Nikhil Kumar Email & Phone Number

Washington DC-Baltimore Area

• Performing microbiological review of tobacco product submissions through Substantial Equivalence (SE) and Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) pathways, including review of cigars, e-liquids, and electronic.
• Developing microbiology research projects to fill knowledge gaps in support of ENDS regulatory decisions
• Participating in industry meetings to provide guidance to ENDS manufacturers prior to PMTA submissions
• Serving as subject matter… Show more
• Serving as subject matter expert (SME) on FDA's Cannabis Information Sharing Group Show less

Las Vegas, Nevada

• Managed a team of 4 microbiologists
• Developed methods for microbial testing of cannabis, in a state-of-the-art analytical laboratory
• Improved Cannabis Testing Laboratory Management System, ensuring industry-leading SOPs & processes
• Partnered with molecular diagnostics companies to develop new qPCR-based kits for rapid detection of Aspergillus (niger, terreus, flavus, and fumigatus)
• Authored method validations for detection of Aspergillus/Salmonella/pathogenic E. coli, as… Show more
• Authored method validations for detection of Aspergillus/Salmonella/pathogenic E. coli, as well as enumeration of Total Coliforms, Bile-Tolerant Gram Negative Bacteria, Yeast & Mold, and Total Aerobic Bacteria in a.

Henderson, NV

• Analyzed the correlation between Tau aggregate formation in retinas and neurodegenerative disease across multiple species
• Developed a bacteriophage isolation protocol for Francisella tularensis
• Developed monoclonal antibody reagents for the ferret influenza model
• Performed environmental sampling throughout Las Vegas Valley

Baltimore, MD

• Developed a method to reverse-engineer inter-domain lateral gene transfer (LGT) in cancer cells, in an effort to assess the oncogenic effects of bacterial DNA integration into the human genome
• Developed, analyzed, and optimized a novel fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method to detect bacterial genes in the genome of Drosophila ananassae
• Optimized commercial kits to enhance sample enrichment of intracellular transcriptomes, enabling cost-effective RNA-Seq of obligate… Show more
• Optimized commercial kits to enhance sample enrichment of intracellular transcriptomes, enabling cost-effective RNA-Seq of obligate endosymbionts
• Managed laboratory operations for two Institute for Genome Sciences faculty members, accelerating innovative research and providing project management for key investigative studies averaging over $2 million in annual.

Baltimore, MD

• Developed mRNA enrichment methods in complex bacteria-animal interactions, refining studies of Ehrlichia chaffeensis and its diverse hosts
• Designed and managed experiments to validate lateral gene transfer between Wolbachia and Drosophila ananassae, mastering techniques in animal husbandry and rearing, embryo collection, microdissection, FISH, sequencing.
• Performed innovative LGT transcriptomics experiments on Brugia malayi and stink… Show more
• Performed innovative LGT transcriptomics experiments on Brugia malayi and stink bug
• Administered maintenance and repair of essential laboratory equipment, including ABI 7900HT, Axon GenePix Scanner, Aushon 2470 Arrayer, and Nikon TE2000 Fluorescence Microscope
• Instructed and trained PhD students and technicians on mastery of molecular biology techniques and analyses using ABI 7900HT, Nikon TE2000, and Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer Show less

Baltimore, MD

• Performed computational and experimental studies of host-microbe interactions amongst Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes, D. ananassae, Wolbachia, and human
• Used microarray technology to reveal transcriptional changes during Streptococcus pneumoniae biofilm formation and adhesion to human epithelia
• Launched the Institute for Genome Science's genomics and microarray laboratory at the University of Maryland, Baltimore

Rockville, MD

• Collaborated in efforts to elucidate mechanisms of pathogen virulence through functional genomic comparisons among multiple Streptococcus species
• Utilized comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) microarray technology to analyze BSL-2 pathogens
• Mastered laboratory techniques such as CGH, qRT-PCR, DNA & RNA extraction, plant propagation, and PCR
• Designed and validated inferred gene models in the Arabidopsis genome based on sequence similarity to Brassica oleracea, in a… Show more
• Designed and validated inferred gene models in the Arabidopsis genome based on sequence similarity to Brassica oleracea, in a pioneering gene discovery study
• Published sequences for Arabidopsis genes, through gene modeling and annotation, RNA extraction, expression testing, cloning, and sequencing

Rockville, MD

• Designed and implemented a PCR-based human gene expression profile study

Master Of Science (Ms), Biotechnology

Bachelor Of Science (Bs), Biology