Research Associate
CurrentObjective: Researching metabolic pathways of agricultural plants to better understand how to maximize their genetic potential in natural ways through the application of biostimulant technology.Responsibilities:-Designing and conducting experiments-RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, real time PCR-Staying current on relevant scientific literature-Maintaining detailed experiment notebook-Analyzing and interpreting experimental data-Creating and revising SOPs and testing protocols-Improving processes and testing methodologies-Managing laboratory inventory and ordering suppliesAccomplishments:-Worked on a study showing relationship between microbiomes and biostimulants, and organized and reviewed the corresponding findings for a poster presentation at the Barcelona, Spain Bio Agricultural Conference in 2019.-Created a database for experiments by data mining and organizing lab notebook details from 2015 to the present. This database made it significantly easier to find and compare experimental data.-Created a database of over 150 Arabidopsis Thaliana genes based on gene upregulation results shown from our experiments. This database will serve as the framework for a potential gene panel that can be used to screen genes according to metabolic pathway profiles.-Improved efficiency and effectiveness of several procedures resulting in faster turnaround time, more reliable testing, and less wasted resources.-Updated and created several new SOPs.