Thos O'Brien Email & Phone Number

Switzerland

Galway

Responsible for cell line engineering at OmniSpirant Therapeutics, a company developing lung targeting therapeutics based on inhaled bioengineered stem cell exosomes (extracellular vesicles). Engineering stem cells, running bioreactors and harvesting EV's all fall under my remit.

Centre For Chromosome Biology, Department Of Biochemistry, Biomedical Sciences Building

Working under Dr. Bob Lahue to develop a tri-nucleotide repeat expansion assay as part as of project with other academic and commercial partners.

Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland

In a GMP environment, responsible for drawing up study plans and implementing the studies, researching and developing new methodologies as per client requirements or tech transfer of existing client processes onsite. Also responsible for stakeholder management, contributing to the generation of new quotations for clients and managing weekly and monthly sales figures for various studies.

Belfast

Developing and scaling up a mammalian display platform for antibody discovery.Carrying out RCA on issues, proposing and testing alternative solutions. Conjugating proteins and setting up Flow Cytometry sorting strategies. Also responsible for creating and maintaining ELN templates.

Zürich Area, Switzerland

Engineered stable mammalian cell lines and immune cells in order to develop biological tools which supported ongoing research mainly in the fields of cancer immunotherapy and neuroscience. I modified stable tumour cell lines to generate new cell lines (via transductions or transfections) and also immortalized cell lines and created knock out cell lines using CRISPR Cas..

Penzberg, Germany

I worked in the cell culturing department of the Pharma Research and Development division. Specifically culturing CHO cells in 2L stirred bioreactors. The department is responsible for clone evaluation. My expertise lies in up stream processing and I was responsible for designing and testing a CHO stress fermentation protocol. The purpose of this was to better evaluate the suitability of clones in terms of their scalability and suitability for cultivating in large scale bioreactors.As… Show more I worked in the cell culturing department of the Pharma Research and Development division. Specifically culturing CHO cells in 2L stirred bioreactors. The department is responsible for clone evaluation. My expertise lies in up stream processing and I was responsible for designing and testing a CHO stress fermentation protocol. The purpose of this was to better evaluate the suitability of clones in terms of their scalability and suitability for cultivating in large scale bioreactors.As well as carrying out the basic research and Design of Experiments, I was responsible for the preparing, automation, running, sampling and documenting of 8 x 2L glass bioreactors, as well as all of the data analysis. I integrated a number of in-line sensors into the fermenters (BlueSens for off-gas analysis, BioPAT for glucose and lactate monitoring), as well as DeltaV control for automating the fermentations. Show less

Veldhoven, The Netherlands.

At 2M Engineering, I was responsible for the chemical and biochemical aspects of projects being run in-house. I was particularly involved with two projects of note, the first being the development of a best-in-class blood separation device for the processing of Platelet Rich Plasma, the second project being the development of a non-invasive glucose monitor. Details of these are provided in the projects section. I have mentored a number of interns and have been involved with preparing funding… Show more At 2M Engineering, I was responsible for the chemical and biochemical aspects of projects being run in-house. I was particularly involved with two projects of note, the first being the development of a best-in-class blood separation device for the processing of Platelet Rich Plasma, the second project being the development of a non-invasive glucose monitor. Details of these are provided in the projects section. I have mentored a number of interns and have been involved with preparing funding applications for projects.I first worked at 2M Engineering Ltd as an intern for 6 months during my Industrial Biochemistry degree. On completion of the internship, I returned to the University of Limerick, but continued working for 2M Engineering Ltd while in Ireland. My Final Year Project was an investigation into suitability of absorbance spectroscopy for non-invasive glucose detection that I carried out on behalf of 2M Engineering Ltd. Following my final exams, I returned to the Netherlands to continue working for 2M Engineering Ltd. Show less

London, United Kingdom

As the evening manager, I was responsible for the running of the pub from 3 pm to closing time. During this time, I supervised the bar staff, and ensured that it was well stocked. I ensured that there was sufficient change in the tills. After closing, I was responsible for locking up, cleaning and cashing up the till.

Haulbowline, Ireland

As an Operations Branch Officer in the Naval Service, I had to demonstrate leadership daily. My work was mainly focused on navigation and fishery protection, but also covered gunnery. I held my own watch on two ships, the L.E. Emer and the L.E. Niamh, and was involved in a number of search and rescue operations. During my time in the Naval Service, I completed a 30 hour Spanish language course and a 30 hour french language course. I also recruited extensively for the Naval Service, at careers… Show more As an Operations Branch Officer in the Naval Service, I had to demonstrate leadership daily. My work was mainly focused on navigation and fishery protection, but also covered gunnery. I held my own watch on two ships, the L.E. Emer and the L.E. Niamh, and was involved in a number of search and rescue operations. During my time in the Naval Service, I completed a 30 hour Spanish language course and a 30 hour french language course. I also recruited extensively for the Naval Service, at careers fairs and visiting schools. I left with the rank of Ensign. Show less

Master Of Science (M.Sc.), Biotechnology

I completed my Masterst at the Mannheim University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule Mannheim). I studied in the Bioprocess Engineering.

Bachelor Of Science (Bsc), Industrial Biochemistry, Honor Degree

Activities and Societies: I was involved in a number of clubs such as Young Fine Gael (Irish political party) and the Outdoors Pursuits.

Nautical Science

I studied modules on Management, Navigational, Maths, Spherical Trigonometry, Cargo Operations, Chart-work, and Physics.

Leaving Certificate, I Achieved An Honour Grade In All Of My Subjects.

Activities and Societies: I served on the Student Council in 2001 and 2002 and in 2003 I was elected as Chairperson of the Student.