Seattle, Washington, United States
As a research scientist, I’m interested in protein interactions involved in infection and disease and how they can be inhibited or harnessed to improve human health. I’m looking to apply my skills in molecular biology, protein biochemistry, and data analysis in a research or protein engineering role at a biotech or pharmaceutical company working toward the discovery and development of innovative therapeutics. Both highly independent and deeply collaborative, I thrive in a wide variety of scientific environments and strive to integrate a variety of diverse thoughts and opinions into the questions I ask, the protocols I utilize, and the conclusions I draw. Productive as a scientist, I’m first or co-first author of three and middle author of eight peer-reviewed publications and presenting author on five oral and seven poster abstracts at national conferences. I possess the research, organization, project management, creativity, problem solving, troubleshooting, and technical skills to perform quality science and the scientific writing, written communication, oral communication, and public speaking skills to share it with the world. Be it co-leading an international effort of 28 researchers to develop and promote standardized class C β-lactamase nomenclature, delivering research updates to senior pharmaceutical company leadership, or training and helping supervise multiple undergraduate research students, I work well with individuals of all levels. At the bench, I’m experienced in a wide variety of techniques involved in protein purification, cloning, protein characterization, structure-activity relationships, enzyme kinetics, inhibitor characterization, high-throughput screening and lead characterization, data analysis, programming, and more. Originally from Portland, OR, I’d love to return to the West Coast after completing my PhD. I’m particularly interested in relocating to Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, or San Diego, but am highly flexible for the right opportunity.
Lab of Alex L. Greninger in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology Research Focus: Use of deep mutational scanning, next-generation sequencing, and protein biochemistry to understand antiviral resistance.
Lab of Dr. Robert A. Bonomo in the Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology. Dissertation research focused on understanding the mechanisms and structure-activity relationships behind Pseudomonas-derived cephalosporinase (PDC) substrate expansion, β-lactam antibiotic resistance, and inhibition of resistant variants. Major accomplishments include: • Elucidated mechanisms and structure-activity relationships behind substrate expansion in PDC by spectrophotometry, mass spectroscopy, and other techniques, resulting in publications and a report included with an FDA NDA filing • Co-led an international effort of 28 researchers to develop and promote standardized class C β-lactamase nomenclature • Assessed the activity of experimental β-lactamase inhibitors to help guide iterative design efforts • Evaluated the mechanism and activity of putative, allosteric β-lactamase inhibitors to probe potential targets • Presented five oral and seven poster abstracts at national conferences • Authored three first author and four middle author peer-reviewed publications with additional submissions pending • Trained and helped supervise three undergraduate summer researchers • Delivered seminars and research updates to wide audiences, including departmental colleagues, academic collaborators, and pharmaceutical company leadership • Expanded the lab’s scope of research by independently learning bioinformatics techniques, leading to the reprioritization of other research efforts, generation of a pending publication, and key preliminary data for a grant renewal
Lab of Dr. Eric Barklis in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Research Focus: Protein-protein and protein-RNA interactions involved in HIV-1 virion assembly. Accomplishments Included: • Screened 50,000 compounds for disruption of matrix protein-RNA interactions in a 384-well format resulting in the identification of one promising lead and the in-vitro and in-vivo characterization of fourteen analogs • Performed hundreds of transfections to elucidate protein interactions using Western Blotting, fluorescence microscopy, protein localization, cellular fractionation, and proximity-dependent biotinylation techniques • Contributed four middle author peer-reviewed publications
Lab of Dr. Lee Ann Campbell in the Department of Global Health Research Focus: Atherosclerosis-linked, Chlamydia pneumoniae induced inflammatory markers in a mouse model. Duties Included: • Collected and processed tissue samples from exsanguinated mice • Quantified and analyzed expression levels using Western blots, ImageJ, Microsoft Excel, and statistical techniques