Experience

NightHawk Biosciences, Inc

• United States
• Biotechnology Research
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Senior Scientist

  • Sep 2021 - Present

  Morrisville, North Carolina, United States A member of the in vivo team driving drug research and development. Led projects investigating FoxP3+ Treg function after antibody therapy including immunosuppressive phenotype, capacity, and impact on autoimmune disease onset/severity. I also assisted in the characterization of an oncology drug candidate designed to deliver relevant antigens to APCs and induce their maturation to induce a potent immune response for tumor eradication. Recent work has focused on designing and validating the… Show more A member of the in vivo team driving drug research and development. Led projects investigating FoxP3+ Treg function after antibody therapy including immunosuppressive phenotype, capacity, and impact on autoimmune disease onset/severity. I also assisted in the characterization of an oncology drug candidate designed to deliver relevant antigens to APCs and induce their maturation to induce a potent immune response for tumor eradication. Recent work has focused on designing and validating the functionality of different bispecific antibody constructs targeting various bacterial toxins to minimize pathogenesis. I have been project manager completing numerous study projects and have collaborated with co-workers and external investigators to aid in their project's successful conclusion. I developed and validated numerous assays that were recorded in either study reports or SOP generation. I was also responsible for compiling the budget for a new project developing acute radiation syndrome drug candidates. Led the research investigating different drug delivery systems, live attenuated anthrax vaccine drug candidate, and bispecific antibody treatment for preeclampsia. Show less



Heat Biologics, Inc/NightHawk Biosciences, Inc

• Scientist II

  • Mar 2021 - Aug 2021

  Morrisville, North Carolina, United States In vivo team member involved in research and development studies investigating different immunotherapies for the treatment of cancers, autoimmune and metabolic diseases. Project lead in antibody PK/PD study targeting TNFRSF25 on CD4+FoxP3+ Tregs. Additionally, assisted in proof of concept studies examining the efficacy of an oncology immunomodulating drug to drive APC maturation to promote a potent anti-tumor immune response.



University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Research Associate

  • 2014 - Mar 2021

  Chapel Hill, NC My research investigated mechanisms that may influence the progression of Type 1 Diabetes in the NOD mouse model. The majority of my studies focused on events associated with central tolerance efficacy mediated by DC and thymic epithelial cells in wild type NOD mice. Additional research examined alterations in APC function/phenotype, T cell activation events, and T cell subset differentiation subsets in novel gene knockout animals. I mentored undergraduate and graduate students plus junior lab… Show more My research investigated mechanisms that may influence the progression of Type 1 Diabetes in the NOD mouse model. The majority of my studies focused on events associated with central tolerance efficacy mediated by DC and thymic epithelial cells in wild type NOD mice. Additional research examined alterations in APC function/phenotype, T cell activation events, and T cell subset differentiation subsets in novel gene knockout animals. I mentored undergraduate and graduate students plus junior lab members helping them learn new immunoassays or assisting in assay development. I was involved in several collaborations both within and outside the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, including the utilization of microparticles to delay the onset of T1D.

• Postdoctoral Fellow

  • 2007 - 2014

  Chapel Hill, NC Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2009-2011



Wake Forest University School of Medicine

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Graduate Student - Postdoctoral Fellow

  • Aug 2001 - Aug 2007

  Winston-Salem, NC Investigated factors that may influence the development of a high avidity CD8+ T cell response using the P14 TCR transgenic mouse model. These T cells have been previously shown to be more efficacious at viral clearance, therefore identifying these factors could improve vaccine development or cancer therapies. I demonstrated primary CD8+ T cell lines exhibit pronounced plasticity in their ability to respond to both high and low concentrations of antigen. However over repeated antigen exposure… Show more Investigated factors that may influence the development of a high avidity CD8+ T cell response using the P14 TCR transgenic mouse model. These T cells have been previously shown to be more efficacious at viral clearance, therefore identifying these factors could improve vaccine development or cancer therapies. I demonstrated primary CD8+ T cell lines exhibit pronounced plasticity in their ability to respond to both high and low concentrations of antigen. However over repeated antigen exposure, the developing T cell population refines their CD8 isoform expression levels to correlate with concentration of stimulating peptide:MHC molecules, eventually losing that plasticity. Additional research examined how different APC populations shape the developing T cell response, demonstrating regardless of the priming antigen concentration DCs selectively prime a high avidity CD8+ Teff population. Show less