Amanda Whittaker

Amanda Whittaker Email and Phone Number

Postdoctoral Scientist @ Rutgers University - Newark
Newark, NJ, US
Amanda Whittaker's Location
Queens County, New York, United States, United States
Amanda Whittaker's Contact Details

Amanda Whittaker personal email

n/a
About Amanda Whittaker

I am a Biochemistry PhD candidate at the Goss Lab in Hunter College. My thesis focuses on the role of mRNA secondary structure in translation initiation. I study the role these structures play in breast and colorectal cancer tumorigenesis. I'm preparing to defend my dissertation this summer 2024.Prior to graduate school, I spent three years on the cutting edge of biochemical research in industry, most notably as a research associate with Siemens Healthineers. I possess a wide skillset, from automation design to CLIA lab compliance to blood handling. I have pioneered my own projects and techniques for blood-gas sensor development and nucleotide polymer sequence analysis. As a self-taught programmer, I am able to provide programming support.I greatly enjoy working within and receiving feedback from a team, though I am driven enough to pursue my own research interests, review literature, and design my experiments independently. After my doctorate, I plan on joining a driven clinical or industry research team. I am excited by the current renaissance that mRNA-based therapeutics are experiencing, and I can bring a unique perspective to the role of secondary and tertiary RNA structure in their efficiency.

Amanda Whittaker's Current Company Details
Rutgers University - Newark

Rutgers University - Newark

View
Postdoctoral Scientist
Newark, NJ, US
Amanda Whittaker Work Experience Details
  • Rutgers University - Newark
    Postdoctoral Scientist
    Rutgers University - Newark
    Newark, Nj, Us
  • Hunter College
    Doctoral Candidate (Goss Lab)
    Hunter College Mar 2019 - Present
    New York, Ny, Us
    - Thesis topic: The role of mRNA secondary and tertiary structure in cap-independent translation initiation- Uses SHAPE-Seq and UV crosslinking to map in-vitro elF4GI and DAP5 binding to human tumorigenic mRNA transcripts, such as FGF-9- Designs and transcribes mRNA constructs in vitro- Overexpresses and isolates DAP5 and an abridged construct of eIF4GI for RNA-protein binding assays and UV crosslinking- Uses predictive modeling software (RNAStructure, UCSF ChimeraX) to model RNA behavior in solution- Presented a 12-minute featured talk at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's Translational Control Meeting in 2022- Presented a research poster at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology's Experimental Biology Meeting in 2022- Winner of the Hunter College 2022 Elion Award for excellence in research- Collaborates with lab members in critiques, academic writing, experimental design, literature review, and resource gathering
  • Hunter College
    Graduate Teaching Assistant
    Hunter College Aug 2018 - Present
    New York, Ny, Us
    - Teach undergraduate university courses, grade hundreds of undergraduate laboratory reports, and proctor exams every semester in addition to doctoral research- Aid students in time-management and organization, including >200 students at once during a single exam- Foster good scholarship, lab practice, lab safety, and teamwork among students- Create hand-written study guides and notes to aid students in understanding and growth- Mentor undergraduates 1-on-1 about their career goals- Hold weekly office hours to further explain concepts and tutor students in need- Teaching 18 undergraduate students across two sections of Biochemistry Laboratory (378) since Fall 2022- Taught 10-12 students in Biochemistry Laboratory (378) during 2021-2022 academic year- Taught 20 - 28 students in General Chemistry Laboratory (106) from 2019 - 2021, both in-person and online
  • The Graduate Center, City University Of New York
    Doctoral Student
    The Graduate Center, City University Of New York Aug 2018 - Present
    New York, Ny, Us
    GRANT AWARDSCUNY Science Scholarship for Doctoral Students (2018-2023)Awarded to 18 incoming students; full tuition reimbursement and $30,000/year stipend for 5 years.ROTATION EXPERIENCETorrente Laboratory at Brooklyn College, CUNY (Lab Rotation) (January 2018 – March 2019):- Analyzed histone modification in S. cerevisiae model cells with proteinopathies unique to human ALS- Wrote prototype 3-year grant to study the histone modification landscape of ALSKleiman Laboratory at Hunter College, CUNY (Lab Rotation) (October 2018 - December 2018):- Studied alternate polyadenylation of mRNA after ultraviolet light exposure in human cells- Isolated alternately-polyadenylated mRNA from human colorectal cancer cellsRyan Laboratory at City College, CUNY (Lab Rotation) (August 2018 – October 2018):- Transcribed and circularized synthetic oligonucleotide sequences in vitro- Studied human RNA Polymerase II binding to circular oligonucleotide sequences
  • Siemens Healthineers
    Research Associate
    Siemens Healthineers Aug 2016 - Jul 2018
    Forchheim, De
    - Executed, designed, and improved experiments for new potentiometric blood-gas sensors- Invented groundbreaking technology for blood-gas analyzers in participation with other scientists (Patent WO2018208742A1)- Altered high volumes of blood for sensor experiments through tonometry or analyte spiking- Handled, dispensed, and analyzed new membrane formulations for sensors- Rewrote several day-long experimental protocols to take three hours or less- Automated data analysis for experiments, saving two or more hours of post-experiment work per day- Kept a GDP-compliant lab notebook detailing daily experiment execution and any changes- Monitored daily lab safety and maintained safety documentation to FDA-compliant standards
  • Gen9, Inc.
    Laboratory Technician (Contract)
    Gen9, Inc. Jul 2016 - Aug 2016
    - Manufactured high volumes of plasmid DNA in solution for academic and industrial labs- Utilized automation to produce 96-well plates of multiple sequences of plasmid DNA- Selectively plated and picked E. coli colonies containing the plasmid of choice
  • Orig3N
    Laboratory Technician
    Orig3N Feb 2016 - May 2016
    - Isolated mononuclear cells from blood samples- Extracted and genotyped DNA from cheek swab samples- Rewrote existing protocols for isolating mononuclear cells from blood- Trained five new hires in good laboratory practice, DNA extraction, blood processing, and genotyping- Interacted directly with patients in the Undiagnosed Disease Consortium
  • Moderna Therapeutics
    Lab Associate (Contract)
    Moderna Therapeutics May 2015 - Dec 2015
    Cambridge, Massachusetts, Us
    - Programmed, operated, and maintained automation used to create mRNA from DNA in vitro- Pioneered bioinformatics project to determine potential mRNA yield from a given DNA sequence- Created and perfected methods of large-scale production of mRNA from DNA
  • Boston College
    Lab Technician / Programmer
    Boston College Jan 2014 - May 2015
    Chestnut Hill, Ma, Us
    - Utilized Python to create a computer model of Streptococcus pneumoniae TIGR4- Mapped two-component and phosphotransferase system protein function in S. pneumoniae- Wrote senior thesis documenting findings on two-component system and phosphotransferase system
  • Anime Of Boston College
    Vice President And Founding Member
    Anime Of Boston College Sep 2012 - May 2015
    -Accumulated over seventy new members over two years -Communicated with university information and became a highly-ranked club at Boston College-Brainstormed and executed culture events drawing thirty-fifty members-Managed several thousand dollars of funds for movie screenings, two convention outings, and Japanese culture shows
  • Massachusetts Institute Of Technology (Mit)
    Mitx | Edx - Project Assistant (Internship)
    Massachusetts Institute Of Technology (Mit) Dec 2012 - Jan 2013
    Cambridge, Ma, Us
    -Improved structure and format of a prototype online physical chemistry course-Directly critiqued and offered improvements on tests, problem sets, and lectures

Amanda Whittaker Skills

Research Biochemistry Microsoft Office Bioinformatics Python Analytics Analytical Skills Organic Lab Techniques Scientific Writing Problem Solving Pcr Lab Techniques Genetics Sds Page Western Blotting Analytical Chemistry Detail Oriented Policy Adherence Team Building Cross Team Collaboration Communication Perl Gas Chromatography Tlc Organic Chemistry Agarose Gel Electrophoresis Plasmid Complementation Proofreading Replica Plating Fragment Analysis Mrna Production Project Innovation 3d Laser Microscopy Lab Notebook Blood Handling Experiment Design

Amanda Whittaker Education Details

  • The Graduate Center, City University Of New York
    The Graduate Center, City University Of New York
    Biochemistry
  • The Graduate Center, City University Of New York
    The Graduate Center, City University Of New York
    Biochemistry
  • Boston College
    Boston College
    Biochemistry

Frequently Asked Questions about Amanda Whittaker

What company does Amanda Whittaker work for?

Amanda Whittaker works for Rutgers University - Newark

What is Amanda Whittaker's role at the current company?

Amanda Whittaker's current role is Postdoctoral Scientist.

What is Amanda Whittaker's email address?

Amanda Whittaker's email address is amanda.whittaker@bc.edu

What schools did Amanda Whittaker attend?

Amanda Whittaker attended The Graduate Center, City University Of New York, The Graduate Center, City University Of New York, Boston College.

What are some of Amanda Whittaker's interests?

Amanda Whittaker has interest in Animal Welfare, Children.

What skills is Amanda Whittaker known for?

Amanda Whittaker has skills like Research, Biochemistry, Microsoft Office, Bioinformatics, Python, Analytics, Analytical Skills, Organic Lab Techniques, Scientific Writing, Problem Solving, Pcr, Lab Techniques.

Free Chrome Extension

Find emails, phones & company data instantly

Find verified emails from LinkedIn profiles
Get direct phone numbers & mobile contacts
Access company data & employee information
Works directly on LinkedIn - no copy/paste needed
Get Chrome Extension - Free

Aero Online

Your AI prospecting assistant

Download 750 million emails and 100 million phone numbers

Access emails and phone numbers of over 750 million business users. Instantly download verified profiles using 20+ filters, including location, job title, company, function, and industry.