Experience

Stealth Mode Biotech

• United Kingdom
• Biotechnology Research
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Senior Scientist III

  • Nov 2023 - Present

  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

• Senior Scientist II

  • Jan 2022 - Nov 2023

  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States - Lead Cell therapy through pre-clinical stages of both Target and CAR-T molecule discovery for treatment of variety of solid tumors. - Perform in-vitro Target/ScFv binder combination screenings using a variety of assays such as flow cytometry and xcelligence. - Manage direct report to complete company objectives. - Present Data to management and direct future objectives based on results. - Execute crucial in-vivo proof of concept experiments to advance cell therapy IND… Show more - Lead Cell therapy through pre-clinical stages of both Target and CAR-T molecule discovery for treatment of variety of solid tumors. - Perform in-vitro Target/ScFv binder combination screenings using a variety of assays such as flow cytometry and xcelligence. - Manage direct report to complete company objectives. - Present Data to management and direct future objectives based on results. - Execute crucial in-vivo proof of concept experiments to advance cell therapy IND package. - Work with management on Budget proposals for our group.



The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson

• United States
• Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
• 700 & Above Employee

• Senior Scientist

  • Aug 2020 - Jan 2022

  Malvern, Pennsylvania, United States - Advance CAR-T cell platform through drug product characterization and understanding. - Prepare and design experiment to assess MOA of CAR-T drug product using flow cytometry and ELISA methods. - Serve as a subject matter expert for multiple analytical methods including flow cytometry characterization panels and potency assays. - Qualify and validate potency assay for CAR-T programs. - Experience with writing and reviewing sections for BLA submission. - Review SOPs, reports… Show more - Advance CAR-T cell platform through drug product characterization and understanding. - Prepare and design experiment to assess MOA of CAR-T drug product using flow cytometry and ELISA methods. - Serve as a subject matter expert for multiple analytical methods including flow cytometry characterization panels and potency assays. - Qualify and validate potency assay for CAR-T programs. - Experience with writing and reviewing sections for BLA submission. - Review SOPs, reports, and analytical documents for all our team. - Perform literature assessments to answer any CMC directed questions for different techniques in analytical development. - Perform data analysis of clinical data to correlate with our developed assays. - Present data at teams conferences and to management. Show less



University of Pittsburgh

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Research Assistant Professor

  • Sep 2017 - Aug 2020

  Graduate School of Public Health - Continued studies involving the immunoregulatory effects of personalized DC-based HIV immunotherapeutic developed in Drs. Rinaldo and Mailliard’s laboratories in combination with checkpoint receptor blockade strategies. Our findings were published in the Journal of Virology early in 2019. - Extensive work in T cell isolation from peripheral blood products such as leukapheresis, buffy coat units and whole blood using magnetic bead-based isolation kits. - Design and validation of flow… Show more - Continued studies involving the immunoregulatory effects of personalized DC-based HIV immunotherapeutic developed in Drs. Rinaldo and Mailliard’s laboratories in combination with checkpoint receptor blockade strategies. Our findings were published in the Journal of Virology early in 2019. - Extensive work in T cell isolation from peripheral blood products such as leukapheresis, buffy coat units and whole blood using magnetic bead-based isolation kits. - Design and validation of flow cytometry panels of up to 14 fluorochromes for analysis of activation markers (e.g. Ki-67, CD38, CD69), cell differentiation markers, transcription factors and exhaustion markers. - Serve as the Flow cytometry subject matter expert to train new people in the laboratory, helping them design and troubleshoot methods within their projects. - Analyze complex flow cytometry experiments using FlowJo software where I applied new complex analysis such as t-SNE, SPADE and FlowSOM. These more detailed computational analysis of large amounts of cell marker date is more efficient and unbiased and therefore help get better conclusions. - Organized procurement and management of biological material from the Multicenter AIDS cohort Study. - Supervise a group of post-doctoral fellows, graduate students and technicians in HIV immunotherapy studies. - Continued a research project initiated by a previous lab member that focused in the pre-clinical testing of dendritic cell-based immunotherapy using conserved HIV-epitopes using a set of Thailand patient cohort in vitro. This work is ready for submission to PLOS Pathogens. - Applied for a NIH R21 grants and served as a Co-investigators in other colleagues grant applications.

• Senior Research Manager

  • Sep 2015 - Aug 2017

  Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Laboratory of Dr. Charles R. Rinaldo and Dr. Robbie Mailliard - Use of Th1 polarized dendritic cells pulsed with HIV peptides combined with immunoregulatory (PD-1) molecule blockade antibody to study CD8 T cells responses in HIV+ individuals. - Work as part of a collaborative project for a Clinical trial for HIV therapy in Thailand.

• Adjunct Instructor

  • Sep 2015 - Dec 2015

  Department of Biological Sciences Teaching Foundations of Biology laboratory course to incoming freshman students. Responsibilities included development of handout and teaching material, development of quiz questions in conjunction with course directors and other instructors, assisting students outside of class in assignments

• Post-doctoral Associate

  • Jul 2013 - Aug 2015

  Hillman Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute - Characterization of Recombinant Adenoviral-Based HPV 16 E6/E7 and HPV target proteins as candidate vaccines. We are using these vectors to engineer DCs to present these tumor peptides and therefore enhance anti-tumor immunity against HPV-related cancers. - Acquire experience in cell culture of monocyte-derived dendritic cells and in vitro stimulation of autologous T cells to expand HPV-specific T cells. - Other skills acquired during this position include isolation of tumor… Show more - Characterization of Recombinant Adenoviral-Based HPV 16 E6/E7 and HPV target proteins as candidate vaccines. We are using these vectors to engineer DCs to present these tumor peptides and therefore enhance anti-tumor immunity against HPV-related cancers. - Acquire experience in cell culture of monocyte-derived dendritic cells and in vitro stimulation of autologous T cells to expand HPV-specific T cells. - Other skills acquired during this position include isolation of tumor infiltration lymphocytes from tumors extracted from head and neck cancer patients, multi-color flow cytometry, adenoviral vector delivery to dendritic cells, cytotoxic T cell assays (51Cr- release assay, CD107a and IFNg intracellular staining, perforin and granzyme B staining), tetramer staining of HPV-specific T cells and IFNg-ELISPOT assays

• Post-doctoral Associate

  • Mar 2010 - Jun 2013

  University of Pittsburgh - Work on examining in detail the mechanisms of the B cell response during acute dengue using clinical patient samples of a well-defined cohort from Recife, Brazil. I have a published peer-reviewed manuscript describing this work in the Journal of Immunology. - Experience with Dengue viruses including viral propagation, concentration and BSL2+ operating techniques. - Skills acquired during this position included multicolor flow cytometry, ELISPOT, ELISA, Luminex assays and organization… Show more - Work on examining in detail the mechanisms of the B cell response during acute dengue using clinical patient samples of a well-defined cohort from Recife, Brazil. I have a published peer-reviewed manuscript describing this work in the Journal of Immunology. - Experience with Dengue viruses including viral propagation, concentration and BSL2+ operating techniques. - Skills acquired during this position included multicolor flow cytometry, ELISPOT, ELISA, Luminex assays and organization and cataloging of clinical patient data



University of Rochester

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• PhD in Immunology and Microbiology

  • Mar 2006 - Feb 2009

  - Conducted research in Dr. Richard Phipps’s Laboratory determining the role of Peroxisome Proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARg) in normal and malignant B lineage cells Experience with cloning, construction and expansion of lentiviral vectors to overexpress and knockdown PPAR-gamma protein in B malignant cells to evaluate its function. - Experience with RNA and DNA extraction, RT-PCR, western blot, cell culture, isolation of PBMC and B lymphocytes from whole blood. - Experience… Show more - Conducted research in Dr. Richard Phipps’s Laboratory determining the role of Peroxisome Proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARg) in normal and malignant B lineage cells Experience with cloning, construction and expansion of lentiviral vectors to overexpress and knockdown PPAR-gamma protein in B malignant cells to evaluate its function. - Experience with RNA and DNA extraction, RT-PCR, western blot, cell culture, isolation of PBMC and B lymphocytes from whole blood. - Experience with mouse work including cardiac punctures, spleen extraction and isolation of splenocytes, bone marrow isolation. .

• MS in Immunology and Microbiology

  • Sep 2003 - Sep 2006

• Laboratory Technician

  • Sep 2002 - Sep 2003

  - Worked and assisted a postdoctoral fellow and a graduate student studying the function of DVL1 in neuronal cytoskeletal remodeling. - Conducted a research project in the laboratory of Dr. Stephen Dewhurst .The project involved the construction and generation of re-targeted AAV-2 vectors to the blood brain barrier using novel peptides identified by phage display technology.



Hospital Naval de Cartagena

• Medical technologist

  • Jan 2000 - Oct 2001

  Cartagena, Colombia Developed expertise in a wide range of areas including: Microbiology, Hormones, Immunology, Clinical Chemistry, Hematology, Blood Bank, and Emergency. Experience in Blood Bank including collection, processing, storage, distribution, and/or administration of human blood or any of its derivatives prior to transfusion including plasma, packed red blood cells, platelets, or leukocytes.