Shellie Bench, Phd Email & Phone Number

San Jose, CA, US

San Francisco, California, US

• Working on all aspects of early-stage research and development of molecular clinical assay for cancer detection in liquid biopsy samples
• Developing and optimizing clinical sample prep, library, and hybridization workflows for cutting edge RNA, DNA, and methylome panel NGS assays
• Applying newly developed protocols to clinical samples for assay feasibility testing
• Early team member of nascent R&D department in start-up environment

Brisbane, California, US

• Technical lead in developing blood-based NGS assay to detect infectious diseases in transplant patients
• Collaborated with internal and external teams to develop and validate laboratory workflow and bioinformatics pipeline for multiple novel molecular diagnostic clinical assays
• Contributed to regulatory filings (e.g. MolDX)

Shelton, CT, US

• Interpreted RT-qPCR results for COVID-19 clinical tests and approved patient results for release
• Worked with laboratory and quality teams to identify and solve problems in data and lab processes
• Complied with regulations and audit requests in a CLIA and CAP certified clinical laboratory

San Francisco, California, US

• Managed a large research program (~$8 million) involving over 20 scientists at 6 institutions
• Consolidated scientific results – including microfluidics-based mini-metagenomics, multi-omics studies, and single-cell DNA and RNA sequencing – in program updates for funding organizations
• Supported ongoing scientific programs by liaising with collaborators and organizing meetings
• Responsible for organizing, collecting, and maintaining extensive field sample collection
• Communicated with government agencies to propose sampling strategies and obtain permits
• Initiated new research programs by building collaborations with researchers and funding agencies and by writing proposals - including two successfully funded grants

Stanford, CA, US

• Principle Investigator for a three-year study using next generation sequencing (NGS) to examine marine microbial community dynamics in the West Antarctic Peninsula
• Developed a demanding interdisciplinary project in collaboration with researchers at three institutions
• Coordinated with LTER groups to enable analyses of sequence data in the context of multiple factors such as flow cytometry counts, biological production, and physical and chemical measurements
• Implemented and managed novel application of molecular methods in challenging field conditions
• Developed a process and led the collection of hundreds of samples for a variety of downstream microscopic and molecular assays
• Conducted mentoring and outreach via local school programs and video teleconferences from the field

Santa Cruz, CA, US

• Used molecular methods – genomics, metagenomics and qPCR – to study nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria
• Developed new method, combining flow cytometry and isothermal whole genome amplification, to obtain genome sequence from very low cell numbers of cultivated and uncultivated bacterial species
• Maintained laboratory cultures of multiple cyanobacterial species and strains

Newark, DE, US

• Applied molecular methods (DNA sequencing, metagenomics) to examine virus and host populations
• Studied environmental viruses in estuarine, terrestrial, and deep-sea hydrothermal vents ecosystems

Boston, MA, US

• Responsible for all aspects of high throughput DNA sequencing, including library construction, instrument and protocol optimization, and bioinformatic analyses
• Sequenced a wide range of subjects, including prokaryotic genomes, BACs, and mitochondrial DNA
• Assembled and annotated large volumes of sequence data using UNIX command line programs

• Investigated RNA splicing pattern regulation in FGF receptor gene in cultured human cells
• 10+ years as veterinary nurse with 3 years as ICU nurse in teaching hospital setting (UC Davis VMTH) – worked closely with doctors & students, performed wide variety of advanced medical procedures

Phd, Molecular Microbial Ecology

Ms, Molecular Viral Ecology

Bs, Genetics

Igetc Transfer Certification For Uc, General Education