The Army Center is a joint program administered through MIT and Northwestern University, and includes additional universities as well as US Army researchers who apply synthetic biology to design advanced materials and engineer microbial communities. Through the integration of materials science, computational modeling, and novel biomanufacturing techniques the Center is tasked with identifying useful microbial consortia, facilitating their synthetic capabilities, and generating a common toolset for the synthetic biology community.My responsibilities include administration of the center, coordinating research and interactions between universities and US Army laboratories, public presentation of materials, and grant management.

I advise the company on technology and potential commercial opportunities for their suite of cytokine reagents, custom assays, and assay services in biopharmaceutical research and development.

Provided operational support to scientists directing translational studies in the field of myeloid and erythroid diseases. Areas of focus included management of external alliances, project tracking, development of team and individual goals, and advice on analytical platforms/data analysis.

Identified the commercial potential of intellectual property developed by our faculty and staff. Out-licensed and in-licensed technologies that advance the missions of The Jackson Laboratory. Managed collaborations with external scientific partners that advance our understanding of the genetic basis of human disease and to develop precise genomic solutions in medicine.

I led the continued development of the company’s platform for manufacturing vaccines and biotherapeutics in whole plants, and its application for clients as a contract development and manufacturing organization. Our manufacturing process used hydroponic indoor growth of non-GMO plants in vertical stacks using LED lighting, and allowed for manufacturing runs of up to 3500kg of biomass generation per week. Recombinant proteins transiently expressed in plants with this technology could be used as vaccine antigens, monoclonal antibodies (with ADCC superior to mammalian-expressed antibodies), and as replacement proteins for genetic diseases, among other applications. In addition to contract manufacturing services, I led our internal research and development efforts on a biotherapeutic protein treatment for systemic scleroderma and other fibrotic diseases which is currently in preclinical studies.

Organized and led a new department applying systems biology approaches to mechanism of action, pathway discovery, biomarker discovery, and chemical biology studies across all five of Wyeth’s therapeutic areas of focus. Integrated multiple “omic” data generation platforms with multivariate analysis, network analysis, and text/data mining technologies. Managed platform biomarker technologies at Translational Medicine Research Collaboration Hub Lab in Dundee, UK. Strong interface with Clinical Translational Medicine to move biomarker assays from the laboratory to the clinic.

Led large matrix team in the implementation of systems biology techniques for biomarker discovery. Comparing two mouse models of type 2 diabetes and human subjects receiving three different T2DM medicines, my team collected an unprecedented data set (transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, lipidomic) of disease- and therapy-induced changes in biomarkers. Work resulted in the discovery of a new mechanism of action for a leading diabetes medication and biomarker fingerprints which shorten clinical trials and allow responder/non-responder classification from baseline measurements.

Responsible for target identification and validation using high-throughput proteomic discovery techniques. Working chiefly in the area of oncology targets in pancreatic, breast, lung, and colon tumors, my group was also responsible for tissue sourcing, tissue disaggregation, high-speed cell sorting, flow cytometry, recombinant protein production, and siRNA/recombinant adenovirus target validation.

Founded a new group devoted to development of methods to exploit high-speed cell sorting and flow cytomtery on freshly isolated tissues. Provided analyses to support development of biologicals in the areas of neurobiology, angiogenesis, muscle biology, and bone biology.

Responsible for the production of recombinant proteins in eukaryotic systems for research and biologics development purposes. Worked in a team setting to de-orphan over two dozen receptor tyrosine kinases, including the discovery of angiopoietins, critical factors in the development of mature blood vessels.