Experience

COLLAMEDIX INC.

• United States
• Medical Equipment Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Postdoctoral Researcher

  • Jun 2022 - Present

  Developing medical devices made from pure collagen biotextiles (CollaFabric) to improve patient recovery in the orthopaedic and female pelvic health space. Learning entrepreneurial skills critical for starting and running a medical device company. Investigating stem cell therapies that can improve ligament and tendon healing. - Developing a medical device from fabricated pure collagen thread that is industrially braided. - Project lead of a diverse team consisting of 8 members ranging from clinicians, professors, and students. - Operating a pre-clinical (in vivo) study to determine the safety and feasibility of our CollaFabric device. - Writing NIH, DOD, and nonprofit grants to raise money for current & future projects. - Analyzing histology to determine biocompatibility of implants in connective tissue using ISO 10993-1. - Immunohistochemistry staining of tendon-specific markers to determine tissue remodeling in the implant. - Developing a hydroxyapatite coating process to stimulate bone growth. - Running market research on biological devices in the orthopaedics industry. - Investigating stem cell therapies for improving implant integration for ligament and tendon healing. Show less



The University of New Mexico School of Medicine

• Higher Education
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Graduate Student Researcher

  • Jan 2021 - May 2022

  Investigated biodegradable polymers for making bioinks to 3D bioprint porous constructs for growing bone tissue. Researched a tissue engineered product to replace the bone-ligament interface in damaged ligaments of the hand and wrist. Participated in a regional NSF ICORP to do market research for a novel bioprinting system. - Synthesize fumarate-based polymers to make bioinks for 3D bioprinting. - Print bioinks to make 3D hard plastic constructs through photo crosslinking methods. - Grow primary osteoblasts on porous constructs to determine cell viability to the materials. - Organize and delegating assignments to a team of 5 students. - Write, edit, and publish scientific articles and grants. - Report project progress through reports and presentations. - Manage lab equipment usage, chemical and material stocks, and safety requirements. - Prepare purchase orders by verifying equipment specifications and obtaining quotes. - Develop projects to achieve overall lab goals. Show less



The University of New Mexico

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Graduate Research Assistant

  • May 2018 - Dec 2020

  Researched how material properties can direct aortic valve cells to represent aortic stenosis for a more relevant in vitro disease model. Tissue engineered a synthetic hydrogel platform to grow aortic heart valve cells in a 3D environment for modeling.- Synthesized poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate and PEG-based polymers for culture model.- Created hydrogels through photo and thermal crosslinking methods.- Tested chemical (NMR, FTIR) and material (Sol-Swell, Compression Strength) of polymers and hydrogels to determine quality of the polymers and degree of hydrogel formation.- Extracted primary cells from pig aortic valve leaflets for cell stocks.- 3D cultured cells in a dynamic cell culturing system.- Used fluorescent microscopy to analyze cell viability within the hydrogels.- Helped write grant proposals to secure funding.- Wrote and published work in a scientific journal.- Built budgets for running projects. Show less

• Graduate Teaching Assistant

  • Aug 2016 - Aug 2020

  Taught courses in the biology and engineering department. Duties included building curriculum, developing online lectures, attending lab meetings, setting-up labs, performing dissections, running exams, holding office hours and grading.- Anatomy and Physiology I/II Labs (2 years)- Introduction to Statistics and Experimental Design (2 year)- Tissue Engineering (1 year)

• Assistant Laboratory Technician

  • Aug 2016 - May 2017

  Helped the lab technician in the organic chemistry teaching labs by preparing and maintaining experiments and lab equipment.- Restocked chemicals and prepared student manuals prior to the start of the semester.- Checked out and replaced equipment for students.- Presented safety training and maintained lab safety by checking for proper safety equipment and cleaning up any spills.- Ran UV-VIS, Gas Chromatography, and FT-IR analysis on students experiments.



The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center

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

• Graduate Research Assistant

  • May 2017 - May 2018

  Developed a hydrogel platform from decellularized human myocardium suffering from cardiomyopathy to grow cardiac progenitor cells for studying the pathological extracellular matrixes effects on cell differentiation. - Decellularization of heart muscle to obtain extracellular matrix. - Preparation of tissue for immunohistochemistry and tissue staining. - Histology of heart tissue for scar tissue. - Cell culture of cardiac progenitor cells. Developed a hydrogel platform from decellularized human myocardium suffering from cardiomyopathy to grow cardiac progenitor cells for studying the pathological extracellular matrixes effects on cell differentiation. - Decellularization of heart muscle to obtain extracellular matrix. - Preparation of tissue for immunohistochemistry and tissue staining. - Histology of heart tissue for scar tissue. - Cell culture of cardiac progenitor cells.



Huntington Learning Center

• United States
• Education Administration Programs
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Subject Tutor

  • Jan 2016 - Jul 2016

  Tutored all subjects for children ranging from kindergarten to high school, and prepared high school students for college entrance exam preparation. - Aided students with their homework and test preparation by reviewing class content, questions, and papers. - Taught children (5-12 years old) with the Huntington’s tutoring curriculum. - Trained students for the ACT, SAT, and ASVAB through structured curriculum. - Reported student progress to managers and parents through in-person meetings and written reports. Show less



Boise State University

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Research Assistant (Post-Bachelor)

  • Feb 2016 - Jun 2016

  Assisted in starting a project that investigated the cytotoxicity of electronic cigarette (e-cigs) liquid, with nicotine and without nicotine, on mouse lung epithelial cells - Mammalian cell culture to grow the lung cells for testing - Fluorescent metabolic cell assay to quantify cell viability when exposed to e-cig liquids - Statistical analysis and graph design using Prism - GraphPad Ran genotyping to help with a mouse breeding project to up-regulate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor in mouse liver cells for testing the effects of TCDD toxin. - DNA extractions from mouse biopsies - Gel-electrophoresis and imaging to identify specific marker genes - Catalog mouse pedigree Show less



Idaho State University

• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Undergraduate Research Assistant

  • May 2014 - Jan 2015

  Aided in a project that was characterizing the gnome of a bacteriophage (phage) that is pathogenic to the bacteria Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax). - NIH Basic Local Alignment Sequence Searches (BLAST) to compare phage’s genetic identity to other known viruses. - Microbiological cell culture of phages in bacteria to maintain stocks of phage for genetic sequencing Aided in a project that was characterizing the gnome of a bacteriophage (phage) that is pathogenic to the bacteria Bacillus anthracis (Anthrax). - NIH Basic Local Alignment Sequence Searches (BLAST) to compare phage’s genetic identity to other known viruses. - Microbiological cell culture of phages in bacteria to maintain stocks of phage for genetic sequencing