Austin Turner, PhD
Boulder,CO
Summary
I am a detail oriented team player that utilizes strong organizational skills to lead multiple projects simultaneously. My goal is to utilize my 10+ years of Analytical expertise and passion for team management to lead a Quality Control group.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Scientist, Group Lead
KBI Biopharma, Inc.
11.2019 - Current
- Analytical Formulation & Sciences
- Manage and mentor a group of six to develop, qualify, and validate all analytical methodology simultaneously across three projects
- Analytical Functional Area Lead (QC) both internally and externally for all our group’s projects
- Support interdepartmental collaboration with QA, manufacturing, and process development, and cross our various KBI sites
- Development & implementation of analytical methodology as needed for early-stage projects, with an emphasis on continuous improvements as the projects proceeds to later stages
- Supported Process Characterization (PC), Process Performance Qualification (PPQ), and method validation for phase III/commercialization
- Simultaneously managed several complex projects, meeting all pertinent QC deliverables on time
- Performed complex troubleshooting and assisted in leading initiatives to solve challenging scientific problems
Research & Development Scientist II
KBI Biopharma
06.2016 - 11.2019
- Project lead scientist with emphasis on protein characterization by Mass Spectrometry and refold development
- Worked on a wide range of potential therapeutic compounds ranging from peptides, proteins, PEGylated proteins, antibodies, and RNA
- Supported several areas within the company from early stage fermentation, refold development, upstream & downstream
- Analytical support for early- & late-stage projects including LC/MS, ELISA, PCR, HPLC, CE-SDS.
Research & Development Scientist I
KBI Biopharma
03.2014 - 06.2016
- Perform in-process analysis on various therapeutic proteins in a GMP and non-GMP setting
- Analytical method development on a wide range of instrumentation including mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography
- Assisted in various stability assays for Quality Control to aid in the new site start-up
- Implemented a new high end q-TOF mass spectrometer, Synapt G2-Si, and developed state-of-the-art methodology for a wide range of clients
Protein Characterization Chemist
Merck Pharmaceuticals
03.2013 - 01.2014
- Studied a wide range of peptides and proteins using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry
- Characterization of various manufacturing processing steps via mass spec to understand impurities along the downstream processing
- Assisted in all stages of process development using complementary instrumentation such as ion exchange, size exclusion, isoelectric focusing, ultra and high pressure chromatography
- Worked simultaneously on multiple projects from insourced, to onsite, to overseas intercompany projects
Graduate Doctoral Student
University of Florida
01.2005 - 01.2012
- Utilized EPR in collaboration with a NMR research group to characterize membrane bound proteins – surfactants
- Determined mechanism of action of FDA approved respiratory distress syndrome treatment
- Strong background teaching biochemistry, organic, general, and graduate level electronics lab
- Qualified in both Biochemistry and Analytical chemistry
Drug Metabolism Associate
Abbott Laboratories
01.2004 - 01.2005
- Worked in both the In vivo and In vitro areas of small molecule drugs
- Executed daily activities including drug inhibition assays, drug analysis, LC/MS/MS method development, radio labeled drug tracking
- Followed drug accumulation throughout animals via isotope labeled drugs
- Participated in an analytical team providing high throughput drug analysis on LC/MS/MS instruments
Drug Metabolism Intern
Abbott Laboratories Abbott
01.2004
- Provided help on a study for determining the cause of certain drug-drug interactions in cytochrome P450s
- Performed metabolic stability, half life, and enzyme kinetic studies
- Worked extensively on LC/MS/MS
Education
PhD - Chemistry
University of Florida
BS - Chemistry, Mathematics
University of Wisconsin
Skills
- CGMP expertise for biopharmaceutical manufacturing
- Strong team leadership and mentoring abilities to maximize efficiencies across teams
- Mass Spectrometry – peptide mapping, trypsin digest, proteomics, high throughput drug screening, small molecule, ADME pharmacokinetics, protein characterization, PEGylation profiling, intact mass analysis
- Ultra/High Pressure Liquid Chromatography
- Protein Purification and Expression
- UV-Vis, IR, Iso-Electric Focusing (IEF), Circular Dichroism (CD) Spectroscopy, Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC), Ion Exchange Chromatography, SDS PAGE, Western Blot, Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HIC), Capillary Electrophoresis (CE-SDS), Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)
- Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
- Refold & Solubilization optimization
- Publications
- Residue Specific Partitioning of KL4 into Phospholipid Bilayers, BBA Biomembranes, 2014
Timeline
Senior Scientist, Group Lead
KBI Biopharma, Inc.
11.2019 - Current
Research & Development Scientist II
KBI Biopharma
06.2016 - 11.2019
Research & Development Scientist I
KBI Biopharma
03.2014 - 06.2016
Protein Characterization Chemist
Merck Pharmaceuticals
03.2013 - 01.2014
Graduate Doctoral Student
University of Florida
01.2005 - 01.2012
Drug Metabolism Associate
Abbott Laboratories
01.2004 - 01.2005
Drug Metabolism Intern
Abbott Laboratories Abbott
01.2004
PhD - Chemistry
University of Florida
BS - Chemistry, Mathematics
University of Wisconsin