Rhea Kang, Ph.D. Email & Phone Number

Develop custom multiplex bead-based protein and genomic assays using Luminex's xMAP and xTAG Technology

• Successfully completed a meiotic DNA damage repair project through effective experimental design, execution of experiments, data analysis and interpretation of results by reviewing scientific papers, resulting in 2.
• Independently designed 2 follow-up experiments by collaborating with 3 institutional core facilities to investigate paternal aging effect on fertility, while mentoring and training 3 junior and fellow scientists
• Managing Hi-C follow-up project by collaboration and developing protocol to identify intermediate structures of meiotic recombination, which will lead to additional publication

• Developed an innovative assay to study DNA damage repair pathway choices in the context of cancer chemotherapeutic agents, reproductive health and inherited diseases, independently and as part of a team, which led to.
• Designed and executed experiments and analyzed complex data sets that contain rare genetic events across the mouse genome using statistical analysis, resulting in characterization of novel meiotic hotspot and a.
• Established a novel assay with reproducible results to investigate the temporal and genetic regulation of DNA repair pathway choices during mammalian meiosis utilizing FACS, allele-specific PCR and immunofluorescence.
• Optimized and created laboratory SOPs for genotyping to reduce the amount of mice needed and reagent cost by ~50%
• Designed and tested PCR primers to improve amplification specificity for recombination assays, and developed effective gating strategies for FACS protocol to increase cell population purity up to 95%
• Mentored and trained 5 junior scientists and employees on novel techniques and proper conduct of research while managing projects using strong time management and organizational skills

• Production and validation of on-market molecular products for the Universal Human Reference RNA project by reproducibly extracting RNA from human cell lines as part of a cross-functional team by strictly following SOPs.
• Performed quality control tests using Agilent Bioanalyzer for product release, identified problems during production, and communicated with supervisor and cross-functional teams to troubleshoot
• Documentation of technical reports for every assignment, and reviewed and revised internal SOPs to implement current methods

• Characterized subsets of epithelial and immune cell (naïve T-cell) populations in the mouse thymus, resulting in a peer-reviewed publication
• Optimized a single-cell suspension SOP for 10-color flow cytometry experiment, and established a CD4/CD8 immunohistochemistry SOP for mouse thymus tissues

• Processed prescribed medications for customers and resolved technical/third-party issues
• Provided customer satisfaction through communication and building connections, which increased the customer base by 3-fold

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Biomedical Sciences

Activities and Societies: Friends of Science Park, Interview Day Volunteer, KGSA, G&E Community Committee, Summer Student Mentor

Bachelor’S Degree, Biology (B.A.); Nutritional Sciences (B.S.)

Activities and Societies: Beta Beta Beta Biology Society, The National Scholars Honor Society, UTeach Outreach