Justin Watkins, Ph.D. Email & Phone Number

Chapel Hill, Nc, Us

Chapel Hill, Nc, Us

Durham, North Carolina, Us

Durham, North Carolina, Us

Technical lead for multiple Phase 1&2 pipeline projects to support our process development teams•Mentor and trainer for my team of analysts, providing technical guidance, training, goal alignment, and professional development to achieve individual and team success•Expert in technical and persuasive communication to a diverse audience: o Effectively communicate data trends and bottlenecks to appropriate internal and external stakeholders, escalating issues that impact project scope or timelines o Author and approve technical documents, such as protocols, technical guides, and non-GMP data reports •Analyze in-process data to ensure that trends are suitable to report for process development support•Streamline data collection, analysis and reporting by developing Instrument, Processing, and Report Methods with appropriate custom fields in Empower•Execute and plan analytical testing and schedules for myself and junior team members to ensure deliverables are on time for client milestones and meet company standards.•Expert in Good Document and Laboratory Practices (cGDP/cGLP) with familiarity of cGMP conditions•Assist in screening candidates for open positions in AD, including resume review and conducting phone and panel interviews.Expertise:•Ultra- and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC/HPLC) methods: size exclusion, SEC coupled with Multi-Angle Light Scattering (SEC-MALS), titer, reverse phase, ion exchange (IEX), peptide mapping, glycan analysis•Reduced/non-reduced capillary electrophoresis (CE-SDS), Imaged Capillary IsoElectric Focusing (icIEF)•ELISAs to measure residual capture ligands (e.g. ProteinA, CH1-XL) and host cell proteins, potency ELISA, residual DNA analysis via qPCR, Biolayer Interferometry (BLI)-based titer, endotoxin, UV-VIS spectroscopy. •Small-scale capture via PreDictor Plate and automated Robocolumn•Empower 3, Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), IDBS Electronic Lab Notebook, LabArchives, Microsoft Office

Raleigh, North Carolina, Us

High-throughput Discovery Science and Inquiry-based Case Studies for Today's Students (HITS) NetworkCase study developed by my team:"Quantitative analysis of high-throughput fluorescence microscopy images from Allen Cell"Description: Students tend to see microscopy as a “snapshot” of a single cell or small group of cells that is best described qualitatively. High-throughput methods allow for the imaging of many cells from which quantitative measurements can be made and for which statistical analyses of differences can be performed. Case study learning objectives:1) Students will utilize image processing methods in fluorescence microscopy2) Students will be able to identify variables that can be measured and perform quantitative analysis of these variables3) Students will be able to perform statistical analyses comparing cell characteristics under different conditions (e.g. drug treated vs. non-treated, before/after expression of a specific gene)HITS Fellow objectives:• Provide workshops, a virtual community, and online resources to foster high-throughput research and its integration into the classroom• Connect researchers and educators to design and assess quantitative biology case studies based on high-throughput discovery research• Create a diverse consortium of institutions committed to implementing these quantitative educational tools in biology courses and curricula across the country and worldHigh-throughput approaches can open the doors to discovery of novel genes, drugs, and regulatory networks. The effective design, implementation, and analysis of high-throughput research require fundamental quantitative skills. However, the high cost and technological demands of high-throughput discovery prohibit its use in most college laboratories. To address this need, this Research Coordination Network in Undergraduate Biology Education (RCN-UBE) seeks to improve student quantitative skills and participation in high-throughput discovery.

Chapel Hill, Nc, Us

Advisor: Alan M. Jones• Initiate and manage a 14-person multidisciplinary project spanning 4 labs across three universities to create a map of early cell signaling events caused by pathogen invasion: outline goals and target deadlines, assess progress of groups/individuals, curate/present final product• Wrote numerous workflows and peer-reviewed journal articles, including one published in Science Signaling• Excellent persuasive and technical oral/written communication skills demonstrated by an awarded 3-year NIH research fellowship and 7 seminars and 11 poster presentations at international conferencesMain projects in the Alan Jones Lab:1) Discover regulatory mechanisms that bias heterotrimeric G-protein signaling toward different cellular outcomes2) Elucidating phosphatases that negatively regulate the activation of G-protein signaling, modulating plant immunity to bacterial invasion• Mass spectrometry-based quantitative proteomics to capture the phosphorylation states of proteins and amino acid residues in response to flg22, a pathogen-associated peptide that triggers the innate immune response3) Imaging the single-cell time dynamics of plant heterotrimeric G-protein signaling in response to biotic and abiotic stimuli over time in live samplesUtilized techniques: • Fiji ImageJ, Imaris, GraphPad Prism, Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop• DNA/RNA isolation, cDNA library prep, qRT-PCR, qPCR, PCR, cloning, DNA sequence analysis, site-directed mutagenesis• Transient and stable protein expression assays, chemiluminescence and fluorescence-based assays, plate-based assays, generating cell protoplast, protein/small molecule labeling• Handling, growing, and transforming bacteria• Brightfield, widefield, and confocal microscopy, spectral imaging, FRET, BiFC, BRET, colocalization, 3D imaging, super-resolution

Chapel Hill, Nc, Us

The Seeding Postdoctoral Innovators in Research and Education (SPIRE) program at UNC Chapel Hill is a 3-year research fellowship, funded by the NIGMS via IRACDA (NIH K12 award).• Enabled me to excel in both research and teaching-Research in the laboratory of Dr. Alan Jones at UNC-CH -Teaching as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP)Accomplishments:• Instructor on record for 2 courses at UNC Pembroke• Completed a semester-long course, College Teaching, lead by Dr. Ed Neal, that focused on pedagogy and undergraduate mentoring• Research mentor for the SPIRE Summer Undergraduate Research Program in 2019• Certificate of completion of The Flipped Classroom workshop, a 4-part workshop series with Dr. Barbi Honeycutt• Attended monthly professional development workshops on various topics related to research ethics, technical writing, grant applications, training junior scientists, and teaching strategies.• Attended the yearly IRACDA conference to network, collaborate, and present lab- and classroom-based research Search committee representative:-UNC SPIRE Summer Undergraduate Research Program search committee-SPIRE fellow representative for the SPIRE program search committeeMy research interests as a cell and molecular biologist as a SPIRE fellow are focused on studying the signaling mechanisms that connect environmental stimuli with growth and development. A hallmark characteristic of signal transduction is the ability for a signal molecule to modulate a wide range of responses. How a signal mediates such a diverse array of outputs and how these response pathways are integrated with other inputs remains a fundamental question in biology and in many aspects of human health. To better understand this connection, I have utilized the plant Arabidopsis thaliana as a model for genetic, biochemical, molecular, and organismal research.

Pembroke, Nc, Us

Spring 2020: Introduction to Microbiology (BIOL3150) • Mixed lecture and active learning - 20 Students• Conducted an IRB approved education research project titled:"Incorporating exam wrappers into a college-level microbiology course to foster critical evaluation of study habits among undergraduate students"• Transitioned online to asynchronous format in March due to the onset of with coronavirus pandemicFall 2020: Principles of Biology (BIOL1000)• Mixed lecture and active learning - 26 StudentsCollaborated with the UNCP Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (RISE) program to develop three professional development workshops• Workshops included guided self-reflection and group discussion to identify, apply for, and interview effectively at graduate programs and internships that align with the student’s interests and career aspirationsSupported through the SPIRE program at UNC Chapel Hill

Winston-Salem, Nc, Us

Building on the Muday Lab's research on redox signaling in roots, I pioneered a novel research project that explored the function of flavonoid antioxidants in guard cells on leaves. This project resulted in a new field of research in the lab that is still ongoing today, incorporating new graduate and undergraduate students. • Project manager for 3 projects, each spanning multiple labs, resulting in 5 peer-reviewed publications • Implemented new imaging technology, to discover and characterize the role of small molecule antioxidants and hormones in regulating cell signaling and organismal development in model systems• Conducted tutorials and workshops on advanced microscopy techniques to WFU students, postdocs, and faculty and to local middle and high school students• In conjunction with the microscopy core director: traveled to ZEISS Microscopy Customer Center New York to demo new equipment for the chemistry, physics, and biology departments at WFU. -Advised specific WFU labs on what products most apply to their present and future imaging needs -Resulted in the purchase two microscopes for the university: Zeiss Axio Zoom.V16 and LSM 880 AiryscanOther accomplishments:• 2 research fellowships awarded, totaling $105,000 and 3 years of funding• 3 first-author publications (5 total publications)• 5 undergraduates mentored on independent research projects• 10 total travel scholarships awarded to attend international conferences totaling $4,800• Cover art for Plant Physiology Volume 164, Issue 4 in 2014.Utilized techniques:• Fiji ImageJ, Imaris, Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop• DNA/RNA isolation, cDNA library prep, qRT-PCR, qPCR, PCR• Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy, MS/MS, liquid handling systems• Generating cell protoplast, protein/small molecule labeling, histological staining • Brightfield, widefield, and confocal microscopy, spectral imaging, linear unmixing, colocalization, 3D imaging, super-resolution, live cell imaging

Winston-Salem, Nc, Us

$80,000 research fellowship for 2 yearsProject: Hormone cross talk modulates redox signaling in tomato guard cells to control stomata aperture and water loss. • Applied my previous research experiences to the crop plant tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)• Presented my research at the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Project Directors Conference in Washington D.C. • Cultivated tomato plants in growth chamber, green house, and field environments for experiments• Lead to a first-author publication in Plant Physiology in 2017 (https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.17.01010).

Winston-Salem, Nc, Us

$25,000 research fellowship for 1 yearProject: Discover and characterize the role of flavonol antioxidants in regulating redox signaling and drought stress in Arabidopsis• Presented my research at the Wake Forest University Center for Molecular Signaling conference in Winston-Salam, NC• Coauthored with the first undergraduate mentee of my career, Paul Heckler• Lead to a first-author publication and the cover art for Plant Physiology in 2014 (https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.113.233528)

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Biology/Biological Sciences, General

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Biology, General