San Francisco, California, United States
I'm a scientist with a huge passion for infectious disease and 10+ years of experience in the field. Combating the global spread of infectious disease is very dear to me. Most recently, I have led cross-functional teams to develop monoclonal antibody therapeutics and prophylactics for HIV and RSV and led a platform development project investigating mAb delivery via RNA/LNPs. Before, I was the cofounder and head of biology at an exciting new biotech startup in San Francisco, pursuing a novel approach to drug discovery for previously deemed "undruggable" rare and common diseases using 'PROTAC-like' hetero-bifunctional small molecules, expanding my expertise in pharmacology. In my academic career, I built strong expertise in HIV vaccine design, monoclonal antibody therapeutics, genomic epidemiology and the systems analysis of complex immune responses to viral pathogens such as HIV, Lassa Fever and Ebola. My complete academic work can be found on Google Scholar (linked to on my profile page under 'contact info').
Project Lead: Alternative RNA/LNP delivery platform for monoclonal antibodies – led scientific pitch and helped secure $50M BARDA investment in VIR – led cross-functional team and managed CROs to evaluate next-generation RNA modalities for mAb expression in vitro and in vivo – evaluated external opportunities and CDMOs in RNA delivery / LNP space for BD purposes Virology Lead: HIV broadly neutralizing antibody cure / long-acting treatment project team – established pseudo-and live virus neutralization assay for HIV mAb assessment at VIR – led all virology-related activities of the project team – secured multiple collaboration partners and MTAs working with alliance management Virology Lead: RSV/MPV cross-neutralizing mAb therapeutics – led all virology-related activities for the San Francisco site – member of the Request For Development (RFD) team, overseeing the stage gate for IND go/no go – Cross functional work with internal (clin pharm / HDP) and external (GSK) teams to drive development of a partnered asset
I have been working on the systems biology and genomic epidemiology of Ebola and Lassa Fever in Kristian Andersen's lab (www.CVISB.org): - Sequencing of Lassa and Ebola viruses in African countries (Sierra Leone/Nigeria/ DR Congo) - Systems approach to correlate host immunity and virus genetics to disease outcomes - Statistics and machine learning driven analysis of large data sets - Large scale project management with domestic and international partners and frequent field trips to African partners
HIV vaccine design based on broadly HIV neutralizing antibodies in the lab of Dennis Burton. - Isolation and characterization of monoclonal, broadly HIV neutralizing antibodies - Design and in vitro/in vivo characterization of trimeric HIV vaccine candidates in non-human primates - In-depth analysis of immune responses to HIV infection and vaccination in relevant model systems
Research internships in both diagnostic and pharma branches in: - In vivo biology - Cancer lead identification - Recombinant antibody technologies