Antibody Engineer - Associate Scientist

Antibody Discovery Group• Designed and developed SOP for luminescence in vitro assay to assess the ability of top-binding nanobodies (VhH, sdAb) to inhibit an enzymatic target• Independently created the Site Saturation Mutagenesis library SOP for VhH affinity maturation• Lead antibody discovery projects for multiple targets utilizing phage display and yeast display• Experience altering experimental parameters in phage display to influence characteristics of resulting VhH library variants• Designed, cloned, expressed, and purified a fusion protein that was previously unable to be expressed in CHO cells and HEK 293 cells• Identified top binding VhH's via flow cytometry• Epitope binning of top binding VhH's• Successfully utilized basic cloning techniques to generate several variants, including Gibson Assembly, site-directed mutagenesis, and restriction cloning• Mammalian tissue culture of various cell lines• Bacterial and mammalian (CHO, HEK 293) protein expression• Immune library generation• NGS library prep experience• Bioluminescent cell-based reporter assay experience

Protein Engineering Group• Lead development of fluorescent plate-based assays to characterize Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)-related enzymes, including subsequent analysis pipelines• Responsible for the production of several successful NGS-related enzyme libraries utilizing chimeragenesis (gene shuffling) and site-saturation mutagenesis, some of which generated enzymes selected for a patent and company-wide SOP use • “Engineered Polymerases For Improved Sequencing By Binding” - U.S. Patent No. 20210139867Published May 13, 2021 • “Engineered Polymerases For Improved Sequencing By Binding” - U.S. Patent No. 20220235338Published July 28, 2022• Applied statistical analysis techniques to Sanger Sequencing data to guide future enzyme library designs• Independently performed and analyzed results of kinetic assays with varied substrates• Facilitated high-throughput assay development and data interpretation pipelines• Performed secondary analysis of large volumes of novel NGS sequencing data and NGS-like experimental results via Microsoft Excel and JMP• Trained research associates and scientists on various laboratory techniques, assay protocols, and subsequent analyses

Protein Engineering Group• Plate-based fluorescence assays to determine enzymatic activity• Establish new metric for assessing enzyme quality and future performance• Establish naming convention utilized in large-scale protein manufacturing• NGS sequencing data interpretation• Fluorescent polarization• Aid in development of high throughput plate-based assays• Aid in optimization of in vitro and in vivo mutant selection• Creation of mutant libraries• Mutagenic primer design• Cloning/transformation• Some purification experience of novel NGS-related enzymes using AKTA Pure and Unicorn software

In my position as an Undergraduate Researcher, I was responsible for identifying geochemistry methods that were to be used to quantify bioaccessibility of arsenic at a specific San Diego site. I chose a specific synthetic gastric digestion method and EPA method 3051 to perform on multiple soil samples. After each digestion was completed, I isolated the matrices through centrifugation and filtration; the matrices were then analyzed for arsenic concentration via ICP-MS. In addition, a total arsenic concentration of each sample was measured using an XRF; this was done to compare the arsenic that can be released from the soil in a digestion to the total arsenic concentration of the soil. Data from the EPA Method and synthetic digestions were used in the bioaccessibility calculations. The cancer and non-cancer risks associated with bioaccessibility levels were calculated in Microsoft Excel with EPA guidelines and equations. It was found that there is a high risk when a person comes into contact with the soil via the skin or through accidental ingestion. There were no non-cancer risks associated with the site (except for one soil sample in children).

As a Cast Member, I was assigned to the Star Wars gift shop in Tomorrowland, one of Disneyland's most popular stores. Responsibilities included enhancing guest experience through exceptional customer service, maintaining an orderly and aesthetically pleasing environment where the product is effectively displayed, and working in a high-stress environment.

Represented the University of San Diego on tours for prospective students and parents.