Assists in validating and conducting flow cytometry assays for drug/receptor occupancy and immunophenotyping studies for Phase I/II/III drug studies

Studied the effects of increased transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta) signaling in hematopoiesis during recovery from chemotherapy, inflammation and transplantation. My work suggests that increased TGF beta signaling drives bone marrow failure or leukemia depending on the type of injury sustained by the hematopoietic system, with disease characteristics reminiscent of human diseases like myelodysplasia and Fanconi anemia. The results from this research suggest that targeting TGF beta signaling during different stress hematopoiesis scenarios may be important in preventing disease

I produced an average of 300-700 ELISA 96-well microarray plates per week to diagnose infectious diseases caused by Trichinella, Strongyloides stercoralis, Toxocaridae, Taenia solium, Schistosoma mansoni and Leishmania (among other infectious diseases). I also mixed and produced secondary antibody conjugates and positive control solutions using disease-state sera for ELISA microarray and immunofluorescent (IFA) slide diagnostic kits in a GMP/ GLP lab. On top of this, I maintained several suspension and adherent mammalian cell lines over extended periods of time in a BSL-2 cell laboratory for use in production of infectious disease IFAs like HHV-8 and measles. I also performed quality control checks on Parvovirus immunofluorescent assay slides on slide batches produced for Biotrin International under supervision of the Quality Control manager. Lastly, I manufactured biological and chemical product components of ELISA and IFA diagnostic test kits under compliance in an FDA regulated and ISO 9000/9001 certified environment

I created DNA transcriptional fusions through entry vectors to transform the plant Arabidopsis thaliana using green fluorescent protein and ß-glucuronidase tags, to visualize the localization and expression of two regulatory genes ASIL1 and ASIL2 in embryos. I also cultured E. coli and Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains transformed with the previously stated entry vectors, before purifying plasmid DNA through Fermentas GeneJET minipreps. In addition, I developed a protocol using three day old seedlings for qualitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) that allowed quantitative comparison of the expression of the two regulatory genes when compared to other known regulator genes involved in the biochemical pathway of embryogenesis