The Director - Molecular Science Liaisons will establish and lead a team of Molecular Science Liaisons. MSL’s are responsible for communicating the value of Caris Molecular Intelligence (CMI) to external clients, such as physicians, scientists and other interested parties. This communication primarily involves face-to-face discussions with customers, including Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) in the field of oncology.Day to day team management of the MSL teamProviding recommendations on national staffing plansTracking of MSL activity and customer interactionsAct as a conduit of information/feedback between the medical community and Caris Life Sciences regarding current products and the needs of the medical community to enhance patient care, new research developments, clinical trial activities and therapeutic approaches.Conduct medical and scientific education and support for the field organization in an effort to increase Caris Life Sciences presence and market awareness.Present clinical data and educational materials to physician sites and/or conferences within an assigned region or nationally, as required by Sales, Caris Precision Oncology Alliance (POA) Team, and Marketing.Attend POA/Commercial pitch meetings and other important relationship development onsite meetings.Promote CMI to physician sites across the United States, as required by Sales, POA, and Marketing initiatives.Support and present at molecular tumor board meetings.Read and understand the scientific and technical literature in order to maintain knowledge of the therapeutic oncology field for customer engagement.Function as a field trainer of assigned region to provide an extension of our Director of Training.Regional speaking engagements (Roundtables, Grand Rounds, Tumor Boards, etc.) with physicians to broaden CMI understanding clinically.Commercial input/review of marketing material to reflect current molecular landscape.

 Act as a conduit of information and feedback between the medical community and Caris Life Sciences regarding current products and the needs of the medical community to enhance patient care, new research developments, clinical trial activities and therapeutic approaches. Present clinical data and educational materials to physician sites and/or conferences. Read and understand the scientific and technical literature in order to maintain knowledge of the therapeutic oncology field for customer engagement. Regional speaking engagements (Roundtables, Grand Rounds, Tumor Boards, etc.) with physicians to broaden CMI understanding clinically. Commercial input/review of marketing material to reflect current molecular landscape.

I taught a histology course for the Precision Medicine Masters Program at ACU.

I am a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr Sita Kugel. My project involves understanding the epigenetic mechanisms underlying the initiation, maintenance, and metastasis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. I work with novel genetically engineered mouse models that for generate tumors de novo, alongside in vitro and biochemical assays. These tools allow me to investigate how RNA-binding proteins that are aberrantly expressed in pancreatic cancer promote epigenetic plasticity and fitness for the tumor. By understanding the oncogenic mechanisms that drive pancreatic cancer we can design new treatments that exploit these tumor-specific pathways.

I conducted my dissertation workin Dr. Peter Kurre’s laboratory at OHSU. My research investigated how Acute Myeloid Leukemia influences the bone marrow microenvironment. My two major projects related to how leukemia influences the nonmalignant resident cells of the bone marrow. My early project involved understanding how AML-derived extracellular vesicles deliver specific microRNA molecules to hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, and the subsequent effects on hematopoietic function. This project utilized both in vitro assays and xenograft modeling of human AML. My second project involved analyzing the long-term effects of AML on the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and early osteoblastic progenitor cells (OPCs) of the bone marrow. Through the use of human AML xenografts I measured the physiological changes of these stromal populations cells in response to leukemia.

Molecular biology bench work. Research projects include protein interaction assays and genetic manipulation of bacteria in order to understand the virulence mechanisms of the pathogen Legionella pneumophila. I have developed an assay that extracts RNA from bacteria (L. pneumophila) that are infecting various host cells, (Acanthamoeba castellanii, Acanthamoeba polyphaga, Hartmanella vermiformis, and J774 macrophages). The RNA is free of any host cell RNA, and the assay can be used with qRT-PCR to temporally view the transcriptional landscape of L. pneumophila. I have also developed a quantitative protein interaction assay that I use to map chaperone binding sites on effector proteins.

Molecular biology bench work with the goal of understanding the virulence mechanism of the fungal pathogen Cochliobolus victoriae. Cloning and site-directed mutagenesis. Transformation of genes via Agrobacterium tumefascians. Pathogenicity testing. Bi-molecular flourescence assays. Confocal Microscopy. Toxin extraction with HPLC. Tissue culture. Maintenance of Arabidopsis thaliana, Nicotiana benthamiana, Solanum lycopersicum, E. coli, Agrobacterium tumefasicans, and Cochliobolus victoriae cultures.

PCR analysis of DNA extracted from plant tissue for pathogen diagnostics.