- Project Management: leading project development and completion, client report presentation, financial tracking, administrative documentation and timelines follow-up.- Strong expertise in scientific database search, screen and extraction of relevant data.- Analysis of key findings for the delivery of high-quality reports to clients.-Collaboration with different departments, including several teams from our partner ICON and client legal teams.- Leading of client meetings, analysing and negotiating their requests.

Project aim:Working on the investigation of one of the lowest survival rate cancers, pancreatic cancer. My research focused on the assessment of biomarkers to better control this disease by studying proteomic profiles of conditioned media and the involvement of miRNAs in cancer cells.Main responsibilities and functions:- Design and cloning of miRNA expressing vectors.- Transfection and generation of stable PDAC cell lines (miRNA RT-qPCR).- PDAC cell lines culture and phenotypic assays (2D/3D proliferation, colony-forming, invasion, scratch).- Generation of serum-free media for PDAC cell lines.- Management, organisation and critical analysis of large data sets for the preparation of reports and presentations for our funding agency and team members from three separate projects.- Regular engagement in scientific discussions and brainstorming with the wider research team to evaluate project planning and redesign next steps accordingly.- Proactively investigate laboratory/experimental issues as they arise.- Procurement and calibration of laboratory instrumentation and monitoring of laboratory reagents/chemicals.- Co-supervision of a PhD candidate as well as training and mentorship of new students.Industrial engagement:- Since 2016, I participated in the production, quality control and packaging stages of a commercially-sold hybridoma cloning supplement produced in NICB (BriClone™). - In 2018, I assumed responsibility for a batch of 320 bottles.

Project aim:My PhD thesis focused on the improvement of cell culture and drug production performance of the biopharmaceutically-relevant Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells by studying cell culture conditions.Main responsibilities/functions:- Development of chemically-defined/protein-free media for CHO cells focused on growth,specific productivity and transfection efficiency enhancement.- Identification of a novel expression system for the selection of producer CHO cell lines.- Study the effects of polyamine-deprivation in CHO at miRNA and mRNA levels (Affymetrix microarrays).- Preparation and delivery of reports and presentations to the research group (11 people) and international conferences (ESACT and ESACT-UK, oral and poster presentations).- Independently design, optimize and validate novel experiments using CHO cell lines and other molecular biology techniques.- Plan, execute and critically analyse data from four separate projects to identify the most interesting project to prioritise. - Attend several taught modules to enhance professional skills, including Biosafety & Lab Standard Operating Procedures, English for Academic Purposes, Recombinant DNA Technology and Laboratory Tutoring.Main achievements:- Publishment of four first author scientific papers.- Development of a patented novel selection system for biopharmaceutical cell lines- Providing scientific expertise to two successful Enterprise Ireland commercialisation grant applications which totalled approximately €400k.Professional collaboration:- Acting as the scientific expert, engaging with industrial companies to discuss our patent.

Project aim:I collaborated with three different projects: (i) Reprogramming of adult cells intoinduced pluripotent stem cell (iPSCs); (2) Usage of microRNA sponges for the improvement of CHO cell lines cultures; (3) Development of a conditioned media for CHO cell lines.Main responsibilities and functions:- iPSCs culture and maintenance.- Cell line development – cloning, transfection, selection and clonal isolation (CHO cells).- Assessment of miRNA levels through RNA extraction and RT-qPCR.- Proliferation assays.- Compilation and analysis of data. - Preparation of reports and oral presentations for internal meetings with each group.- Experimental support, including the training of students and other staff members.

Project aim:Assessment of the effects of Yamanaka factors in biopharmaceutically-relevant cell lines for the generation of induced pluripotent stem-like cells (iPS cells).Main responsibilities and functions:- Design and cloning of overexpressing vectors. - Development of stable cell lines (selection, RNA extraction, PCR).- Defining culture conditions and maintenance of iPS cell lines in feeder-free, feeder-dependent conditions and different iPSCs culture media.- Detection of pluripotent markers through RT-qPCR and immunofluorescence.- Differentiation techniques: hanging drop and definitive endoderm differentiation.- Literature review, preparation of internal reports and presentation of results.- Critical data analysis and troubleshooting.- Experimental design.

Project aim: Development of an expression system for the production of three human hormones in HEK293 cellsMain responsibilities and functions:- Defining optimal growth media composition for HEK293 suspension culture.- Construction of gene expressing vectors (design, PCR, cloning and RNA extraction).- Suspension cell culture of HEK293.- Transfection and selection of stable cell lines.- Toxicity assays.- Data collection and analysis.- Preparation of oral presentation and writing reports.Achievement: Grade of 9.5/10