Developing novel immune-based therapies for cancer using a structural biology tool kit.

A key member of the RNA therapeutics program to design and optimize RNA candidates and support the company's technology development in a preclinical setting. Contributed to multiple research areas within infectious/allergic diseases.Developed a deep understanding, cutting-edge knowledge, and significant hands-on experience in nucleic acid research especially within mRNA and lipid nanoparticle space.

NRSA Ruth Kirschstein F32 Postdoctoral fellow in the Stivers Lab studying the cell biology of HIV-1 infections within macrophages. Additionally, the role of SAMHD1 as both an immune suppressor in cancer cells and in resistance to nucleoside anticancer drugs. Developed skills in cell biology, infectious disease, and high throughput drug discovery and inhibitor design.

Graduate student at Einstein working under Steven Almo and Tyler Grove. Worked extensively on the mechanistic characterization of the human anti-viral protein, Viperin. This work demonstrated that viperin catalyzes the conversion of the ribonucleotide, CTP into a novel antiviral compound termed, ddhCTP.

As a lab manager in the Macromolecular Therapeutics Development Facility under Dr. Steven Almo I was directly involved in two large-scale, multi-institution projects; the Enzyme Function Initiative (EFI) and the Protein Structure Initiative (PSI). I lead a small team of scientists in producing recombinant proteins at large-scale (~100 unique proteins per week). During this work I became adept at leveraging high-throughput (HTP) molecular biology techniques that enable the production of proteins at scale (cloning, expression testing, growth/fermentation, and protein isolation). I also gained experience performing multiplexed screening techniques to identify ligands of proteins with unknown function.