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Principal Scientist/Director/Sr. Director/Head of Preclinical/Translational Rese Resume
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Desired Industry: Science/Research |
SpiderID: 84601 |
Desired Job Location: Columbia, Maryland |
Date Posted: 5/14/2024 |
Type of Position: Full-Time Permanent |
Availability Date: Immediately |
Desired Wage: 350000 |
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U.S. Work Authorization: Yes |
Job Level: Executive (President, VP, CEO) |
Willing to Travel: Yes, Less Than 25% |
Highest Degree Attained: Doctoral |
Willing to Relocate: Yes |
Objective: Innovative and performance-focused senior professional, with broad-ranging experience in delivering strategic direction and scientific leadership in both preclinical and translational vaccine and biologics research and development activities.
Experience: GREENLIGHT BIOSCIENCES – LEXINGTON, MA Director, mRNA-based Antigen Design, Vaccine Research December 2022August 2023 • Expertly managed the department, encompassing defining performance goals, identifying underperforming areas, and providing constructive feedback and guidance to achieve daily and long-term goals • Oversaw a team of PhD scientists and non-PhD research associates on all in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo studies in molecular biology, nucleic acid design and manipulations, and nucleic acid bio-analytics, as well as the use of a variety of molecular and cellular biology tools to drive design, evaluation, and selection of candidate vaccines • Assisted the Internal Review Board (IRB) in writing and editing summary statements including facilitating discussion when needed • Coordinated with departmental staff and other functional groups in identifying and coordinating the participation of reviewers for proposals, protocols, and grant applications • Guided the development, optimization, quantification, validation, and implementation of molecular, biochemical, physicochemical, and cell-based assay development to support the characterization of candidate vaccines and therapeutic immunogen/antigenic molecules (proteins, peptides, antibodies, and RNAs) for preclinical/clinical studies
Key Highlights Rendered scientific direction for shingles and COVID-19 vaccine design projects, translating vision into reality within just six months by leveraging applied molecular expertise and state-of-the-art techniques in the design, evaluation, and selection of candidate vaccines Successfully supervised a team in the development of COVID-19 vaccines, contributing concepts, ideation, design, and oversight, resulting in the creation of two broad-spectrum booster candidate vaccines for COVID-19 Aided the team in establishing new approaches, immunoassays, and capabilities for structure-guided antigen design, antigen/protein expression, purification, and characterization
THE HENRY M. JACKSON FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MILITARY MEDICINE – SILVER SPRING, MD Principal Investigator, Naval Medical Research Center August 2020September 2022 • Provided expert leadership to a team of researchers, including training and mentoring for over 25 junior scientists, associates, interns, and students • Spearheaded various research initiatives, which involved developing and implementing research strategies and managing the project deliverables, to ensure on-time and high-quality research outcomes • Offered technical/scientific guidance, from concept, design, and experimental execution to qualified input, as well as delivery of development support on plans and study protocols • Played as a key member of an integrated project team, accountable for securing funding and cultivating internal and external collaborations • Carried out comprehensive review, organization, and quality control of all acquired data to draw relevant conclusions and properly direct research activities
Key Highlights Conceptualized, designed, tested, and developed a rat model for studying and evaluating osteomyelitis and therapeutic drugs following polytraumatic (blast, burn, amputation) injuries Contributed to improving work efficiency within the lab/department by fostering a positive work environment, effective work delegation, and excellent communication, resulting in a 100% completion rate on deliverables and a consecutive two-year increase of approximately 15% in federal funding
Scientific Director, Naval Medical Research Center August 2018July 2020 • Strategically directed multiple research teams, driving and achieving high-quality research outcomes for the following research initiatives: − In vivo modeling to recapitulate combat-related injuries and sequela in both small and large animals; and − Development of cellular techniques and/or pharmaceutical treatment regimens to mitigate trauma-induced injury, promote tissue repair, and/or enable composite tissue transplantation after combat injuries (e.g., burn, blast, amputation, others) • Took charge of the development and implementation of research strategies; coordination of projects, and timely delivery of research findings to address complex problems with significant potential impact on military and civilian medicine
Key Highlights Reduced turnover from 7.0% to approximately 3.5% by creating and fostering an environment of respect, trust, and teamwork, promoting inclusivity, facilitating collective decision-making, and establishing a culture of recognition, resulting in employee retention Formulated regenerative medicine strategies while mentoring the next generation of scientists and inspiring collaboration across interdisciplinary teams to tackle injury complications Held accountability for the seamless testing, validation, and establishment of an osteomyelitis rat model, which resulted in securing $10M in funding to advance trauma therapeutics through inclusive leadership of all team members Published data generated from experiments in high-impact peer-reviewed scientific journals (e.g. DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2020.110799 & DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2020.111036), contributing to the advancement of scientific knowledge and informing medical practices Received the Superior Performance Award recognitions in 2019 and 2020, for consistently demonstrating excellence as a senior scientist
THE HENRY M. JACKSON FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MILITARY MEDICINE – SILVER SPRING, MD Senior Research Scientist/Principal Investigator/Microbiologist, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research July 2015August 2018 • Led the conception and formulation of productive research ideas and approaches through hands-on leadership of a dedicated research team • Demonstrated exceptional project management skills in independently planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating all experiments and protocols under study, ensuring adherence to plans and objectives • Administered daily laboratory operations, including research project coordination, personnel supervision, and equipment and supplies monitoring and maintenance
Key Highlights Drove key efforts in developing, manufacturing, and producing a self-assembling protein nanoparticle (SAPN) candidate malaria vaccine (GMP product), which included drafting and filing the preclinical IND; candidate vaccine currently in phase 1 clinical trial at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) (Seth et al., 2017, Vaccine 35(2017):5448-5454) Co-authored a grant that secured $7.2M funding from the Joint-Warfighter Malaria Research Program (JWMRP), supporting the advancement and manufacturing of proteins and adjuvant components of FM014 malaria vaccine candidate Showcased a solid track record of scientific contribution, including the successful publication of peer-reviewed articles as the first author Advanced the FMP014 to human studies after the strategic direction of the project, from inception to preclinical testing and regulatory approval, thus earning a Certificate of Appreciation in July 2018 from the foundation
CLINICAL RESEARCH MANAGEMENT, INC. (CLINICALRM) – SILVER SPRING, MD Senior Research Scientist/Principal Investigator/Microbiologist, WRAIR June 2008July 2015 • Proficiently managed the scientific research focused on developing a malaria vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum using the then-newly and untested SAPN technology to test and validate the SAPN invention • Coordinated overall laboratory functions, providing guidance and assistance to students, while ensuring smooth execution of daily lab activities • Implemented molecular or cellular laboratory experiments, which entailed supervising the project execution, results interpretation, and reports generation based on data summary • Utilized specialized equipment such as gas chromatographs and high-pressure liquid chromatographs, electrophoresis units, and phosphorimagers in performing various lab activities including assay design and optimization; cell culture experiments; and caring for rodents, rabbits, and non-human primates • Fulfilled expanded duties that included technical staff scheduling and training; communication of research results to individuals in industry, government, and public; as well as acquisition of import permits needed for international colleagues
Key Highlights Enabled the successful validation of the SAPN platform by creating a prototype murine malaria vaccine based on SAPN design, as well as conducting advanced biomedical research (Kaba et al., 2009, J. Immunology, 183:7268-7277) Used data from prototype SAPN-based malaria vaccine studies to write and procure a $2.5M NIH grant for designing a human-usable SAPN-based malaria vaccine Consistently demonstrated a significant scientific contribution, including successful peer-reviewed first author publications
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (NRC) / WRAIR – SILVER SPRING, MD Immunologist/Molecular Biologist | Postdoctoral Fellow | Leader, SAPN Project August 2005May 2008 • Designed a novel protein prototype and production of purified vaccine products by leveraging advanced molecular skills • Executed post-doctoral research at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, which involved designing and prototyping a malaria vaccine using SAPN technology • Facilitated training and mentoring for junior scientists, technicians, and students
Key Highlights Obtained a $2.5M NIH grant to advance the malaria vaccine prototype for human trials based on successful mouse trials Completed vaccination studies in mice and NHPs and analysis of immune responses, resulting in published data in peer-reviewed journals
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MICROBIOLOGY, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION – ATLANTA, GA Postdoctoral Fellow October 2003July 2005 • Demonstrated advanced immunological understanding of research practices to design constructs, including expressed, purified, characterized, and produced synthetic proteins • Developed all vaccine constructs amplified in a bacterial system and scaled up by fermentation • Characterized nanoparticles using DLS, Electron microscopy, Western blot, ELISA, ELISPOT, and ICS
Key Highlights Contributed to the creation of vaccine products through analysis of immune responses in mice and data interpretation ultimately resulting in a peer-reviewed publication
Education: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Molecular Virology/Vaccine Development, October 2003 Wageningen University & Research | Wageningen, Netherlands Dissertation: Development of a Novel Subunit Vaccine against East Coast Fever Based on the Theileria parva sporozoite Surface Protein p67
Master of Science in Biotechnology, Major in Plant and Microbial Production, February 1998 Wageningen University & Research | Wageningen, Netherlands Thesis: Expression of Theileria parva sporozoite Surface Protein using the Baculovirus Expression System
Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Major in Animal Science, June 1994 (Graduated with Honors) Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology | Kumasi, Ghana
Skills: Animal Model Development End-to-End Drug Discovery and Design Protein/Peptide Expression Disease Model Validation and Characterization Preclinical Vaccine Evaluation Grant Funding Strategic Planning and Implementation Continuous Process Improvement Immunoassay Development Regulatory Compliance Departmental Oversight Research Proposal Preparation
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