Pepe Ballester
Manager at Mogrify- Claim this Profile
Click to upgrade to our gold package
for the full feature experience.
-
Spanish Native or bilingual proficiency
-
English Full professional proficiency
-
German Elementary proficiency
Topline Score
Bio
Marloes Tijssen
I managed Jose from April 2015 until September 2017 when I left the University of Cambridge. He worked as a Post-Doctoral Researcher in my laboratory. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Jose. He is a reliable team player, who is enthusiastic about his work and shows a high level of creativity. He can effectively manage a heavy workload, holds immaculate records of his experimental data and is critical of his results and able to troubleshoot independently. I am confident he will be able to use these transferable skills succesfully in any environment.
deepak guduru
Jose was very well organized and precise with his work, he was very motivated and focused towards his tasks and milestones. he was very friendly and active in the group, he even participated for group meetings and presentations with interesting discussions. He has produced some excellent results that are already published elsewhere. I would highly recommend him as a very good teacher and as a group leader !
Marloes Tijssen
I managed Jose from April 2015 until September 2017 when I left the University of Cambridge. He worked as a Post-Doctoral Researcher in my laboratory. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Jose. He is a reliable team player, who is enthusiastic about his work and shows a high level of creativity. He can effectively manage a heavy workload, holds immaculate records of his experimental data and is critical of his results and able to troubleshoot independently. I am confident he will be able to use these transferable skills succesfully in any environment.
deepak guduru
Jose was very well organized and precise with his work, he was very motivated and focused towards his tasks and milestones. he was very friendly and active in the group, he even participated for group meetings and presentations with interesting discussions. He has produced some excellent results that are already published elsewhere. I would highly recommend him as a very good teacher and as a group leader !
Marloes Tijssen
I managed Jose from April 2015 until September 2017 when I left the University of Cambridge. He worked as a Post-Doctoral Researcher in my laboratory. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Jose. He is a reliable team player, who is enthusiastic about his work and shows a high level of creativity. He can effectively manage a heavy workload, holds immaculate records of his experimental data and is critical of his results and able to troubleshoot independently. I am confident he will be able to use these transferable skills succesfully in any environment.
deepak guduru
Jose was very well organized and precise with his work, he was very motivated and focused towards his tasks and milestones. he was very friendly and active in the group, he even participated for group meetings and presentations with interesting discussions. He has produced some excellent results that are already published elsewhere. I would highly recommend him as a very good teacher and as a group leader !
Marloes Tijssen
I managed Jose from April 2015 until September 2017 when I left the University of Cambridge. He worked as a Post-Doctoral Researcher in my laboratory. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Jose. He is a reliable team player, who is enthusiastic about his work and shows a high level of creativity. He can effectively manage a heavy workload, holds immaculate records of his experimental data and is critical of his results and able to troubleshoot independently. I am confident he will be able to use these transferable skills succesfully in any environment.
deepak guduru
Jose was very well organized and precise with his work, he was very motivated and focused towards his tasks and milestones. he was very friendly and active in the group, he even participated for group meetings and presentations with interesting discussions. He has produced some excellent results that are already published elsewhere. I would highly recommend him as a very good teacher and as a group leader !
Credentials
-
Entrepreneurship & Harvard Business Publishing Education
ThePower Business SchoolNov, 2022- Nov, 2024 -
Fundamentals of Project Planning and Management
University of Virginia Darden School of BusinessSep, 2017- Nov, 2024 -
Lecturer certification for Spanish Universities
ANECASep, 2017- Nov, 2024 -
Personal licence (PIL A&B)
Home OfficeDec, 2015- Nov, 2024 -
First Certificate in English (FCE)
University of CambridgeJan, 2008- Nov, 2024
Experience
-
Mogrify
-
United Kingdom
-
Biotechnology
-
1 - 100 Employee
-
Manager
-
Feb 2022 - Present
Achievements:• Identified and influenced the decision about increasing the capabilities of the CORE team, transitioning from 2 scientists producing lentivirus only to 6 scientists providing Mogrify projects with lentivirus, AAVs, mRNA and cloning capabilities• Implementation of improved QC processes• Development of team management skills after a company restructuration• Triggered the update of the career framework to ease staff-manager development conversationsDuties• Lead the CORE team and act as Technology leader on 2 disease projects• Identify, forecast and solve technology related needs
-
-
Senior Scientist
-
Jun 2019 - Feb 2022
Mogrify has developed a proprietary direct cellular conversion technology, which makes it possible to transform (transmogrify) any mature human cell type into any other without going through a pluripotent stem cell- or progenitor cell-state. We are applying this patented technology to generate IP and cell types that will power the development and manufacture of new cell therapies across every therapeutic area.Achievements:• Management of 2 research grants (>£1.5M) • Strategic influence on the development/cancellation of projects and creation of new ones• Setting up of new facilities from scratch in under 3 months (HSE approval, RAs, training and equipment)Duties:• Responsible for leading, costing, planning and presenting projects internally and externally, with a team of up to 3 scientists, • Management, supervision and training of company staff• Independent design, execution and troubleshooting of experiments• Management and maintenance of relationships with partners• Create and lead the BSO team
-
-
-
University of Cambridge
-
United Kingdom
-
Research Services
-
700 & Above Employee
-
Postdoctoral Research Associate
-
Feb 2018 - May 2019
Objectives:• Identifying new targets for multiple myeloma to develop novel therapeutic agentsDuties:• Assess such therapeutic agents in a mouse myeloma model• Protein production in human cell lines to set up a phage display screening• CRISPR screening of essential genes for multiple myeloma cell linesAchievements• Target confirmation in a murine model leading to further collaboration with a commercial partner• Set up of new assays such as CRISPR screening workflow and ELISAs• Work in a collaborative environment including academic and industry partners
-
-
Demonstrator for Biology of Cells (Natural Science Tripos)
-
Oct 2017 - Dec 2018
• Utilised, adapted and transferred my own knowledge in order to support university students during practical lessons
-
-
Postdoctoral Research Associate
-
Apr 2015 - Feb 2018
Objectives: • Screening a list of candidate Transcription Factors that might act as key switches in the production and maturation of red blood cells for transfusion to humans.• Understanding platelet formation in vivo to improve its production in vitroMain skills developed: iPS cells, DNA cloning for lentiviral production, cell reprogramming by viral vector techniques, flow cytometry, live cell imaging, human and mouse primary cultures, shRNAMain achievements: • Management of Translational Research projects• Successful initiation and planning of challenging projects• Demonstrating for the first time that insufficient TPM4 expression in human and mouse results in bleeding disorders • Production of human red blood cells in vitro from iPS cells • Establishment of new mouse strains to characterize human bleeding disorders• Study of human thrombus formation ex vivo using a home-made microfluidic device• Personal licence (PIL A&B) from Home Office
-
-
-
University of Bristol
-
United Kingdom
-
Higher Education
-
700 & Above Employee
-
Collaboration - short stay
-
Nov 2016 - Dec 2016
Duties: implementation of new cell cultures and training on new techniquesAchievements: • Implementation of new cell culture systems in the host institution• Trained on new techniques by the host institution for their implementation at the home institution Duties: implementation of new cell cultures and training on new techniquesAchievements: • Implementation of new cell culture systems in the host institution• Trained on new techniques by the host institution for their implementation at the home institution
-
-
-
University of Glasgow
-
United Kingdom
-
Higher Education
-
700 & Above Employee
-
PhD internship
-
Jun 2013 - Nov 2014
Duty: Characterization of hMSC differentiation in 3D environmentsMain skills developed: hMSC differentiation, qPCR analysis, student tutoringAchievements: • Demonstrate sandwich-like culture tunes hMSC myogenic differentiation Duty: Characterization of hMSC differentiation in 3D environmentsMain skills developed: hMSC differentiation, qPCR analysis, student tutoringAchievements: • Demonstrate sandwich-like culture tunes hMSC myogenic differentiation
-
-
-
Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
-
Spain
-
Higher Education
-
700 & Above Employee
-
PhD student (FPU program)
-
Nov 2010 - Nov 2014
Thesis title: Sandwich-like systems to engineer the cellular microenvironmentDuties: • Development of novel culture systems closer to the physiological environment• Supervise students• Collaborate in teaching (Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering subjects) Main skills developed: Cell-based assays, molecular biology, microscopy, cell culture, biomaterial production and characterizationMain achievements:• Satisfactory supervision of peers and students• Development of a novel, reliable and simple 3D-like culture system with convenient properties for cell culture (allowing microscopic imaging, cellular extractions…)• Validation of this sandwich culture system as a tool to study cell behavior in a closer 3D environment.• Characterization of the effect of the sandwich culture (comparing to the control ventral 2D substrate) in cell fate including morphology, adhesion, differentiation or cell migration.• Evaluation of the role of different parameters of the sandwich culture in cell behaviour (i.e. ventral v dorsal stimuli or biological and mechanical stimuli)
-
-
-
The Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg
-
Germany
-
Higher Education
-
500 - 600 Employee
-
PhD internship
-
Oct 2012 - Dec 2012
Duty: Study of growth factor release in 3D environments to trigger cell differentiationMain skills developed: Layer-by-layer assembly, biomaterial characterization, growth factor release, cell differentiationAchievements: • Characterization of several biomaterials-based strategies to trigger osteogenic differentiation Duty: Study of growth factor release in 3D environments to trigger cell differentiationMain skills developed: Layer-by-layer assembly, biomaterial characterization, growth factor release, cell differentiationAchievements: • Characterization of several biomaterials-based strategies to trigger osteogenic differentiation
-
-
-
Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red CIBER
-
Spain
-
Research
-
100 - 200 Employee
-
Research grant: CIBER-bbn
-
Jun 2010 - Dec 2010
Project: Superhydrophobic materials for Tissue EngineeringMain skills: Cell culture, protein immunodetection, western-blotting, microscopyAchievements: Demonstrating cells' ability to colonize superhydrophobic polystyrene surfaces (Soft Matter 7 (22), 10803-10811) Project: Superhydrophobic materials for Tissue EngineeringMain skills: Cell culture, protein immunodetection, western-blotting, microscopyAchievements: Demonstrating cells' ability to colonize superhydrophobic polystyrene surfaces (Soft Matter 7 (22), 10803-10811)
-
-
-
-
Industry internship - M.Sc. in Biomedical Biotechnology
-
Jul 2010 - Aug 2010
Duties: Biomaterial fabrication & cell behavior Duties: Biomaterial fabrication & cell behavior
-
-
-
Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe (CIPF)
-
Spain
-
Research Services
-
100 - 200 Employee
-
Collaboration: Biomaterials & Cardiac Regeneration Units
-
Jun 2009 - Feb 2010
Duties: Tissue decellularization & support in neuroscience projectsMain skills: Decellularization, primary cell culture, confocal microscopy, MACSAchievements: Implementation of artery decellularization protocols Duties: Tissue decellularization & support in neuroscience projectsMain skills: Decellularization, primary cell culture, confocal microscopy, MACSAchievements: Implementation of artery decellularization protocols
-
-
-
Hospital La Fe de Valencia
-
Spain
-
Wellness and Fitness Services
-
700 & Above Employee
-
Research grant: Cardiovascular Regeneration and Transplantation Unit
-
Jul 2009 - Sep 2009
Duties: Support in the development of new cell-therapy products for wound healingMain skills: Culture of keratinocytes, fibroblasts feeder layers Duties: Support in the development of new cell-therapy products for wound healingMain skills: Culture of keratinocytes, fibroblasts feeder layers
-
-
-
CSIC
-
Research
-
700 & Above Employee
-
Research grant: (JAE) CSIC
-
Jul 2008 - Sep 2008
Duties: Construction of plasmids and electroporation of Medaka fishMain skills: Plasmid construction, electrophoresis, protein purificationAchievements: Production of plasmids for the expression of kiss1 and kiss2 in European Sea Bass Duties: Construction of plasmids and electroporation of Medaka fishMain skills: Plasmid construction, electrophoresis, protein purificationAchievements: Production of plasmids for the expression of kiss1 and kiss2 in European Sea Bass
-
-
Education
-
2021 - 2022
ThePower Business School
The PowerMBA -
2010 - 2014
Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Biomedical Biotechnology -
2009 - 2010
Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
M.Sc. in Biomedical Biotechnology -
2005 - 2009
Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
B.Sc. (Hons) in Biotechnology
Community
