Vitala technologies is a young but growing biotechnology company. Through a series of cutting-edge technologies, we are on the path of disrupting conventional methods of target screening during early phases of pharmaceutical drug development.www.vitala.tech

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I was part of a multi-disciplinary team of 6 colleagues and an industry mentor on the assessment of the commercial viability of a low-cost finger-prick potassium sensor invented by a University of Cambridge researcher.My responsibilities included:- Market research and competitors analysis.- Design and distribute questionnaire for patients (obtained 300 responses in 3 weeks).- Interview key stakeholders, such as dialysis patient, nurses and medical doctors.- Present a… Show more I was part of a multi-disciplinary team of 6 colleagues and an industry mentor on the assessment of the commercial viability of a low-cost finger-prick potassium sensor invented by a University of Cambridge researcher.My responsibilities included:- Market research and competitors analysis.- Design and distribute questionnaire for patients (obtained 300 responses in 3 weeks).- Interview key stakeholders, such as dialysis patient, nurses and medical doctors.- Present a mid-term and final report to an audience of 60 people.- Report and hand out of key findings and contacts to the inventors of the technology. Show less

Researcher involved in a project to develop new hyperpolarised 13C magnetic resonance methods for diagnosis of liver pathologies in vivo. Responsibilities include:• Leading project collaborations, for example by assimilating research team data and presenting results to principal investigators and international conferences• Assisting with clinical trials, funded via an NIH grant, on the use of hyperpolarised 13C pyruvate as a biomarker in the liver (NIH grant:… Show more Researcher involved in a project to develop new hyperpolarised 13C magnetic resonance methods for diagnosis of liver pathologies in vivo. Responsibilities include:• Leading project collaborations, for example by assimilating research team data and presenting results to principal investigators and international conferences• Assisting with clinical trials, funded via an NIH grant, on the use of hyperpolarised 13C pyruvate as a biomarker in the liver (NIH grant: R01CA183071)• Developing an advanced multiparametric liver MRI exam in human volunteers• Conducting pre-clinical research in rodents (mice and rats)• Achieved seed grant funding of $10k towards the project (role: Principal Investigator)• Established a writing club to improve team dynamics and productivity• Instructing graduate students in the use of HyperSense (sample preparation tool)• Organising weekly lab seminars Show less

Research scientist participating in a project to extend the lifetime of hyperpolarised 13C substrates used to study cancer metabolism with MRI. Monitoring the early responses of tumours to treatment is a crucial element in guiding therapy and increasing patient survival. To achieve this, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which can provide detailed physiological information with relatively high temporal and spatial resolution.

Research in small animals provides a better biological understanding and a bridge to the clinical environment, allowing improvements in cancer detection, understanding carciogenesis and disease progression, and evaluating therapies before introducing a new technique into the clinic routine. Focusing in radiotherapy research, being able to determine the dose delivered by a small animal irradiator is a critical step for getting optimal results in radiotherapy studies with mice and other small… Show more Research in small animals provides a better biological understanding and a bridge to the clinical environment, allowing improvements in cancer detection, understanding carciogenesis and disease progression, and evaluating therapies before introducing a new technique into the clinic routine. Focusing in radiotherapy research, being able to determine the dose delivered by a small animal irradiator is a critical step for getting optimal results in radiotherapy studies with mice and other small animals. At present, commercial dose calculation and planning systems are not available. For this reason, development of an independent dose calculation and planning methods, or better, adaptation of currently existing treatment planning systems for kV irradiators are essential prerequisites of the research in this field.For its simplicity and necessary functionality, we proposed adapting a stereotactic planning system – e.g. iPlan RT Dose by BrainLAB - whose dose calculation method is based on Clarkson algorithm for stereotactic cones, and therefore can be easily adapted for kV beams. The challenge of commissioning and utilizing MV planning system for kV small animal irradiators lies in the experimental determination of kV beam properties in mm-scale geometry in a manner consistent with macroscopic MV beam model and dose calculation. Show less

Bremsstrahlung denotes any radiation emitted by the acceleration of a charged particle. In my thesis, the bremsstrahlung process studied refers to the electromagnetic radiation produced by the deceleration of an electron passing by an atomic nucleus. Depending on the target material, two different behaviours can be detected: When an electron traverses an amorphous or polycrystalline target, a continuous photon spectrum is observed; this process is called “incoherent bremsstrahlung”. On the… Show more Bremsstrahlung denotes any radiation emitted by the acceleration of a charged particle. In my thesis, the bremsstrahlung process studied refers to the electromagnetic radiation produced by the deceleration of an electron passing by an atomic nucleus. Depending on the target material, two different behaviours can be detected: When an electron traverses an amorphous or polycrystalline target, a continuous photon spectrum is observed; this process is called “incoherent bremsstrahlung”. On the other hand, when the target is a single-crystal, coherent bremsstrahlung takes place, showing remarkable peaks in the photon spectra. Many authors have attempted to give an expression for the bremsstrahlung cross- section using different approximations. Koenig & Oelfke (2009) presented two new formulas to calculate both coherent and incoherent bremsstrahlung cross-sections in first order Born-approximation, without using other approximations, such as confinement to high energies or small angles.The thesis provides a comparison of the incoherent cross-section by Koenig & Oelfke (2009) with some of the expressions in Koch & Motz (1959), and, also, a comparison of the coherent cross-section by Koenig & Oelfke (2009) with the one proposed by Palazzi (1968). With this analysis, we compared the validity of various approximations to the exact integration carried out by Koenig & Oelfke (2009) and discussed energy ranges at which the various versions differ. Show less