Experience

National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)

• United States
• Government Administration
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Health Science Administrator - Scientific Review Officer

  • Oct 2018 - Present



The National Institutes of Health

• United States
• Biotechnology Research
• 700 & Above Employee

• AAAS S&T Policy Fellow

  • Aug 2016 - Sep 2018

  Relevant duties and skills: Program management and evaluation:  Collaborate with the ODP’s “Pathways to Prevention” (P2P) team in the creation of workshops and systematic reviews to identify and address research gaps in various biomedical fields. Aid in the development of an evaluation of the P2P program to determine its impact on research.  Aid program officers in the development of funding opportunity announcements focused on preventative health by analyzing NIH’s grant portfolio and the literature and assisting ODP staff correctly submit announcements to the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts.  Aid senior staff with ODP’s collaborations with other agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Support several of ODP’s workgroups by preparing meeting materials, writing and distributing meeting minutes, and creating presentations.  Design survey instruments, performance metrics, and analysis plan for assessment of ODP’s working groups. Research and portfolio analysis:  Perform literature reviews and funding portfolio reviews for workgroups on a wide range of public health research topics such as co-morbid conditions and evidence-based policy. Providing technical and scientific expertise and teach staff new methods of analysis and analysis programs to aid projects.  Co-author, along with other team members, a published research project investigating NIH funding’s impact on 22 clinical recommendations.  Perform a bibliometric impact analysis of ODP’s P2P program on scientific research and public discourse. Communication:  Create written and oral briefings for senior staff on results of various analyses.  Write and edit P2P Federal Partners Meeting reports for distribution to NIH collaborators and the public.  Write updates, on the impact of our programs, tailored to be clear to multiple different audiences.  Create and present reports on analyses and stakeholder surveys to senior staff, leadership, and the public.



University of Virginia

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Post-Doctoral Fellow

  • Nov 2012 - Jul 2016

  Relevant duties and skills:Coordinate and perform two biomedical research projects within the lab of Dr. Mark Okusa focusing on 1) the role of the adenosine 2a receptor on kidney regeneration after injury and 2) the anti-fibrotic role of NK cells after kidney injury. Peer-review research grant proposals from within our lab for submission to the NIH.Collaborate with other senior scientific staff to develop scientific research plans and write research grants. Collaborate with other researchers within our lab and across the university to achieve project-specific goals in a timely manner.Coordinate the research projects of three undergraduate students, performing several tasks including:--Coordinate their proposed research projects including assessment of their experimental data as well as their written, oral, and visual communications.--Teach relevant information for their individual topics.--Supervise their work as their primary point of contact in the lab, responding to problems as they arise.--Assisting in their development of reports and presentations of their work within the lab. Collaborate with Dr. Mark Okusa to write and revise two biomedical research reviews in the fields of nephrology and immunology.Accomplishments/Achievements:1. 2nd Place, Basic Science Oral Presentation, 2015 Young Investigators Forum, Southern Society of Clinical Investigators2. Shry-Te Ju Award, 2014 Carey Marshall Thorner Scholars Research Day, University of Virginia, Dept. of Medicine3. AAI Trainee Poster Award, 2014, American Association of Immunologists

• Graduate Student

  • Jul 2005 - Oct 2012

  Doctoral Candidate in the lab of Dr. Victor Engelhard• Performed hands-on immunology research in Dr. Victor Engelhard’s laboratory on improving immune responses to cancer and indentified a novel way to block the deleterious effect of the molecule adenosine the activity of T-cells, which are a crucial component of the immune system.• Wrote in collaboration with Dr. Engelhard both a successfully funded federal grant (funding my work for 3 years), and article about this research for a scientific publication. • Presented approachable talks about my research at several conferences and symposia to audiences both within and outside my field. • Analyze a wide array of scientific literature and condense it into both an acute understanding of the field as well as documents approachable to outside readers.• Created, planned, and executed experimental plans to meet project specific goals. • Collected and analyzed data using a wide array of pharmacological, biochemical, and biological techniques.• Collaborated with members of a large research team to advance the laboratory research goals. My current research project involved understanding the mechanisms of regulation of immunosuppressive adenosine 2a receptor (A2aR) signaling in CD8 T cells. While CD8 T cells express the A2aR, I demonstrated that amongst CD8 T cells there is heterogeneity in the responsiveness to A2aR signaling that was due to a population lacking a crucial downstream component of A2aR signaling, the Gαs subunit of the heterotrimeric g-protein. I also showed that inflammatory cytokine IL-12 or the inflammatory environment of Vaccinia virus infection can decrease sensitivity to cAMP generated (due to A2aR signaling or other sources). However, my work also showed that this differs from CD8 T cells from tumor draining lymph nodes, which are susceptible to A2aR mediated inhibition. This sensitivity decreases their ability to control tumor as A2aR-/- tumor specific T cells control tumor outgrowth better.



Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• SIP Summer Research Student

  • Jun 2004 - Aug 2004

  Laboratory of Dr. Donald Harn NIH Funded Program for Minority Students interested in research in the fields of the Biological Sciences I worked with a graduate student in a 9-week research program in the lab of Dr. Harn focusing on the role of Schistosome derived oligosaccharide Lacto-N-fucto-pentose III (LNFPIII) on modulation of T cell responses. LFNPIII modulates the immune response by altering the Th1/Th2 balance in favor of Th2 cells by altering the function of the antigen presenting cell. The project focused on how LNFPIII treated F4/80 Gr1+ cells altered the function of co-cultured CD4 T cells. The project enhanced the understanding how LFNPIII works to bias T cell responses toward the Th2 cytokine phenotype, which was to bias CD4 T cell cytokine secretion, even while the F4/80 cells inhibited their further expansion. This research project was first laboratory research experience and helped establish my interest in immunology and interaction and subversion of the immune system by pathogens.