Cybele Microbiome develops skin care products through in-situ metabolic engineering.

Early stage detection of cancers via cell-free microbial DNA liquid biopsy assays.

Oversaw the development of research-use only life science products for the extraction/isolation of DNA, RNA and proteins from complex matrices, like soil, blood, and stool. Aside from my management/administrative responsibilities, I was responsible for identifying market opportunities, conceiving future product ideas, analyzing/filing IP and overseeing all technical aspects of product development. Launched 8 RUO products and transferred another 4 to QIAGEN after their acquisition of MO BIO.

nanoMR (now, DNAe) is a medical device company that uses immunomagnetic labeling of bacterial and/or fungal cells in whole blood for the rapid identification of bacteremia/fungemia and the treatment of sepsis. I entered the company as a Senior Scientist and developed emulsion polymerization chemistries to encapsulate magnetic nanoparticles at high weight %. These magnetic materials form a key component of the company’s Pathogen Capture System (PCS). From this chemistry position I took on responsibilities in prototype design and evaluation (on cartridge lysis and DNA purification) and later led the company’s molecular diagnostic efforts.

At Novartis my focus was on two areas of investigation related to innate immunity: (a) exploring the epigenetic regulation of cytokine production in response to proinflammatory stimuli through the use of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors; and (b) the identification of novel, druggable targets involved in Toll-like receptor signaling pathways through the use of proteomics, chemoproteomics and genetic perturbation.

Worked in the laboratory of Dr. Nir Hacohen on dendritic cell biology and immunological tolerance.

My thesis research involved two separate but related projects. The first project involved the design, fabrication and utilization of high-density carbohydrate and glycoprotein microarrays for the analysis of carbohydrate-binding proteins. In a second project I developed a vaccination strategy for inducing immunological tolerance that employs oligosaccharide-antigen conjugates to specifically target dendritic cell lectins in vivo.

I was responsible for developing surface-modification chemistries that would aid (a) the phase transfer of hydrophobic semiconductor nanoparticles from their hydrophobic solvent to an aqueous milieu and (b) their derivitization with a diverse range of biomolecules such as biotin, streptavidin, and antibodies while leaving the unique photophysical properties of these particles intact.