Dr. Armando Varela-Ramirez is a Research Scientist and lab director at The Border Biomedical Research Center, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA. He obtained his Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from New Mexico State University in the United States in 1998. From 1998 to 2000, he was also a postdoctoral fellow at Texas A&M AgriLife Research. Dr. Varela-Ramirez's current research interests primarily include anticancer drug discovery. Dr. Varela-Ramirez's expertise and educational background include molecular biology, microbiology, immunology, cell culture, flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, and drug discovery. Also, he has previously worked in clinical laboratories. Moreover, for 13 years, he was aprofessor at two medical schools, teaching microbiology, immunology, virology, and parasitology courses, and served as an investigator, student mentor, and advisor. He has served as an ad hoc editor and reviewer for 11 and 59 peer-reviewed journals. Currently, Dr. Varela-Ramirez is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Cellular Characterization and Biorepository (CCB) Core Facility of BBRC-UTEP. This position entails providing direct assistance, service, assay development, and training on flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, and bioimager instruments to all Core Facility users, including professors, technicians, research assistants, and both undergraduate and graduate students.