Operations and strategy of biomarkers in I-O clinical trials.

Core facility team member interacting with scientists across all therapy areas, Toxicology and Experimental Medicine to provide gene expression analysis and biomarker identification for programs at early stage target identification through clinical trials. Focus on Oncology and Alzheimer’s Disease. Biomarker assay platform assessment and assay development for transfer to clinical setting.• Developed Neuroscience biomarker signature and RNA isolation techniques for Alzheimer’s Disease program in mouse model, enabling program to address outstanding questions. • Assessed Nanostring miRNA gene expression assay for use in monitoring liver toxicity, enabling company to decide on a single platform. • Refined Oncology biomarker signature for Hepatocellular Carcinoma program reducing cost of assay, increasing robustness of signature, and demonstrating applicability to patient stratification. • Developed and wrote SOP for tumor sampling assay, allowing Experimental Medicine to comply with medical restrictions placed on Hepatocellular Carcinoma biopsies.• Collaborated on Immunology program, demonstrating applicability of biomarker signature to published studies.

Implemented and validated new platform technologies for biomarker identification, pathway elucidation, and target validation. Performed microarray analysis and presented findings to therapy area scientists. Developed C. elegans as pharmaceutically relevant model organism focused on Alzheimer’s disease. Utilized molecular biology techniques and RNAi to aide in target identification.• Assessed and validated Affymetrix microarray for implementation as company’s high-density gene expression platform.• Identified molecular biomarker in Oncology’s ERKi program, resulting in patent for use of IL-8 as a biomarker for ERK inhibitor efficacy.• Analyzed and presented hundreds of samples in microarray experiments, enabling program leads to make critical decisions about model validation and compound efficacy. • Curated and vastly expanded microarray probe annotation for pig and CHO, thereby capturing critical data to assess a CV program and improve antibody production.• Elucidated function of novel gene involved in Alzheimer’s disease (Nicastrin) and published results.• Investigated role of cholesterol absorption (NPC1L1) using RNAi and transgenic techniques in the model organism C. elegans and published findings.• Investigated utility of C. elegans as tool for compound screening

Maintained, propagated and conducted mutagenesis screens in both C. elegans and D. melanogaster. Cloned, sequenced and used public databases to identify genes from screens. Managed day-to-day lab operations.• Characterized C. elegans and D. melanogaster mutations, resulting in increased understanding of the TGF-b pathway.• Trained and oversaw undergraduate and graduate students.

Managed logistics and in-country finances for a field program, which ran two 6-week sessions each summer to train Kenyan and foreign students in archaeological and paleoanthropological field techniques (mapping, excavating, fossil identification, and geology) . • Spent nine summers in remote desert region of Kenya instructing undergraduate students in field techniques applicable to the study of early human evolution. • Maintained the safety, welfare and sanity of 400+ college students and supervised 10 staff.• Negotiated and improvised under harsh conditions.