Line Lead Clinical Translational Lab - BostonTechnical Line Lead Spatial Biology - BostonTechnical lead for Nanostring gene expression - BostonTranslational Medicine Lead for AZD4635 program (May 2021 - current)

Exploratory biomarker discovery and validation for clinical studiesLine lead for transcriptomics/NanoString gene expression profiling

Early target discovery and characterizationEstablished Cell Bank of 425+ cell lines for research groupsRNA profiling (RT-qPCR, ddPCR, NanoString) in support of Discovery and Translational SciencesImmune cell type profiling via transcriptomic studies (NanoString)Processing and tracking of patient samples, including FFPE tissuesGene structure characterizationSNP analysis (sequencing, TaqMan)FACS analysis for antibody validationOrtholog sequence analysis and cloningMentor to junior associates and interns

Identification and characterization of lipid droplet associated proteins: perilipin and CGI-58On-site expert in RNA isolation, cDNA synthesis, and qPCRsiRNA knockdown experimentsRetrovirus, adenovirus purificationRecombinant protein expression and purificationEnsured regulatory compliance of labDirectly supervised and trained undergraduate and graduate studentsMaintained mouse colonyGenotyping

Manager of the Molecular Biology labExpression profiling of genes in the CNS involved in feeding behavior (qRT-PCR, Western analysis, IHC)Introduced new technologies and trained associates, graduate students and post-docs in molecular biology techniquesCollaborated to write grants and proposals for research fundingLiaised with Proctor & Gamble scientists on joint project

Senior member of the Predisposition Gene Discovery Group for obesity, diabetes and depressionLine head for mutational screening group for obesity projectsCharacterized and validated HOB1 as an obesity/diabetes targetIn vitro validation of lead compounds targeting HOB1 Clinical sample processing, including PBMCsPerformed association studies to identify diabetes predisposition genesLiaised with epidimiologists and clinic coordinators for sample collection and tracking