Currently raising support for church planting in Germany.

Genomics Validation team responsible for NGS sequencing and assay development.

Genomics Validation team at Labcorp Drug Development in Indianapolis, IN. Current work includes NGS, qPCR, experimental design, validation planning, wet bench work, and training of other lab personnel.

Member of the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) team. Responsible for completing assigned sequencing assay’s, assay feasibility runs, and assisting in assay validations, and leading development of sequencing protocols. NGS is a developing field and this position requires a high level of interaction between principle researchers in the development of novel assays.

Contract research position at Corteva Agriscience. Worked primarily in the Recombinant Culture Collection team. Responsible for general lab upkeep, receiving and processing microbial stock, maintaining microbial cultures and performing DNA extractions. Job position required adaptability and high attention to detail while dealing with bulk databases.

Volunteer Social Year which was extended to two years in rural Germany aimed at exposing one to cross-cultural work in a setting that will push one outside of their comfort zone by thrusting them into a new language and culture. Responsible for event planning and execution, group hosting and organizing, general upkeep and maintenance.

Required to independently plan and organize English classes for a variety of ages. Responsible for teaching those lessons to group of students ranging from beginners to advanced. Constructed a topical EFL course comprised solely of my own materials and topics. Exposed to a new way of thinking and a new culture.

Research lab independently verifying DNable (PCR-like replication assay) for another contracted company. The goal of this research was to validate the usefulness of a developed DNA assay for agricultural lab and field use. Once validity was completed, were responsible for the instruction of the assay to clients.

Responsible for the preparation of all lab solutions and materials every week for Biochemistry and Genetics lab sessions. Also responsible for the care of mammalian cell lines that are used by Dr. Schaffner’s research group. Trained a group of students in tissue culture techniques and other biochemical techniques. Occasionally asked to aid research students who are conducting experiments on the Ets transcription factor which is regulated by the Ras pathway.

Was a member of a team focused on the development of ADCs. Preformed cytotoxicity assays to determine the cytotoxic activity of antibodies conjugated with cleavable vs. non-cleavable linkers. Also preformed competitive cytotoxicity assays to demonstrate specificity of the conjugated antibodies for target receptor. Screened cancer PDX (patient-derived xenograph) models to identify which models were appropriate for pathway expression. Measured pathway activation in the PDX models using an uncomplexed β-catenin assay. When working on a bi-functional antibody project, independently utilized flow cytometry to identify potential antibodies specific to the targeted receptor and cross-reactive to mouse. Presented flow-cytometry data to the Oncology Developmental Pathway leadership at conclusion of summer.

Built on skills learned the previous summer. Helped team identify Dvl2 hyperphosphorylation as a functional assay for an antibody project. Then, demonstrated knockdown of target gene in a lung cell line. Resulting work confirmed that Dvl2 hyperphosphorylation was affected as a result. Required to independently document results and experimental protocols in Electronic Notebook, was also responsible for all created figures in those protocols that represented observed data. The summer resulted in experience gained, increased independency, and practical knowledge of more advanced biochemical techniques.

Spent the summer working in Dr. Sekar Iyer’s lab in Discovery Oncology. Part of a ten week program geared toward gaining experience in biochemistry, molecular biology, and Cell Biology techniques. Member of a team that focused on the discovery of novel therapeutics for oncology, also generated data that was presented to Lilly Oncology leadership. Primary goal of summer was to master basic tissue culture techniques and basic biochemical techniques.