Greater Boston
• An accomplished scientist with 20 years of experience drug discovery efforts in the pharmaceutical industry with both wet lab and scientific contributions in fibrotic, musculoskeletal, renal, intestinal, bone, metabolic, and respiratory disease subject matter. • An established track record of developing in-vivo disease models and comparing their relationship to human pathological conditions. • Investigated in-vivo and in-vitro small molecule and biologic drug candidates in pre-clinical and clinical development with significant experience in developing novel bio-assays. • A proven track record of adaptability in fast paced biotech and pharmaceutical environment.
• Co-leader of Aberrant Epithelial Working Group • Technical lead of multiple in-vivo model development efforts of idiopathic lung disease • As part of an in-vivo team, developing LMW and ADC candidates that inhibit idiopathic lung disease and acute lung injury
Musculoskeletal Diseases - • HTP Drug discovery using viability and phenotypical human primary myoblasts • Model development of human skeletal muscle disease in rodents • Leading group in developing biological versus chronological assessment assays in rodents that are relevant in human aging • Examining effectiveness of LMW, ASO, and AAV therapies in both in-vitro and in-vivo models of skeletal muscle disorders
Tissue injury and fibrosis were the primary focus of my work at Biogen. Our group was in process of developing lung fibrosis rodent models and discovering key endpoints that are relative to disease. As a unit we were developing: • Lung fibrosis models, primarily optimizing bleomycin lung induced fibrosis • My role was characterizing key markers critical to the development of idiopathic lung fibrosis • Assisted in developing LMW therapies that suppress lung fibrosis
Renal Fibrosis, Glomerulopathy and Metabolic Disease Drug Discovery • Characterized drug efficacy using pharmacodynamic markers in rodent models. • Determined a role of TGFβ inhibition in spontaneous type 2 and type 1 (streptozotocin) induced models of diabetic nephropathy. • Successfully implemented efficacy studies in surgically induced hypertensive driven renal disease, DOCA. • Using polycystic kidney disease (PKD) mouse model, tested anti-oxidant compounds that reduce cyst volume • Lead and managed full time research assistants and Co-Op students in drug discovery programs Chronic Kidney Disease with Mineral Bone Disorder (CKD-MBD) • Utilized in house mouse model of CKD to compare and contrast renal osteodystrophy model suitability in human CKD-MBD • Instrumental part of a team that drew correlations between serum parameters and bone mineral deposition during progression of CKD • Developed a novel real time in-vitro quantitative bone mineralization assay Osteoporosis • Integral member of team that developed osteoporosis rodent models and tested biological agents that improve bone mineralization. • Compared dosing effect of in-vitro GCPR activity in osteoblasts and the relationship to in-vivo bone formation. • Ex-vivo culture of rodent calvaria for quantitation of bone matrix formation Chronic Kidney Disease and Phosphate Homeostasis • Initiated studies on phosphate homeostasis regulation by intestinal phosphate co-transporter using inducible knock-out mouse. • Developed inducible transgenic mice to determined a role of active phosphate transport versus passive in the intestine with ex-vivo and non-terminal in-life assays. • Developed in-vitro assays for active phospho-signaling assay for multiple signaling pathways and established a novel whole cell phospho-signaling ELISA. • Generated cell lines for high throughput (HTP) bio-assays, drug screens, and phosphate co-transporter localization. • Developed novel ELISA based cell surface localization assay.
Research Technician supporting 6 post-doctoral fellow and graduate students. Responsible for efficient laboratory function and maintenance as well as independent research project in the small GTPase field