Stanford, California, United States
Advisors: Nathan Reticker-Flynn & John Sunwoo
• Led project elucidating basic mechanisms of viral DNA repair and efficacy of gene-editing platform for CRISPR-guided directed evolution of next-generation oncolytic viral (OV) gene therapies • Engineered OV vector variants to improve delivery efficiency without affecting safety and specificity • Actively contributed to in vivo studies and computational NGS analysis workflows, highly involved in undergraduate mentorship • Well-versed in contemporary methods of oncolytic virus production, diversification, and purification, directed evolution assays and analysis, construct design and screening, workflow optimization • Rapid-Fire Presentation (top ranked abstract) & Poster Presentation: CRISPR-Guided Evolution of Improved Poxvirus-Based Gene Delivery Vectors (UC Systemwide Bioengineering Symposium, Jun 2023)
• Led project researching cellular factors controlling HIV latency by performing CRISPR/Cas9 based gene perturbations in reporter cell lines • Assisted with project aiming to trace cell-cell interactions in neural cells to study Rabies virus • Wrote, optimized, and trained lab members on protocols, designed and carried out experiments, managed communication with core campus facilities, coordinated institution of new sections in lab (cloning, cell culture) • Selected for URAP 2022 Summer Fellowship Award (declined due to alternate summer plans)
• Developed and wrote a pioneering Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment (SVSH) Policy in collaboration with the PATH to Care Center – introduced new framework and emphasis on member training and awareness as part of a larger effort to foster a safe and inclusive space • Set vision and goals for the organization’s semester, handled all bureaucratic matters, managed officer corps (30+ people), independently organized logistics and led overnight officer retreat • Took initiative to expand and diversify community service events, rebuild corporate relations, build connections with other campus engineering clubs, expand professional services • As a chapter, received the national 2021-2022 Chapter Project Award for conducting a superior program of chapter projects and activities
• Led community aspect of club; planned and managed candidate semester for 70+ people with co-VP • Duties involved organizing and running events, keeping track of individual candidate progress, navigating difficulties of unprecedented hybrid semester by offering equal mix of virtual and in-person events
Tutored peers in various lower and upper-division engineering courses with drop-in group tutoring format
• Summer internship at Nkarta's early discovery team • Executed a broad range of cell-based functional and phenotypic assays for characterization of engineered NK and T-cells • Provided support for immune cell assays, including viral production, transduction, characterization of immune cell functions via cytotoxicity assays, and multi-color flow cytometry • Poster Presentation: Identifying Hypoimmune Constructs for Immune Masking of Allogeneic Cell Therapies (QB3 Biotech Internship Poster Session, Aug 2022)