Experience

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc.

• United States
• Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Principal Scientist, Research and Development

  • Nov 2022 - Present

  Responsible for formulation and process development of early-stage delivery candidates utilizing Ocular’s hydrogel-based sustained drug delivery technology Responsible for formulation and process development of early-stage delivery candidates utilizing Ocular’s hydrogel-based sustained drug delivery technology



Kala Pharmaceuticals

• United States
• Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• • Jul 2021 - Jul 2022

  Scaled up Kala’s mucus penetrating particle technology (AMPPLIFY®) to commercial scale and established the nanomilling manufacturing process for INVELTYS and EYSUVIS commercial ophthalmic products- Identified critical process parameters by risk assessment and DOE approaches, established commercial process robustness, and defined in-process controls- Interfaced with CMOs to draft master batch records and serve as person in plant to oversee initial GMP production batches and analytical testing- Authored more than 20 technical reports summarizing formulation and process aspects that contributed to NDA filings- Provided subject matter expertise to Quality and Manufacturing teams- Designed and executed probe stability studies that defined the critical quality attributes and storage conditions of INVELTYS and EYSUVISHeaded technical development as Formulation lead on a multidisciplinary project team and designed an intravitreal extended-release formulation of a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) NCE- Defined project strategy to ideate and assess controlled release systems, ultimately advancing the program from concept to preclinical readiness in less than one year- Evaluated the design space of prototype formulations including degradable polymer rods and gels- Performed in vitro release studies and kinetic modeling, which provided the basis for understanding release mechanisms, predicting in vivo performance, and determining concept feasibility- Selected lead formulations for preclinical studies through close collaboration with Analytical and Chemistry research teams Show less

• • Jul 2017 - Jul 2021

• • Jun 2015 - Jun 2017



University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Graduate Research Assistant (Chemical Engineering Ph.D. Program)

  • Aug 2010 - May 2015

  Advisor: Hyunjoon Kong • Developed lipid, polymer, and inorganic nanoparticle formulation strategies that improved the contrast per dose of diagnostic imaging probes with passive and peptide-mediated targeting capabilities • Evaluated nanoparticle material properties using characterization techniques that included dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) • Mentored an undergraduate researcher to examine the morphological control of templated microgels Show less



TransForm Pharmaceuticals (a Johnson & Johnson Company)

• • Oct 2009 - Jan 2010

  • Provided analytical method development and support of small molecule immediate and controlled release product concepts, including monitoring of chemical stability and dissolution testing of solid oral dosage forms• Elucidated drug release mechanisms from polymer-based punctal implants through use of fundamental models• Used HPLC, LC/MS/MS, GC, and ICP-OES to characterize drug substance and drug product formulations

• • Sep 2006 - Oct 2009



Brown University

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Undergraduate Research Assistant

  • Sep 2005 - May 2006

  Advisors: Anubhav Tripathi and Edith Mathiowitz • Researched biodegradable nanoparticle formation via microfluidics as an honors thesis project • Fabricated spherical particles in a cross-flow system and examined the effect of polymer content on particle size by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) Advisors: Anubhav Tripathi and Edith Mathiowitz • Researched biodegradable nanoparticle formation via microfluidics as an honors thesis project • Fabricated spherical particles in a cross-flow system and examined the effect of polymer content on particle size by scanning electron microscopy (SEM)



University of Massachusetts Amherst

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Undergraduate Research Assistant (REU Program)

  • Jun 2003 - Aug 2005

  Advisor: Gregory Tew (Summers 2004 and 2005) • Evaluated the effects of a fluorophilic block on the rheology of triblock copolymer hydrogels • Determined terpyridine-metal binding constants by means of fluorimetry and ITC • Synthesized copolymers via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and calculated reactivity ratios using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) Advisor: Helmut Strey (Summer 2003) • Used small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to examine morphology of oil-absorbing polyelectrolyte-surfactant complexes • Formulated hydrogels from photocross-linkable polysaccharides Show less