Zack Phillips, PhD

Senior Manager, Computational Microscopy, insitro San Francisco, California, USA zack [at] zackphillips [dot] com [github] [scholar] [linkedin] [cv]

About me

I am a computational sensing generalist with experience spanning biometric sensing (Apple Exploratory Design), drug discovery (insitro), and defense (AWARE Project at Duke University). In these roles, I've focused on taking a holistic view of sensing systems to generate fit-for-purpose datasets suitable for extracting insights and driving decisions. I specialize in delivering effective, pragmatic solutions by leveraging my interdisciplinary background to approach problems from a systems perspective. Over the past few years, I have transitioned into technical leadership and people management, where I strive to practice Radical Candor and foster a culture of objectivity. My goal is to enable sustainable performance and encourage creative problem-solving within my teams.

Currently, I lead the Computational Microscopy Team at insitro, where I focus on developing scalable, ML-ready datasets through optical microscopy to enhance drug discovery. I also oversee insitro’s imaging platform, coordinating company-wide microscopy efforts.

I earned my PhD in computational imaging from the Computational Imaging Lab, led by Laura Waller, within the EECS Department at UC Berkeley. My PhD and master's degrees were granted by the Applied Science and Technology graduate group, a small and lightly structured doctoral program within the College of Engineering. While at Berkeley, I co-founded SCI Microscopy with my PhD advisor. Prior to moving to California from my home state of North Carolina, I worked as a lab technician in the DISP Lab at Duke University. I completed my BS with highest honors in Applied Science and Engineering (Biomedical Engineering concentration) at UNC-Chapel Hill, which is now the UNC Biomedical Engineering Department.

Outside of work, I enjoy surfing, wind sports, and woodworking. I participated in the Students for Environmental Energy Development (SEED) program from 2014 to 2018, where I mentored 4th and 5th graders at La Escuelita Elementary in Oakland, CA.

Work-Interests:

• Computational Imaging and Sensing

• Quantitative Microscopy

• Optical and Optomechancial Design

• Software Architecture

Open-Source

See my Github page for more information, as well as SCI Microscopy's GitHub page. Some of my work is featured on my lab group's Open-source page.

Recent Publications

1. A Pooled Cell Painting CRISPR Screening Platform Enables de novo Inference of Gene Function by Self-supervised Deep Learning (with insitro team)

2. High-throughput fluorescence microscopy using multi-frame motion deblurring (with Sarah Dean)

3. Single-shot quantitative phase microscopy with color-multiplexed differential phase contrast (cDPC) (with Michael Chen)

4. Coded illumination techniques for phase imaging and motion blur

5. Multi-contrast imaging and digital refocusing on a mobile microscope with a domed LED array

See Full list of publications and proceedings.