Experience

Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard

• United States
• Research Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Research Technician II

  • Jun 2021 - Present



Healthcare Huddle

• United States
• Online Audio and Video Media
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Multimedia Lead

  • Jul 2020 - Present

  I am responsible for content creation, marketing, as well as media branding & growth for Healthcare Huddle, a healthcare media and news startup with a mission to provide digestible, accessible and engaging healthcare information in a timely and accurate manner.Our team writes weekly e-newsletters and posts daily on Instagram (@healthcarehuddle), Twitter (@hchuddle), LinkedIn (@healthcarehuddle) and Facebook (@healthcarehuddle).Checkout HH @ https://www.healthcarehuddle.com/angelaz and subscribe to our newsletter!



Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

• United States
• Hospitals and Health Care
• 700 & Above Employee

• Research Technician

  • Jun 2018 - Jun 2021

  I conduct research in the fields of immunology and structural biology to investigate various cell surface receptors and protein-protein interactions in immune and neural systems. My main project aims to uncover TCR-HLA protein mechanisms underlying HIV disease protective versus non-protective cellular immunity to advance HIV treatment via vaccine development.I am a member of the Reinherz Lab and collaborate closely with Dr. Bruce Walker at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard. I conduct research in the fields of immunology and structural biology to investigate various cell surface receptors and protein-protein interactions in immune and neural systems. My main project aims to uncover TCR-HLA protein mechanisms underlying HIV disease protective versus non-protective cellular immunity to advance HIV treatment via vaccine development.I am a member of the Reinherz Lab and collaborate closely with Dr. Bruce Walker at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard.



University of Massachusetts Amherst

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Life Sciences Junior Research Fellow

  • Sep 2017 - May 2018

  I, alongside nine nominated undergraduate research fellows, met weekly to discuss and share scientific research and updates on our on-going theses. Also, with the assistance of the Biology Department and the UMass Academic Dean, our group hosted the Undergraduate Life Science's Research Symposium in April 2018 featuring keynote speaker Dr. Peter Hotez, Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine.

• Clinical Research Assistant, Neuroscience Learning & Performance Lab

  • Sep 2015 - May 2018

  My years in lab focused primarily on my multidisciplinary honors thesis, bridging my dual degrees in Biology and Neuroscience. My thesis was a behavioral Parkinson's study titled, "Motor initiation and inhibition in Parkinson’s disease: The effect of incentive reward and medication status". I investigated the effect of cues, antiparkinsonian medication, and incentive reward on decision making in Parkinson’s patients both on and off medication using a series of cognitive, motor, and behavioral tasks. My Committee Chair was Dr. Youngbin Kwak and my Committee Members were Dr. Anindita Deb and Dr. Kara Smith, neurologists at UMass Memorial Medical Center. My research was rewarded an Honors Research Grant, and a position as a 2017 - 2018 UMass Life Sciences Junior Fellow.I also ran other studies in undergraduate participants assessing social decision making and cultural difference decision making behavior and analyzing collected EEG and fMRI data.

• Biology Major Advisory Committee Member

  • Sep 2015 - May 2018

  I was nominated to be a member of this academic advisory committee to represent the voice of undergraduate biology majors at UMass Amherst. Our advisory committee met bi-monthly with faculty, deans, and committee chairs within the College of Natural Sciences to discuss issues/concerns of importance to biology majors. We addressed not only the sources of student concerns ranging from advising to major requirements, to grading, to study-life balance, etc., but we also proposed solutions to be implemented moving forward. Our group helped to push the university to improve the Biology program, by redesigning the course curriculum requirements and allowing students to concentrate on specific tracks to better focus their studies within the broad field of Biology.

• Resident Assistant

  • Aug 2015 - May 2018

  As an RA, I was a live-in, student staff member responsible for providing support to ~30 first-year students yearly. I strived to always foster and promote a safe, inclusive community through incident response, on-duty coverage, and floor events. I worked on a staff with 17 fellow RAs, along with 10 Peer Mentors, and as a team, we looked after and promoted academic and social success for ~540 students. I have been trained to respond in crises situations, Title IX, alcohol and drug-related documentations, and social conflict.



Massachusetts General Hospital

• United States
• Hospitals and Health Care
• 700 & Above Employee

• Student Research Fellow, Emergency Medicine Network

  • May 2017 - Aug 2017

  My main project at EMNet, under the supervision of Dr. Carlos Camargo, was centered around the National Emergency Department Inventory (NEDI). My team's role involved surveying emergency departments across the U.S. and evaluating these departments for emergency preparedness. Throughout my time, I collected, analyzed, and compared current data to longitudinal data from 2014 to specifically assess if any trends existed between emergency rooms that provided the most efficient, quality care across the country. The data was also used to update the NEDI FindER Now mobile app.I also assisted in data collection and organization for the MARC-35 project, a prospective 17-center cohort study of children <1 year with severe bronchiolitis. This study examines which children develop recurrent wheezing by age 3.



PGA of America

• United States
• Spectator Sports
• 700 & Above Employee

• New England Junior Professional Golf Association Tournament Intern

  • May 2013 - Aug 2017

  I am an alumnus of the NE Jr. PGA and won the Girl’s 14-18 Division Player of the Year 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. I was invited back by Director, Jacy Settles, to intern and help the junior professional tour continue to succeed and grow. My roles over the May-August summer tournament season included mentoring youth golfers, facilitating tournament registration, setting up and running tournaments, assisting as a rules official on the course, educating proper golf course etiquette, resolving scoring issues, and keeping the pace of play. A key goal was to bring fun onto the course and inspire junior golfers to love golf as a lifetime sport!



Brigham and Women's Hospital

• United States
• Hospitals and Health Care
• 700 & Above Employee

• Clinical Research Intern, Department of Rheumatology

  • May 2016 - Aug 2016

  I worked under the supervision of Dr. Yvonne Lee and Dr. Daniel Solomon, assisting a team of full-time research assistants and renowned rheumatologists. I mainly worked on 2 major projects:(1) Central Pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis (CPIRA)The largest prospective, observational study, comprehensively assessing central pain sensitization at 5 academic medical centers across the nation. CPIRA is the first study to investigate and report associations between central sensitization and Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI), tender joint count, evaluator global assessment, and patient global assessment.(2) Cardiovascular Inflammation Reduction Trial (CIRT)The aim of this study is to directly test the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis by evaluating whether or not low-dose methotrexate (LDM) will reduce rates of myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiovascular death among stable coronary artery disease patients with type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome, conditions associated with enhanced pro-inflammatory response.I was responsible for screening EPIC for eligible patients, placing recruitment phone calls, compiling/maintaining/ updating databases with confidential patient information, and preparing/scheduling/consenting and accompanying patients through study visits. I also attended weekly seminars held by department physicians and other talks given by the hospital.



University of Massachusetts Boston

• United States
• Higher Education
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Research Assistant in Biomedical Imaging and Sensing Laboratory, Department of Physics

  • May 2015 - Aug 2015

  I worked on a project titled "Design and Optimization of Molecular Photoacoustic Contrast Agents (MPACs) for in Vivo Imaging of Breast Cancer Tumors" under the supervision of principal investigator Dr. Chandra Yelleswarapu,. I was responsible for preparation of samples, optic setups, sterilization and cleaning of lab equipment, and assisted in running experiments and data analysis. I also presented my 4 month research progress and information from The Prospects of Photoacoustic Tomography by Lihong Wong at my final lab meeting.

• Medical Intern, Department of Neuro-Oncology

  • Dec 2014 - Jan 2015

  I shadowed Dr. Isabel Arrillaga, Dr. Scott Plotkin, and fellow Sylvia Eisele, M.D. daily during morning and afternoon rounds with inpatients and outpatients, pre- and post-surgeries. Patients ranged from terminally-ill (e.g. astrocytoma, glioblastoma multiforme, ependymoma) to in stable remission. I was taught how to read brain MRI cans, how to recognize common symptoms brain and spinal cord neoplasms, and attended weekly medical rounds hosted by a variety of doctors across MGH.



New England Sinai Hospital

• United States
• Hospitals and Health Care
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Medical Assistant to the Chief Medical Officer

  • May 2014 - Aug 2014

  As medical assistant to Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lawrence Hotes, I assisted him with all of his daily administrative needs alongside his administrative assistant Ms. Joan Mansfield. My tasks included preparing files for patients, organizing patient files, and analyzing medical research. As medical assistant to Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lawrence Hotes, I assisted him with all of his daily administrative needs alongside his administrative assistant Ms. Joan Mansfield. My tasks included preparing files for patients, organizing patient files, and analyzing medical research.