San Francisco, California, United States
Accomplished Senior Scientist in the biotechnology industry with over 10 years of molecular and cancer biology experience, and 5 years of post-graduate experience in the field of Immuno-oncology. Skilled in high throughput screening (e.g. CRISPR/CRISPRi screens, pooled CAR screen, MPRA, automated arrayed screens), multicolor flow cytometry, NGS and bioinformatic analyses, genome-editing (e.g. CRISPR), CAR engineering, immuno-functional assays, viral transduction, lab automation, mammalian and primary cell culture and engineering. Excel as an independent contributor and a team player in a dynamic, collaborative work environment. Demonstrated strong track record of leading projects to timely completion in the industry setting, multiple publications in high impact journals (First author Cell, and co-authored Cell, Nature Genetics, and Nature Communications, etc), and mentorship of junior colleagues and direct reports.
Discovery role at the Gene Circuit Discovery Department. Develop and utilize high throughput screening approaches to enable the next generation of off-the-shelf CAR-NK therapies. • Lead the development, validation and execution of Tecan liquid handler-based automated primary NK cell engineering and immune cell cytotoxicity assay. • Lead the high throughput discovery and optimization of synthetic promoters that boosts multi-payload expression in primary NK and T cells by >250%. • Developed and optimized mixed co-culture cytotoxicity/protection assays to screen logic gated CAR-NK/T cells, including engineering and establishing of key cell line models. • Applied synthetic biology principles to design and optimize individual CAR components. • Screened logic gated CAR-NK cells to selectively target cancer cells and spare model healthy cells in different disease indications and pipeline products. • Performed bioinformatic analyses on multiple pooled screens.
Dr. Felix Y. Feng's Laboratory. Investigated the role of tumor immune microenvironment and tumor-intrinsic epigenetic pathways in aggressive prostate cancer to identify novel therapeutic options. • Prostate Cancer Foundation Young Investigator. • Designed, cloned and validated pooled immune-related CRISPR sgRNA libraries. • Performed and analyzed over 15 genome-wide and targeted CRISPR/CRISPRi immune co-culture screens across multiple solid cancers. • Independently developed and optimized in vitro co-culture systems and immune cytotoxicity assays between cancer and NK cells, and established key immuno-oncology infrastructure in the lab. • Co-authored high profile publications (e.g. Nature Genetics) and national grants (e.g. DoD). • Managed direct report and mentored junior colleagues.
Dr. Housheng Hansen He's Laboratory. My doctoral work examines the interplay between genetics and the noncoding genome in contributing to the development and progression of prostate cancer. Over the course of my studies: • Key publication: Hua et al. Cell 2018 (#4 Life Science Journal Worldwide - Google Scholar h5-index). • International collaborative projects. • Author on 10 peer-reviewed papers published top journals including Cell, Nature Genetics, Nature Communications. • Awarded 2 competitive federal awards (Canadian Institute of Health Research; top 5% in 700+ applicants). Total: $122,500. • Selected for 6 departmental excellence and conference awards. • Mentored 7 graduate and undergraduate students.
Nizar Batada's Lab: Examined the role of RNF168 in DNA damage repair. Utilized various molecular cloning techniques to generate transgenic HeLa cells. Analyzed localization and protein interaction between RNF168 and SET8 using confocal microscopy.