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Heinz Reiske

Dr. Reiske earned his PhD in Biochemistry from Cornell University in 2001. His postdoctoral studies in cancer cell biology were conducted at the NIH/NIDDK and following this, he spent 4 years at biotech companies in the Washington DC area using genomics-based technologies to aid in drug discovery and veterinary diagnostics. Dr. Reiske relocated to the Boston area in 2006 where he worked for several molecular diagnostics companies developing IVDs for bacterial and viral pathogens. And in 2015, Dr. Reiske relocated to Indianapolis to head up the Genomics Department at Covance Central Laboratories and holds that position today. Dr. Reiske became certified as a High-complexity Laboratory Director in the discipline of molecular diagnostics in December of 2017.

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Articles by Heinz Reiske

protein structure prediction

A Beginner’s Guide to Protein Structure Prediction

By Heinz Reiske | April 18, 2023

Dive into the world of protein structure science, where AI is revolutionizing the field by offering accurate predictions and free, open-access tools. In this beginner’s guide, we’ll explore these groundbreaking tools, discuss their strengths and weaknesses, and examine the implications for traditional experimental methods like NMR and X-ray crystallography.

A person having their hair cut with straight edges to illustrate blunt-end cloning

A Beginner’s Guide to How Blunt-End Cloning Works

By Heinz Reiske | March 8, 2023

Struggling with your cloning? It could be time to try blunt-end cloning. This easy introduction explains what it is, when to use it, and how.

Serum in cell culture depicted by a bottle of serum.

Going Serum-Free: The How and Why of Removing Serum From Your Media

By Heinz Reiske | October 10, 2022

While using serum in cell culture can keep your cells healthy and happy, there are some notable downsides. We discuss the pros and cons of using serum in cell culture media and how to remove it if you want to eliminate it from your workflow.

Multicolored linked paper rings inviting you to read our article on multiple fragment ligation.

Multiple Fragment Ligation: The Why and How

By Heinz Reiske | August 9, 2022

You may be familiar with standard single fragment ligations, but did you know you can ligate multiple fragments into your vector all at the same time! Discover how to perform multiple fragment ligation, including the different methods and troubleshooting tips for when things go wrong.

Student reading the key qPCR papers before starting an experiment.

11 qPCR Papers Every Researcher Should Know

By Heinz Reiske | March 29, 2022

Whether you’re generating, analyzing, or reviewing qPCR data you need to understand how it works and best practices. That’s why we’ve pulled together our top qPCR papers every researcher should read.

An image of a collection of candy to depict the process of biocuration of data into databases.

A Beginner’s Guide to Biocuration—and How to Become a Biocurator

By Heinz Reiske | December 14, 2021

Discover more about biocuration, why it’s so important, and what it takes to become a biocurator. It turns out that biocuration as a career choice is easier than you might think!

An image of different nucleic acid representations to depict xeno nucleic acids.

Xeno Nucleic Acids: Essential Tools in Synthetic Biology and Your Research

By Heinz Reiske | October 28, 2021

We’re all familiar with DNA and RNA. But have you heard of xeno nucleic acids (XNAs)? Read on to find out how they can be applied in biological research, and how you can start using them in your experiments.

Image of chalkboard with the words amino acids surrounded by health foods to juxtapose the topic of unnatural amino acids

Unnatural Amino Acids: Essential Tools in Synthetic Biology and Your Research

By Heinz Reiske | May 25, 2021

Discover what unnatural amino acids are, their applications, and how they can be used in your research in our beginner’s guide.

Two hands reach toward each other to connect chain links to represent various tricks for peptide synthesis

Synthetic Peptides Part 2: Tips and Tricks for Peptide Synthesis

By Heinz Reiske | December 18, 2020

Deciding on the right peptide sequence can make or break your experiment. Find out what to keep in mind when designing a synthetic peptide.

A man and a woman add a link to a growing chain to symbolize creating synthetic peptides

Synthetic Peptides and Their Uses: Part 1

By Heinz Reiske | October 5, 2020

Are you studying a small peptide or protein? Learn whether using synthetic peptides can save you hours of transfection, protein expression, and purification.

A hand selecting a wooden figure with a magent, representing selection in molecular cloning

Selection Pressures: Alternatives to Antibiotics in Molecular Cloning

By Heinz Reiske | July 14, 2020

Want to reduce the use of antibiotics in the lab? Start with switching to alternative cloning methods that use alternative selection pressures.

Image of a group of scientists communicating with collaborators via a video conference

Video Conferencing Services for Scientists  

By Heinz Reiske | June 25, 2020

If to you Zoom is just a feature on a camera and BlueJeans is what you wear to work, then let us enlighten you.

Ombre color gradients/swatches to represent gradient gels.

A Guide to Gradient Gels: The Why’s and How’s

By Heinz Reiske | May 14, 2020

Fret no more over fuzzy bands! We uncover how gradient gels can give you better results, and maximize your precious samples when performing SDS-PAGE

Out With the Old: New PubMed Search Tips

Out With the Old: New PubMed Search Tips

By Heinz Reiske | March 31, 2020

PubMed has had a makeover. Find out where your favorite features have moved to and what’s changed in this shiny new version.

Optimizing qPCR Using the Taguchi Method

Optimizing qPCR Using the Taguchi Method

By Heinz Reiske | February 18, 2020

When optimizing qPCR, you might try trial and error to improve your assay’s performance. Tweak this, tweak that, and the assay works better, right? Sometimes you might get lucky but adjusting single assay components interdependent with others is hardly systematic. You can spend a lot of time and resources hoping that this time, you will…

Getting Sensitive: Diagnostic Sensitivity and Specificity Simplified

Getting Sensitive: Diagnostic Sensitivity and Specificity Simplified

By Heinz Reiske | November 12, 2019

What Do We Mean by Diagnostic Sensitivity? In clinical diagnostics, questions about the sensitivity of an assay will inevitably surface. But what does “sensitivity” mean exactly? The lowest quantity of the given analyte that an assay can detect is often called sensitivity – and to be clear, this quantity is the analytical sensitivity or Limit…

Limit of detection assay

The How and Why of Limit of Detection

By Heinz Reiske | September 5, 2019

When developing an assay, whether it is for basic research or for use in diagnostics, you will often be asked about your assay’s sensitivity. This is perhaps one of the most important performance characteristics you can determine for an assay, and in regulated work, such as in vitro diagnostic (IVD) development and clinical diagnostics, it…

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