Developed and supported the genetic health content. I closely worked with cross-functional stakeholders, collaborated with product managers to guide product direction, and often served as the project manager. In addition, I was responsible for implementing scientific content in the product codebase.<<< KEY ACHIEVEMENTS >>>- Collaborated with a cross-functional team to define, author, implement, and release a new product feature that delivers personalized, genetics-informed health recommendations, leading the development of content for one arm of the feature. As a part of this, I worked closely with our engineering team and gained value software development skills to build out a part of the code.- Executed several projects to improve the development pipeline or create a new feature for genetic reports based on polygenic risk scores.- Authored and released 10+ genetic health reports to customers on a wide array of topics, ranging from sleep health, to pregnancy, to autoimmune conditions. <<< PUBLICATIONS >>>Ashenhurst, J.R.*, Zhan, J.*, Multhaup, M.L., Kita, R., Sazonova, O.V., Krock, B., Laskey, S.B., Shringarpure, S., Wallace, M., Chisnell, P., Furlotte, N.A., 23andMe Research Team, Koelsch, B.L. White Paper 23-21: A Generalized Method for the Creation and Evaluation of Polygenic Scores. 23andMe. 2023. https://permalinks.23andme.com/pdf/23_21-PRSMethodology_May2020.pdf

-Investigated the cellular pathology of Dilated Cardiomyopathy caused by LMNA mutations (LMNA-DCM) using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) and mouse models, in order to identify novel therapeutic targets.-Wrote and implemented MATLAB, R, and Bash programs for image, RNA-seq, and statistical analysis.-Applied for and awarded a $62,032 American Heart Association Predoctoral fellowship.-Published a literature review article, and delivered several talks and posters at scientific conferences.-Mentored one M.Eng. and three undergraduate students to pursue independent research projects.<<< PUBLICATIONS >>>Wallace, M., Zahr, H., Perati, S., Morsink, C.D., Johnson, L.E., Gacita, A.M., Lai, S., Wallrath, L.L., Benjamin, I.J., McNally, E.M., Kirby, T.J., Lammerding, J. Nuclear damage in LMNA mutant iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes is associated with impaired lamin localization to the nuclear envelope. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 2023;34(12):mbcE21100527Wallace, M., Fedorchak, G.R., Agrawal, R., Gilbert, R.M., Patel, J., Park, S., Paszek, M., Lammerding, J.. The lamin A/C Ig-fold undergoes cell density-dependent changes that alter epitope binding. Nucleus. 2023;14(1):2180206.Maurer, M., Lammerding, J. The Driving Force: Nuclear Mechanotransduction in Cellular Function, Fate, and Disease. Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering. 2019;21(1):443-68.

-Identified and characterized 3D-electrospun polymer matrices as potential materials to advance maturation of embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes-Employed electrospun matrices in a custom-designed bioreactor system-Assessed cardiomyocyte maturity using immunofluorescence staining, confocal microscopy, and raman spectroscopy

-Synthesized and employed polyacrylamide gel substrates in vitro to model the increased stiffness of atherosclerotic plaque-Demonstrated that macrophage traction forces, proliferation, and conversion to foam cells increases with increased substrate stiffness using live cell imaging and Traction Force Microscopy-After leaving the lab, assisted in mentoring two undergraduate students to continue the project-Will be writing a co-authored publication on this work with a current PhD student-Presented posters at university, national, and international conferences-Applied for and received two undergraduate research grants to help fund this work<<< PUBLICATIONS >>>>Ammanamanchi, M., Maurer, M., Hayenga, H. Inflammation drives stiffness mediated uptake of lipoproteins in primary human macrophages and foam cell proliferation. Annals of biomedical engineering. 2021;49(12):3425-3437.<<< PRESENTATIONS >>>>Maurer, M., Morris, A., Hayenga, H. Substrate Stiffness Regulates Macrophage Proliferation, Morphology, Traction Forces and Foam Cell Formation In-Vitro. 623. WE-Hereaus Seminar for Cellular Dynamics: Bad Honnef, Germany (September 2016). Poster Presentation.Maurer, M., Hayenga, H. Macrophage Proliferation as a Function of Substrate Stiffness. BMES Annual Meeting: Tampa, FL (October 2015). Poster Presentation.

-Super Leader from December 2015 - May 2016-Led weekly Integral Calculus sessions for groups of eight students to learn Integral Calculus-Provided an active, engaged learning experience-Supervised all Integral Calculus PLTL leaders-Developed and implemented new components to the PLTL program-Completed administrative work and communicated professionally on the behalf of the PLTL program

-Demonstrated that optoporation using a femtosecond laser is an effective method for single-cell transfection in a 3D colorectal cancer model-Delivered an oral presentation at 2014 BMES Annual Meeting

-Cultured mouse embryonic stem cells and embryoid bodies to collect conditioned medium-Demonstrated that embryonic stem cell paracrine secretions can alter macrophage phenotype-Presented a poster at the 2013 BMES Annual Meeting-Performed histology to assess dermal wound healing in a mouse modelPresentations:Maurer, M., Fitzpatrick, L., McDevitt, T. In Vitro Effects of Embryonic Stem Cell Paracrine Signaling on Macrophage Phenotype. BMES Annual Meeting: Seattle, WA (September 2013). Poster presentation.Maurer, M., Fitzpatrick, L., McDevitt, T. In Vitro Effects of Embryonic Stem Cell Paracrine Signaling on Macrophage Phenotype. IEEE Medical Device Symposium: Richardson, TX (November 2013). Poster presentation.

-Tested the biocompatibility and longevity of shape memory polymer (SMP) implants in the auditory cortices of rats through live neural recordings via MATLAB-Developed biodegradable silk solution to increase mechanical stiffness of SMP devices upon implantation