Experience

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  Think20 Labs

  • United States
  • Biotechnology Research
  • 1 - 100 Employee

  • Lab Manager - Senior Scientist

    • Dec 2020 - Dec 2021

    - Trained and managed four junior scientists for analysis of metals, terpenes, and residual solvents - Ensured compliance with ISO 17025 accreditation, state regulations, lab policies and procedures - Monitored inventory and hazardous waste, purchased all materials, and established relations with vendors to obtain competitive quotes - Negotiated new contracts which reduced waste disposal fees by $6000/yr., gas costs by ~$3000/yr., and shipping costs for solvents by 100% - Updated SoPs, reviewed raw data, and approved customer CoAs prior to release - Developed new methods for extended metals panel and combined methods for analysis of terpenes and residual solvents in a single run in less than 18 minutes- Contributed toward manuscripts for analysis of terpenes and pesticides via GC-MS/MS and drafted a patent application - Collaborated with LIMS engineers to improve functionality and efficiency of multiple internal LIMS

  • Analytical Chemist

    • Dec 2019 - Dec 2020

    - Prepared and analyzed various matrices for regulatory and compliance testing of heavy metals, cannabinoids, terpenes, and residual solvents in accordance with state regulations - Operated, performed routine calibration, maintenance, and troubleshooting of a NexION 2000B ICP-MS, Clarus SQ 8 T GC/MS with TurboMatrix 110 headspace sampler, and Altus UPLC- Authored SoPs and assisted commercial operations manager with method development and validation

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  California State University, Long Beach

  • United States
  • Higher Education
  • 700 & Above Employee

  • Graduate Research Student

    • Nov 2017 - Dec 2021

    Under the guidance of Dr. Marco Lopez, I have studied the kinetics and mechanisms of arylcyclohexe oxidation catalyzed by synthetic iron porphyrins. This work probes the influence of substrate substituent(s) and has involved qualitative and quantitative analysis of starting materials, reactive intermediates, and oxidation products by multiple spectroscopic techniques. During this time, I supervised, trained, and assisted ten undergraduate research students with their assigned projects, established the group's inventory system, developed methods and SOPs, and resolved problems with instrumentation and software.

  • Teaching Associate

    • Jan 2016 - Jul 2019

    I taught first and second-semester organic chemistry (CHEM 223A and 223B). I wrote quizzes and prepared prelab lectures on safety, waste disposal, experimental techniques, apparatus set-up, reaction mechanisms, and IR, GC, and NMR theory and problem-solving strategies. I also taught labs for pre-nursing majors (140), which covered general, organic, and biochemistry topics and techniques. This summer, I served as lead instructor for 223A updated the course syllabus and contributed new questions for an updated final exam.

  • NMR Graduate Assistant

    • Aug 2017 - Dec 2018

    I operated two Bruker NMRs (Fourier 300 MHz and Ascend 400 MHz) for undergraduate organic chemistry labs, processed and distributed spectra, answered questions related to preparation of samples, troubleshooted data acquisition and software issues, assisted with nitrogen fills, and reported problems to supervisor and course instructors.

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  California State University, Long Beach

  • GC-MS Graduate Assistant

    • Jan 2016 - May 2017

    I operated an Agilent 7820A GC with 5975 MSD to perform routine analysis of samples for organic chemistry courses, distributed chromatograms and answered questions related to data interpretation and sample preparation.

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  Oregon State University

  • United States
  • Higher Education
  • 700 & Above Employee

  • Graduate Research Student

    • Dec 2014 - Jun 2015

    Within the high-throughput, natural products lab of Dr. Sandra Loesgen, I cultivated microbes at large and small-scale for the production of natural products. I performed extractions of raw materials and assessed crude isolates for potential bioactivity via agar disk diffusion and MTT 96-well bioassays. Based on the results, I carried out activity-guided fractionation by column chromatography, flash chromatography, and prep-HPLC. Concurrent bioassays were performed along with LC-MS-UV analysis of isolated fractions. Prior to leaving the group, I contributed an SOP for the extraction and quantification of DNA, PCR, and database-assisted genotyping. With this method, I supported my suspicions that atypical morphology observed with multiple cultivations of Bacillus mycoides was not due to contamination.

  • Graduate Teaching Associate

    • Sep 2014 - Jun 2015

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  California State University-San Bernardino

  • San Bernardino

  • Undergraduate Research Assistant

    • Mar 2013 - Jun 2014
    • San Bernardino

    While in the Cousins' Group, I gained experience with development and optimization of green (more environmentally friendly) synthetic methods, GC-MS operation, and solid state fermentation of fungi. The methods were showcased with a multistep synthesis of carpanone from sesamol.My involvement focused on optimization of step 3 and method development of step 4. Step 3 involved a palladium (II) acetate-catalyzed pi bond migration of 2-allyl sesamol to generate 2-propenyl sesamol. Step 4 involved solid state fermentation of T. versicolor on brewer's spent grain for production of laccase, which was isolated and used in the final step of the synthesis. The work was presented at the 2014 Southern California ACS Student Research Conference.