The Beckman Institute welcomes a familiar name as a new faculty member for 2007.

Marni Boppart has joined the Bioimaging and Technology (BST) group as a full-time faculty member. Boppart is married to fellow BST member Stephen Boppart, who heads the Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory at Beckman.

Marni Boppart is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois. She earned her doctoral degree in Applied Anatomy and Physiology from Boston University, with postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School and at Illinois in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology.

Her research interests include areas such as cellular biomechanics and cell signaling. At Beckman she plans to pursue experiments that look at counteracting the loss of skeletal muscle through molecular-based or exercise therapy interventions.