Provided pivotal support to the Pharma Commercial team within the context of necessary and rapid organization-wide changes in both business model and product strategy.• Contributed to the sales and partnership strategy targeting VC’s and their portfolios by thoroughly researching over 50 firms and 150 portfolio companies, mapping the relevant characteristics of both, and recommending an optimal strategic path forward.• Helped craft the launch and go-to-market strategy for a new key functional genomics offering by analyzing over 25 of Ginkgo’s largest competitors, the existing ecosystem, ongoing market trends, and likely customer segments. Identified over 50 relevant target customers and 3-5 lead contacts at each for immediate sale outreach.

· Key contributor to the New Opportunities group: a team that focuses on discovering, validating, and expanding novel base-editing therapies, functioning akin to a project incubator for the company within internally unexplored biological fields. We particularly specialize in diseases of the central nervous and neuromuscular systems.- Led the laboratory effort to develop a therapy for a disease of the central nervous system as part of Beam’s collaboration with Pfizer. This included: learning the relevant biology, creating, troubleshooting, validating, & optimizing functional assays, subsequently identifying therapeutically promising candidate therapies, and personally presenting all results to a range of audiences (company-wide, Pfizer collaboration committees, internal smaller groups, the legal and IP teams, etc.)· Associated skills and techniques: project creation and execution, assay development, iPSC culture and differentiation (cortical neurons, pre-diff’d microglia & motor neurons), gene/base editing, general cell culture work with patient fibroblasts & various immortal lines, lipid nanoparticle use, qPCRs, ELISAs, slide & cell staining, Opera Phenix high throughput imaging, antisense oligonucleotide transfection/use, data presentation (meetings, poster), co-op mentorship

PIs (joint/simultaneous appointment): Dr. Li-Huei Tsai, Picower Institute of Learning and Memory; Dr. Ed Boyden, McGovern Institute for Brain Research- In the Tsai lab, I was assisting with their research on the role of microglia in the neuroprotective properties of GENUS (Gamma ENtrainment Using Sensory stimuli), a noninvasive method the lab has pioneered to potentially treat Alzheimer's disease.- In the Boyden lab, I was helping 1) research how drug addiction affects the brain at the synaptic level, utilizing the lab’s newly developed iterative expansion microscopy technology; and 2) helping create a technology to better map and understand the brain’s architecture/connectome.· Associated skills and techniques: Immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry (brain slices, HEK cells), large antibody screening assays, confocal microscopy image capture (Confocal Zeiss 710 + 880/Nikon eclipse Ti) and image analysis (Imaris, FIJI), brain sectioning and sub-sectioning (vibratome, cryostat), perfusion, expansion microscopy/revealing, behavioral analysis (Grooming, OF, NOR), CODEX antibody conjugation and staining, and tissue/cell culture work: passaging, transfections, staining

- Science summer camp for middle schoolers in Alamance County that have a strong financial need- Helped create lesson plans, hands-on activities, and multimedia (videos, worksheets, instruction sheets) for use during the camp. Worked collaboratively within a group of professors and students, bringing the perspective of a professional research scientist to the camp’s teamhttps://www.elon.edu/u/academics/arts-and-sciences/biology/elon-explorers/

Principal investigator: Dr. Russ CarstensResearch investigating the molecular mechanisms of alternative splicing, specifically the interactome and regulatory role of RNA binding proteins. The lab uses a combination of genetics, developmental biology, and systems biology to understand how the process of alternative splicing and the molecules involved function to maintain normal mammalian developmentI had four major roles in the lab:1) Research tech – daily lab work included plasmid cloning (restriction digests, ligations, transformations, etc.), PCRs, lentiviral vector creation and transduction, DNA sequence analysis (software: SeqBuilder, MegAlign, UCSC genome browser), tissue culture work, transfections, dual luciferase assays, RNA work, qPCRs and RT-qPCRs, flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, immunoprecipitation, Western blotting, and more. Had exposure to, but did not personally perform: CLIP, IHC, RNA-seq, fixing and staining tissue, and CRISPR/Cas9 editing2) Lab manager – was responsible for organizing collaboration between labs both within and outside of UPenn, managing the lab and lab personnel in accordance with university and safety regulations, and handling all lab purchases, repairs, and communication3) Mouse colony manager – maintained and organized the lab’s colony of ~250 mice, tracking and genotyping 18 genetic alterations with mice of numerous possible genetic combinations. Regularly handled and dissected mice. Processed ~2500 mice total.4) Student – I read a multitude of scholarly articles and presented both my own independent research and other research papers at weekly lab meetings. Actively attended weekly presentations and talks by experts on campus.More info on the lab can be found here: https://www.med.upenn.edu/apps/faculty/index.php/g20000320/p6099

A chirp is worth a thousand words: communication in acoustically complex environmentsPrincipal Investigators: Dr. Hannah ter Hofstede, Dartmouth University Biology Department; Dr. Jen Hamel, Elon University Biology Department· Research investigating the contexts and functions of multimodal communication (vibrational and acoustic) in neotropical katydids· Data was collected over a month at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) on Barro Colorado Island, Panama in close collaboration with a group of Dartmouth, Castleton, Elon, and the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle biologists· Secured three grants to fund all travel and research expenses · Collected and reared hundreds of insects and catalogued all natural history data to associate certain species with certain environmental niches· Recorded, characterized, and compared the signals from collected specimens using audio analysis software (Raven, Audacity) to inform the evolutionary relationships across species

Principal Investigator: Dr. Jen Hamel, Elon University Biology Department· Two year fellows research project investigating the reproductive costs and benefits of prolonged copulation in an agricultural pest: the squash bug (Anasa tristis)· Scored hundreds of hours of animal behavior videos to quantify average and maximum duration; manipulated copulation duration and recorded the resulting fertility, fecundity, and longevity · Developed a successful proposal to fund intensive summer research effort (stipend & research funds)· Collaborated on experimental design and piloted/ran all aspects of data collection · Manuscript published by Behavioural Processes, additionally produced 2 talks and 1 poster· Co-mentored a high school student throughout the summer portion of the project

I handled incoming packages and deliveries for both the Biology and ENS Departments, as well as cared for the departments' animals.

I was the RA on a hall of 40 residents in the Global Neighborhood

Assisted in a Cell Biology and a Population Biology course, heavily involved in the laboratory portions. I assisted the professor in relaying information, as well as preparing, instructing, and overseeing laboratory activities. I also graded work and tutored the students outside of class.Tutored students in General Chemistry I and II, as well as Organic Chemistry I and II.Taught student-run Organic Chemistry I and II recitation classes for the Chemistry Department.

I oversaw the University’s radio station. I was responsible for managing the budget, interviewing and hiring all executive staff, and overseeing ~100 general staff DJs. I was a liaison between all our sponsors, other universities and local organizations, the FCC, concert venues, bands, and the general and executive staff.

Research mentor: Dr. Yuko Miyamoto, Elon University Biology DepartmentResearch evaluating if rapamycin could inhibit members of the mTOR gene family to damage cell motility in order to isolate cancerous tumors and prevent metastasis. Exposed to techniques such as western blots, flow cytometry, tissue and culture work, and aseptic technique.

Principal Investigators: Dr. William R. Miller, Baker University; Dr. Meg "CanopyMeg" Lowman, California Academy of SciencesResearch aimed at studying tardigrade ecology, taxonomy, and species distribution up and along a tree and within the canopy on a national scale. I was professionally trained to climb trees using the Double Rope Technique Data was collected at Baker University, Harvard Forest Field Station, and the KU field station. Exposed to countless hours of microscope (SEM and light microscope) work.

Taught math and science to underpriviledged children that did not otherwise have opportunities to learn about STEM subjects. I co-taught a 7th grade math class and aided in a local agricultural project that educated kids on ecology and other related sciences.