Engineered an enzyme for synthetic substrate catalysis using Schrödinger’s BioLuminate software suitePerformed molecular cloning techniques including primer design, PCR, gel electrophoresis and extraction, restriction enzyme digestion, site-directed mutagenesis, ligation, bacterial transformation, and plasmid purificationTested an enzyme mutant library for novel unnatural amino acid activity with mammalian cell culture, transfection, confocal microscopy, data analysis, and results interpretationAuthored and obtained a $446,000 NIH R21 grant (#1R15GM126576) for this doctoral project

Wrote a fully-automated program with 27 modules of python and bash shell scripts for high-throughput data collectionGained proficiency with Rosetta installation and use across 3 compute cluster architectures and multiple job scheduler types including Slurm, LSF, Kubernetes, MPI, and LauncherEvaluated the qualities and structural changes of protein models upon preparation with 30 different Rosetta algorithmsPrepared all 160,000 X-ray crystal structures in the Protein Data Bank to improve their quality scores for further use

Recommended upgrades, performed installations, and maintained computer systems for long-term client relationshipsProvided computer hardware & software tune-up and repair services through on-location and remote login sessionsDesigned clean, professional websites for small business owners and non-profit organizations

Increased annual sales 5-fold by product development & optimization, sales templates, and marketing improvementsAuthored over 165 formal proposals and acquired over $3.5MM with domestic and global commercial clientsQualified new leads, performed needs analyses, and presented company services to prospectsMaintained existing client relations to enhance satisfaction through on-site visits and regular communications

Managed 12 projects totaling over $243,000 by coordinating interdisciplinary teams toward common goalsDeveloped proposals, created budgets, and generated work plans for external clients and research collaboratorsAchieved project milestones with Gantt charts to ensure team adherence to project timelines and budgets

Created hybridomas for murine monoclonal antibody production, purification, and testingPerformed surface plasmon resonance (Biacore), radioimmunoassays, and ELISAs on cancer therapeutic agentsSupervised and mentored 7 scholar, undergraduate, and volunteer researchersCleaned and organized the 38-year-old laboratory to achieve Environmental Safety compliance (9 years delinquent)

Developed and optimized bacterial recombinant expression and purification systems for multiple heme proteinsUtilized techniques including HPLC/FPLC, Western blot, dynamic light scattering, MALDI-TOF, isothermal titration calorimetry, and fluorescence microscopyAnalyzed samples using various spectroscopies including UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS), fluorescence spectroscopy, resonance Raman spectroscopy, circular dichroism, and electron paramagnetic resonanceManaged the laboratory by developing 25 protocols, overseeing inventory, creating an internal webspace, and orienting members

Conducted soil and groundwater sampling in compliance with state and federal regulatory standardsPrepared client proposals, Scopes of Work, and project budgetsAnalyzed data to create and deliver client reports detailing project results and recommendations

Sampled soil and groundwater in accordance with regulatory standardsPerformed data validation of laboratory reports for accuracyWorked in the field throughout the southeastern United States, Puerto Rico and Alaska

Developed a senior thesis for publication in the Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution journalSequenced 5 gene regions from 23 avian species and performed supporting analysesPerformed primer design, PCR, gel electrophoresis, cloning, and sequencing experiments