Associate Scientist

• Feb 2023 - Present

Advancing custom media formulations for optimal proliferation of in-house primary cell lines• Identify optimal media formulations >1000 times faster by developing DOE screening/optimization assays • Define and test proof-of-concept media formulations for advancement from benchtop to bioreactor• Interface with external vendors identifying novel, cost effective, and best performance media ingredients• Train/onboard new employees on protocols and software of interest

Research Associate II

• Aug 2021 - Feb 2023

Research Associate

• Sep 2020 - Aug 2021

Development and execution of cell-based assays for early drug discovery • Advancement of novel luciferase reporter assay for compound lead selection • Executing weekly in-vitro assays for hit to lead and structure activity relationship (SAR) of small molecules • Development and screening of Knock-In and Knock-Out cell lines with Nucleo/Lipofection and CRISPR/Cas9 technologies • Establishing Phagocytosis, Chemotaxis and Cytokine assays in primary murine immune cells • Maintenance and cell culture of in-vitro, ex-vivo and iPSC cell lines Show less

College Researcher

• May 2019 - Aug 2019

Laboratory of Dr. Ronald DePinho, Professor, Department of Cancer Biology Exploration of tumor-immune cell interactions for biomarker/druggable feasibility • Quantified in-vitro/in-vivo protein and mRNA levels in inducible KRAS systems • Documented tumor-cytokine receptor interactions with immunostaining techniques • Generated figures for final manuscript published in Cancer Discovery Laboratory of Dr. Ronald DePinho, Professor, Department of Cancer Biology Exploration of tumor-immune cell interactions for biomarker/druggable feasibility • Quantified in-vitro/in-vivo protein and mRNA levels in inducible KRAS systems • Documented tumor-cytokine receptor interactions with immunostaining techniques • Generated figures for final manuscript published in Cancer Discovery

Research Assistant

• Aug 2018 - May 2019

Laboratory of Dr. Julia B. Saltz, Assistant Professor, Department of BioSciences • Coauthored paper on effects of genotype environment interactions on decision making published in Genes • Initiated a literature review to collate and summarize the effect of cognitive bias on animal learning models Laboratory of Dr. Julia B. Saltz, Assistant Professor, Department of BioSciences • Coauthored paper on effects of genotype environment interactions on decision making published in Genes • Initiated a literature review to collate and summarize the effect of cognitive bias on animal learning models

Summer Intern/Teaching Assistant

• May 2018 - Aug 2018

• Taught computer-aided design (CAD), programming, circuit building (Arduino), and basic chemistry concepts to 9 groups of 20-30 underrepresented HISD students aged 10-18 • Taught computer-aided design (CAD), programming, circuit building (Arduino), and basic chemistry concepts to 9 groups of 20-30 underrepresented HISD students aged 10-18

College Intern

• Jun 2017 - Aug 2017

Laboratory of Dr. Fernanda Laezza, Associate Professor, and Dr. Thomas Greene, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology Mechanistic pathway of addictive behaviors • Developed pull-down assay of neuronal RNA granules with custom fusion peptide • Contributed original research used in successful 5-year NIH R01 grant proposal Laboratory of Dr. Fernanda Laezza, Associate Professor, and Dr. Thomas Greene, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology Mechanistic pathway of addictive behaviors • Developed pull-down assay of neuronal RNA granules with custom fusion peptide • Contributed original research used in successful 5-year NIH R01 grant proposal