Ann Fiegen Durbin Email & Phone Number

Cleveland, Oh, Us

Cleveland, Oh, Us

Cleveland, Oh, Us

Wilmington, Massachusetts, Us

Study Director: Lead technical team in execution of GLP-compliant in vitro studies, collaborating with Quality Assurance to ensure accurate and robust documentation and complianceAssay Development: Develop in vitro assays of hepatocytoxicity in 96 well plate format, with high content imaging multi-parameter characterization of mechanisms of toxicity. Develop fluorescence, absorbance, and luminescence based screening assays for cytotoxicity in primary and immortalized cell lines.Creative Problem Solving: Collaborate with clients to fill 'data gaps' in toxicology, efficacy, and biomarkers, in preparation for clinical trial applications. Select in vitro and ex vivo models systems across multiple model species, according to relevance to disease area, therapeutic modality, route of administration, and client goals.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, Us

Cambridge, Massachusetts, Us

• Leader of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy team developing stereopure exon-skipping oligonucleotide therapeutics• Designed and executed in vitro screening and dose response assays in patient-derived myoblasts for oligo-induced RNA skipping by qPCR and dystrophin protein restoration by Western blot• Collaboratively designed in vivo studies in dystrophic mouse model, for pharmacokinetics/ pharmacodynamics readouts and skeletal muscle function tests (grip strength, electrophysiology, plethysmography) • Coordinated multi-disciplinary team in developing candidate selection package including analysis of oligo immunogenicity in vitro, stability in vitro, metabolism in vivo, and tolerability in vivo• Established timelines, set priorities and ensured cross-functional communication

Cambridge, Massachusetts, Us

• Developed biomarker assay to support amyotropic lateral sclerosis drug discovery program• Screened antibodies for sensitivity and specificity in detection of dipeptide repeat protein• Adapted meso-scale detection platform to detect biomarker in murine model to support lead optimization

Cambridge, Ma, Us

Propagated clinical isolates of Zika vius ad Dengue virus from Central and South America. Collaborated to investigate mechanisms of Zika virus pathology in neuro-development.Assisted in prototyping and testing of lateral flow point-of-care diagnostic test for detection of Dengue and Zika viruses.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, Us

Initiated RNA transcription, HPLC purification, and quality control protocols for nucleoside-modified RNA. Designed/implemented 6 cell-based assays for immune activation, including luciferase reporter readouts and co-immunoprecipitation. Designed/implemented 5 biochemical assays, for RNA stability, protein:RNA interaction, protein conformation change, and ATP hydrolysis. Synthesized results to propose novel mechanism of RIG-I evasion by nucleoside-modified RNASelected for oral presentation at international industry conference of 450 attendees.

Boston, Ma, Us

For five semesters, I participated in the Science Communication Collaboration courses at Emerson College, lead by Dr. Amy Vashlishan-Murray. These courses enabled undergraduates with specialties in visual, media and performing arts to explore biological science and how it is communicated to the general public. As a guest scientist and teaching assistant, I mentored and collaborated with Emerson undergraduates as they completed projects for the course. I engaged in class discussions exploring broad questions: Who are scientists? Who is responsible for communicating science? How do communicators balance accuracy with accessibility to a broader audience?

I coordinated a monthly science outreach event series in Somerville, and I enjoyed it immensely. We hosted Boston-area research labs in STEM fields for an evening of mingling with the community. We regularly drew audiences of 100 members of the public. As the Coordinator, I led a team of a dozen volunteers in recruiting research labs to participate. My responsibilities also included communicating with our host venues, designing advertising, and collaborating with other organizations, such as the Cambridge Science Festival. We collected audience survey data in order to address topics of interest to the public, and recruit research labs with relevant expertise.I also served the parent organization - Science in the News - as Financial Chair, writing numerous grants annually, to fund the Science by the Pint program, and other outreach programs.http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/science-by-the-pint/

Lanham, Maryland, Us

I developed curriculum as a team member working on the free, online course "Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine" (MCB63x) on the HarvardX platform. I crafted lecture storyboards to present metabolic pathways at the molecular, cellular and organ level for presentation to a broad audience of learners. I revised the lecture storyboards in Powerpoint, with detail-oriented editing for accuracy and stylistic consistency. I derived learning objectives based on the course goals and course content. I wrote exam and problem set questions to address the learning objectives. I coded the questions in HTML and simplified HTML on the edX Studio platform.In the summer of 2015, the course opened for enrollment, with students from across the globe. As a Teaching Assistant I interacted with students through the online discussion forum to answer questions and provide additional learning resources.

Boston, Ma, Us

As the coordinator of the Mentor Program within SHURP, I annually supported fifteen to twenty undergraduates during their summer research internship. I paired each undergraduate with a graduate student mentor, coordinated social and networking events by reserving space, ordering food, and ensuring attendance. I engaged students with one-on-one mentoring during the exciting transition from college to advanced study. I advised the students on graduate and medical school applications, career paths, and work-life balance. I mediated any conflicts that arose within the group and help resolve personal and lab-related crisis.

Cambridge, Ma, Us

Coordinated with physician scientist to develop primary hepatocyte model for Dengue virus infection. Characterized hepatocyte immune response by microscopy and Affymetrix gene expression profiling. Demonstrated importance of Type-III interferon in hepatocyte antiviral response in collaboration with Jon Kagan lab, and published findings in Nature Immunology.

This Fellowship - through Xavier University's Brueggeman Center for Dialogue - annually sponsors ten independent international undergraduate research projects, by competitive application. As a Fellow, I did independent reading on mosquito-borne infectious diseases and their impact on South American countries. I participated in a faculty-lead book group with the other Fellows, exploring fiction and non-fiction relevant to each of our research projects. I coordinated my own international internship by connecting with the Sustainable Sciences Institute (San Francisco, CA). I spent two months living and working in Lima, Peru, as a research intern in the Peruvian National Institute of Health. In the lab facilities of the Center for Public Health, I worked alongside their scientists, and conducted diagnostic tests on patient blood samples shipped to the capital from all reaches of the country. I learned about the structure of the public health system through discussions with my advisor, the director of the arbovirus lab. I directly observed the challenges of conducting science in resource poor settings during a field visit to the Amazon jungle city of Iquitos. My experiences in Peru have motivated my graduate studies in infectious diseases of global importance.

Boston, Ma, Us

As a summer research intern in the laboratory of Dr. Karl Munger, I studied the function of Human Papillomavirus proteins and presented a poster of my work at the Leadership Alliance National Symposium in August 2009.

Rochester, Minnesota, Us

As a summer research intern in the laboratory of Dr. Carlos Mantilla, I studied the role of Neuregulin family proteins in neuron growth and survival and presented a poster at the Kemp Station conference on respiratory regulation.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Virology

Bachelor'S Degree, Biology

Education record