Vijay Iyer

Scientists at Janelia work together in multidisciplinary teams to solve challenging biological problems that are difficult to address in other research settings.

Many lab spaces at Janelia feature modular designs and natural light.

Credit: Brad Feinknopf

Occupying 689 wooded acres along the Potomac River, Janelia Farm provides a variety of services and facilities to support its diverse community of scientists and staff—inside and outside the lab.

A view of the Janelia Farm Research Campus at dusk.

Credit: Brad Feinknopf

The Janelia Farm model frees scientists of constraints commonly found in other research environments, providing access to world-class resources and a talented support staff.

Graduate scholar John Tuthill prepares a Drosophila specimen for imaging.

Credit: James Kegley

In addition to our resident scientists and fellows, we offer visiting scientists, graduate, and undergraduate candidates a range of scientific programs.

Graduate scholar Arbora Resulaj (left) and her mentor, Janelia Emeritus Fellow Dmitry Rinberg (right).

Credit: James Kegley

Janelia Farm regularly hosts scientific meetings, ranging from workshops to intensive, specialized conferences. See what's coming up and visit the archive of past events.

Janelia's large auditorium seats 250 people.

Credit: Matt Staley

Janelia provides outstanding employment opportunities, at all levels.

Credit: James Kegley

Many tools developed in Janelia Farm labs are made freely available to outside researchers, while others are taking shape through collaborations with industry, academia, and government.

A virtual arena for the study of flight in insects.

Credit: James Kegley

Janelia’s sense of community comes from a core belief that people of diverse disciplines and backgrounds can accomplish great things when working with a common purpose.

Research specialist Trevor Wardill (left) and group leader Vivek Jayaraman (right).

Credit: James Kegley

Software Engineer

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Vijay came to Janelia Farm not long after completing BS and PhD degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University in 2005, with an emphasis on applied physics and optics. Though he took no biology courses as an undergraduate, he wound up spending his graduate school years working in neuroscience labs in the Texas Medical Center, across the street from Rice, at both the Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center. During that time, Vijay developed a type of fast scanning multiphoton microscope based on acousto-optic deflection that has since been replicated and extended by numerous labs worldwide.

In 2008, Vijay joined the Scientific Computing group at Janelia, where he focuses on instrument control projects, working in Matlab and C/C++. He presently serves as the lead developer of the ScanImage project, which is open-source software for laser-scanning microscopy used by scientists at Janelia and throughout the biomedical research community.