center (SRC) to help disseminate stereol- ogy-related solutions to the global community of biomedical scientists. SRC's research has the potential to be controversial since much of its work has not been done before. For example, some people have come to believe that childhood vaccines cause autism. Mouton and colleagues at the University of California San Diego reported stereology findings showing children with autism have abnormally high numbers of brain cells at birth. Re- search identifies genetics as a likely cause for autism rather than vaccines. "Our findings of excess brain cells in autism challenge mainstream thought about the disease and we continue to discover new details that offer novel direc- tions for further research," said Mouton. "This is often the case with our work. Stereology allows us to build a solid foundation for digging deep into the cause of a disease in search of a cure." Mouton remains one of few American-born scientists skilled in the theory and practice of stereology. With strong and growing worldwide demand for stereology in biomedical research, he continues to follow Gundersen's advice – "stand firm on your tile and the rest with follow," meaning rely on good stereology principles and you will improve our understanding of human disease. florida.HIGH.TECH 2014 49