Diana Koulechova Email & Phone Number

San Carlos, California, United States

• Key contributions included increasing protein expression for 96-well formats, implementing a high-throughput circular dichroism method, and adapting a periplasmic extraction protocol for automation
• Helped take three client projects from proof of concept to high-throughput data collection; contributed to planning, execution, data analysis, and data package preparation
• Worked closely with software and engineering groups to implement and validate new automation protocols for wet lab processes
• Oversaw direct reports and worked closely with other managers and directors in a leadership group to implement and improve internal processes
• Hands-on lab work included high-throughput protein expression optimization, plate-based protein purification, Bradford assays, LabChip CE-SDS, SDS-PAGE, immunoblotting, Octet BLI

• Served as lead scientist on project to increase complexity of proteins synthesized with cell-free expression
• Key contributor to company's first commercial product launch
• Project managed launch of company's second commercial product in addition to developing the processes to scale up protein purification and implementing the protein analytics for the new product line
• Hands-on lab work involved construct DNA assembly and PCR, agarose and SDS-PAGE gels, protein expression and purification, bioconjugation, scale-down models, screening, enzyme activity assays, and protein.
• Ensured successful method implementation by authoring SOPs, training manufacturing staff, and serving as SME across multiple functional modules
• Mentored junior scientists and staff, represented company as point person for conferences and client technical questions, and served on Tierra Culture Committee

Berkeley, CA

• Part of a small process development team responsible for developing and defining the protocol for manufacturing-scale purification of therapeutic antibodies in diverse formats, as well as supporting clone selection and.
• Performed lab- and pilot-scale purifications, process intermediate stability studies, and supporting analytics, including CHOP-ELISA, SDS-PAGE, and HPLC-based assays
• Authored tech transfer reports for GMP campaigns both on site and at CMOs, led viral clearance studies, contributed to IND- and BLA submissions, and served as department representative at all-site operations huddles.

Focused on development of a system to enable continuous downstream processing of antibody-based therapeutics. Worked closely with a small group to ensure product quality comparable to traditional methods, adequate control of bioburden levels and optimization of cleaning-in-place protocols.

Stanford University

Developing assay techniques to probe the impact of membrane composition on ion channel function and touch sensation. Investigating the impact of temperature on muscle function using behavioral, spectroscopic, and chemical techniques in C. elegans as part of small team.

UC Berkeley

Successfully expressed and purified proteins, including from technically challenging systems, then characterized stability and DNA-binding where appropriate. Implemented genetic selection of large plasmid library to identify functional variants; verified library diversity and distribution of using high-throughput techniques and computer simulations. Worked.

Pomona College

Established approach for identifying novel homing endonucleases from a variety of eukaryotic, bacterial, and archaeal organisms using a combination of bioinformatic, genetic, and engineering approaches.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Phd), Molecular And Cell Biology

Bachelor Of Arts (Ba), Molecular Biology, French

Data Science Career Track Certificate