• Leading Nucleic Acid Process Sciences team, with a focus on: ◦ Late-stage process development of lead mRNA constructs.◦ CDMO selection and technology transfer for mRNA manufacturing.◦ Platform process innovation efforts focused on advancing novel mRNA, sgRNA and DNA platform technologies.

Previously, pre-clinical CMC AD lead for NTLA2001 drug substances. In that role:◦ Developed analytical control strategy and defined preliminary CQAs for mRNA and sgRNA DS’s, including team management of internal mRNA testing through tox release and external management of sgRNA analysis.◦ Oversaw CRO selections and technology transfer of analytical and bioanalytical assays for qualification/ validation and release testing at GMP testing labs for DS and LNP DP potency for PhI clinical materials.◦ Authored CMC regulatory filings (IND and equivalent) and reports, as well as developed control strategies along with Quality and other development teams for clinical release of DS/DP under cGMPs.

• Led development of novel RNA analytical techniques to assess and quantify mRNA purity, integrity and composition using wide array of techniques (eg. LC/MS, capillary/traditional electrophoresis, HPLC/UPLC).• Served as SME in transfer and GMP validation to CROs of novel RNA analytical assays.• Created scalable RNA manufacturing and purification technologies for process development, resulting in 2 published process patent applications.• Developed novel mRNA enzymatic and chemienzymatic synthetic processes including co-invention of 3'-3' ligated multimeric coding nucleic acids, resulting in 2 published patent applications• Co-manufactured mRNA at multiple gram scales using existing manufacturing platform.

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Designed and implemented mass spectrometry and HPLC tools to investigate steady state kinetics and substrate preferences of Tet family dioxygenases, epigenetic enzymes implicated in DNA demethylation. Characterized the steady state kinetics of wild type and mutant Activation-Induced cytidine Deaminase (AID), a DNA modifying enzyme responsible for B-cell maturation and somatic hypermutation in antibody evolution, resulting in a co-author paper currently under review. Developed a high-throughput assay to screen for inhibitors of AID and presented initial results to earn collaboration with NIH's National Chemical Genomics Center high throughput screening facility. Adapted cell extract assays to evaluate tissue-associated activity of APOBEC3s, innate immune enzymes that restrict retroviruses via DNA deamination, resulting in a co-author publication in PLoS Pathogens.Supervised and trained an undergraduate researcher over 2 year period to characterize mutant T7 RNA polymerases' incorporation of modified nucleotide triphosphates into nascent RNA transcripts.

See description in PhD Candidate, Brandeis University

Developed single-molecule fluorescence techniques to study pre-mRNA splicing, resulting in groundbreaking first author article reporting first-ever single-molecule fluorescence study of complex active cellular processes in crude cell extracts.Designed and performed single-molecule FRET experiments directly observing pre-mRNA conformational changes during individual splicing events, published as first author article in PNAS.Synthesized long, fluorescently-labeled RNAs, among the most complicated RNAs ever prepared, using a combination of enzymatic, fluorescent labeling and chemical synthesis techniques. Built novel bioinformatic analysis tools with MATLAB in Linux environments and developed necessary mathematical models to implement research and analysis in the single-molecule fluorescence system.Co-authored the most detailed kinetic framework yet published of pre-mRNA splicing in Science.Presented research at six national meetings, including three invited platform presentations.

Collaborated as a biochemist on a multidisciplinary project team consisting of medicinal chemists and cell, structural and molecular biologists designing novel therapeutics for inflammation-based diseases.Developed assays to measure efficacy of candidate therapeutics for five different target proteins.Designed and implemented counter screen to evaluate off-target activities of candidate therapeutics.Built novel mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) screen to identify target protein peptide substrates.

Investigated nucleotide biosynthetic enzymes using mutagenesis studies and enzymology techniques with National Medal of Science winner JoAnne Stubbe.Managed day to day lab operations as lab manager, handled multiple lab relocations and helped redesign lab space during a complete building renovation.