Amanda Whittaker Email & Phone Number

Newark, Nj, Us

Newark, Nj, Us

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

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

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

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

- 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

- 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

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

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

-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

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

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Biochemistry

Master Of Philosophy - Mphil, Biochemistry

Bachelor Of Science (B.S.), Biochemistry