Robert Belmonte Email & Phone Number

United States

Burlington, Massachusetts, United States

Research Associate II at Sarepta Therapeutics Burlington, MA.- Part of the Process Analytics team within the Gene Therapy Process Development Organization- Routinely perform various analytical assays such as capsid titer by Octet, genome titer by ddPCR and qPCR, product purity by CE-SDS- Engage in development work to improve existing analytical assays by increasing sample throughput or reducing consumable cost- Create automation methods on liquid handlers such as the EpMotion 5075t to improve assay throughput and reduce reruns. - Regularly revise and improve existing SOPs to keep up with development work.

Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

Graduate Research in Dr. Amity Manning's Lab- Studying the expression of mutated Suv420H2 histone methyltransferase expression in vitro- Created phosphomimic and Phosphomutant primers at multiple sites in the Suv420H2 genome- Utilized molecular cloning techniques such as PCR, Digestion, Ligation and Bacterial Transformation to create entry clones with mutant Suv420H2 DNA- Created DNA gels and used gel electrophoresis to measure and validate the sequence length of PCR products- Transferred the entry clones to the CMV/To pLenti destination vector using Gateway Cloning techniques. - Isolated mutant DNA from the competent bacterial vectors using QIAgen DNA miniprep and DNA MIDIprep kits.- Analyzed DNA concentration and absorbance peaks using NanoDrop- Sequenced the isolated DNA using Sanger Sequencing- Transfected 293T and RPE cells using Lentivirus with mutant Suv420H2 DNA- Utilized aseptic technique as well as cell culture techniques to maintain transfected adherent animal cell lines- Used functional assays such as western blot to compare wild-type and mutant Suv420H2 protein expression- Regularly presented data in both virtual and in-person lab meetings

Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

Major Qualifying Capstone Project: Examining Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in different Soil Types- Worked with a research team under the lead of Associate Professor Mike Buckholt- Designed our own experimental protocol and generated results for our primary objective which was to research antibiotic resistant or multi-resistant bacteria in different soil samples around the New England area. - Created and autoclaved agar based media for bacterial colonies from soil samples to grow in. - Grew bacterial colonies in vitro on agar plates with different types and concentrations of antibiotics- Presented experimental design and results to other senior undergraduate students on project presentation day in April 2021- Created a professional, scientific report that is to be published by WPI on their website

Framingham, Massachusetts, United States

● Member of Cell Line Development team which was part of the Biologics Development Organization● Created GZM media containing varying concentrations of Methionine Sulfoxamine (MSX)● Passaged and seeded cells in media; spun down using centrifuge● Set up batch culture and submitted for FACS and titer analysis● Inputted protein sequences and plate set data from various genes into GeneData● Used ViCell to count and image groups of cells; analyzed using Microsoft Excel● Prepared and presented slide deck to senior management which displayed the results of various experiments that were conducted over the course of the internship

Framingham, Ma

● Gained “hands-on” experience in state of the art laboratory environment under the supervision of lead scientist;● Member of downstream process team which was part of the Biologics Development Organization;● Performed batch purification chromatography and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC);● Measured degradation of target protein in cell using ICB (integrated and continuous bio manufacturing) methods;● Analyzed samples using non-reduced SDS-PAGE (sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis);● Used various data collection and analytical programs (i.e.: Microsoft excel, image lab);● Prepared and presented slide deck to senior management which displayed the results of various experiments that were conducted over the course of the assignment

Master Of Science - Ms, Biotechnology

Bachelor Of Science - Bs, Biology And Biotechnology