Joshua Hammer Email & Phone Number

Durham, NC, US

Durham, North Carolina, United States

• Co-lead the development of a functional assay to gauge patient response to immune checkpoint inhibitors.
• Developed and validated assay pipeline components that are broadly used across the company, including high throughput imaging, flow cytometry, and electrochemiluminescent ELISA.
• Generated patient derived cancer organiods from lung, kidney, and colorectal cancers.
• Developed and managed several critical early-stage R&D projects to enhance fundamental aspects of the company’s platform technology. Examples include immune cell tracking, high throughout cell aggregation, and.
• Led and executed several outward-facing projects for major biopharma partners. Key activities: immune oncology assay development, organoid culture, flow cytometry, cancer biology, immunophenotyping, imaging-based.

Durham, North Carolina, United States

• Mentor: Robert Lefkowitz, Division of Cardiology
• Spearheaded the transfer of a novel yeast display platform into the lab to act as a new foundational technology for the lab’s efforts to find pharmacologically and biologically useful nanobodies.
• Utilized flow cytometry to screen a yeast surface displayed synthetic nanobody library for conformation-specific binders targeted to the β2-adrenergic receptor.
• Characterized conformationally specific nanobodies using a variety of pharmacological and biophysical techniques, including isothermal titration calorimetry and radioligand binding assays.

Durham, North Carolina, United States

• Mentor: Jennifer West, Department of Biomedical Engineering
• Designed a mechanism for dynamic biochemical modification of poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels using photoresponsive proteins.
• Developed novel orthogonal hydrogel labeling chemistry using peptidases and recognition peptides for spatiotemporal control over biochemical ligand presentation within the gel.
• Utilized hydrogel-mediated matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) regulation as a tool for controlling angiogenesis kinetics.
• Mentored an undergraduate student in designing a light-switchable reversible gelation mechanism for hydrogels using photoresponsive proteins.
• Published 4 first-author manuscripts, including an invited cover feature for Bioconjugate Chemistry. Presented work at 11 scientific conferences, including 4 oral presentations.

Stanford, California, United States

• Mentor: Fan Yang, Department of Biomedical Engineering
• Developed novel microfabrication technique to create calcium alginate microfibers; used fibers as a stimuli-responsive channeling and cell delivery mechanism within a bulk hydrogel scaffold.
• Published findings as a first-author manuscript.

Tempe, Arizona, United States

• Mentor: Christopher Buneo
• Completed foundational work to develop a fully rendered 3D virtual arm to analyze reaching and grasping motions in primates.
• Progressed experiment designed to explore the effects of visual and proprioceptive feedback on movement planning and execution.

St Louis, Missouri, United States

• Mentor: Amy Harkins, Department of Biomedical Engineering
• Fabricated and visualized collagen gels containing laminin to investigate neurite extension in a laminin-doped 3D collagen scaffold.
• Published data as part of a manuscript in the Journal of Neural Engineering.

Phoenix, Arizona, United States

• Gained extensive experience in team management and conflict resolution by supervising 16 travel agents and handling customer disputes for approximately 100 travel agents.
• Delivered quarterly appraisals, initiated performance improvement plans, and discussed monitored calls to ensure team efficiency and efficacy.
• Developed, coordinated, and executed standard operating procedures for annual audits that were ultimately implemented nationwide.
• Designed instructional materials and held training sessions on technical and professional skills related to the corporate travel industry.

Tempe, Arizona, United States

• Trained and supervised a call center team of 80 travel agents, resulting in consistently high performance in both center-wide sales figures and customer hold times.
• Delivered quarterly appraisals and developed training materials for industry-relevant technical skills, as well as soft skills such as sales tactics and conflict resolution.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Phd), Biomedical/Medical Engineering

Dissertation title: Achieving Dynamic Control over Cell Culture Hydrogels Using Engineered Proteins

Master'S Degree, Biomedical/Medical Engineering

Bse, Biomedical/Medical Engineering, Summa Cum Laude