Bahareh Fatemeh Jalali
San Francisco,USA
Summary
Accomplished Scientist with over 9 years of experience in Immunology, Translational Medicine, and Discovery Biology, specializing in biomarker assay development, immune-related research, protocol automation, and in vitro model systems. Expertise in designing and developing innovative experiments across pharmaceutical and biomedical fields, including phenotypic screening, therapeutic target validation, and microfluidic assays. Proven success in utilizing advanced techniques such as flow cytometry, ELISA, multiplex immunoassays, and cell-based assays to explore disease mechanisms and therapeutic efficacy in autoimmune, inflammatory, and retinal diseases. Highly proficient in image analysis, data interpretation, and statistical analysis. A collaborative leader skilled at translating preclinical findings into clinical applications, driving drug discovery, and advancing precision medicine to improve patient outcomes.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
Work History
Scientist II, Biochemical Cellular Pharmacology
Genentech
SSF, CA
01.2025 - Current
- Project I: TRRAP and MYC protein production
- Establishing and optimizing biochemical and cell assay experiments
- Developing a protocol for full automation of protocol using Echo and Biomek
- Developing and running assay cascade for hit validation, characterization and optimization
- Developed and ran Lumit and Lumit interference assays for Hits from DEL, virtual screen and HTS
- Analyzing the data in Genedata
- Developed and ran protocol for automation of assay on ECHO, Biomeck and DragonFly
- Developed and ran Alphalisa and HTRF assays
- Developed and ran Cellular MYC/TRRAP nanoBRET assay
- A Member of Roche
Scientist II, Biology discovery
Merck
SSF, CA
04.2022 - 09.2024
- Project I: TRPML1 antibodies validation in ARPE19 cells with TRPML1 KO/OE for AMD
- Generated TRPML1 overexpression (OE) and knockout (KO) in ARPE-19 cells using CRISPR
- Validated customized antibodies in ARPE-19 cells with TRPML1 OE/KO by Western blot
- Overexpressed and knocked down the gene by using siRNA
- Genomic DNA sequencing and RNA sequencing for gene knockout validation
- Project II: Using iPSCs-induced RPE cells as in vitro models to validate NRF2 as a therapeutic target for AMD
- Developing iPSCs-induced RPE in-vitro models to validate NRF2 activator by IHC
- Tracked pathway for NRF2 Target Gene Expression in iRPE using TaqMan gene expression assay and RT-PCR
- Wrote and designed a protocol for automated liquid handling using BRAVO
- Performed in vivo and in vitro experiments to compare in vivo data from OCT cryosection Ing mouse’s eye with in vitro data for NrF2 activators
- Used in vivo and ex vivo assays to establish NRF2 in mouse retinal cells
- Project III: Developed capillary-based biomarker assay to test plasma kallikrein inhibitors for the treatment of DR/DME
- Lead the project, troubleshoot the assay, and wrote the SOP
- Develop and establish in-vitro high molecular weight kininogen HK biomarker assay.
- Develop preclinical assay for mouse HK capillary assay
- Ex vivo culture to run assay for the HK function in mice
- Project IV: Testing the stability of the CLP model for Tie2 activation for DR/DME
- Process and homogenize the mouse’s ocular and lung Isolate plasma sample from the mouse’s blood
- Measure ANG2 upregulation in plasma and tissue samples using the ELISA kit
- Ran preclinical assays on mice to measure IC50 for desired components
Scientist II, Immunology
Merck
Cambridge, MA
01.2021 - 04.2022
- Project I: Blocking IL-26/AK155, a potential therapeutic target for autoimmunity.
- Validated available data from two leading publications that investigated the effect of IL-26 on monocytes and HEKa, also on RA and AD patients, by measuring proinflammatory cytokines and the presence of immune cells using MSD and Flowcytometry
- Optimized cytokine assays to quantify cytokine using MSD kit for HEKa and monocyte experiment and ELISA for RA patients
- Isolating immune cells from PBMC and whole blood to run assay for data validations
- Project II: Inhibiting NLRP1 inflammasome by enhancing its interaction with Dipeptidyl peptidase9 (DPP9), potential therapeutic for IPF
- Performed qPCR to confirm the presence of NLRP1 and NLRP3 in HEKa.
- Optimized and automated phenotypic screening assays (Cytokine & CTG assay in HEKa cells) for a batch of 150 compounds using AlphaLISA kit, Labcyte Echo, Envision Multilabel Reader, Bravo
- Developed cell-based assay for virtual screening of compounds for IPF treatment
- Project III: Blocking extracellular Granzyme B, a potential therapeutic target for autoimmunity
- Validated available data from two major publications investigating the effect of granzyme B on HEKa and AIBDs patients by measuring released proinflammatory cytokine using Multiplex Cytokine assays.
- Performed flow cytometry to quantify T-cell subsets, activation status, cytokine production, and Granzyme B expression
Research Assistant
Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA
08.2015 - 01.2021
- Project I: “Interaction between neutrophils and microbes in microfluidic devices.”
- Developed assay for neutrophil chemotaxis against bacteria and measured neutrophil recruitment
- Project II: “Antibiotic susceptibility testing in a microfluidic device.”
- Designed a new sensitive microfluidic device for rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing.
- Project III: “Diagnosis of sepsis from a drop of blood by measurement of spontaneous neutrophil motility in the microfluidic assay.”
- Developed algorithms and implemented a software program for analyzing blood samples to diagnose sepsis patients. The algorithms include registering images of the structure of a microfluidic device to a model and developing kymographs for each channel.
- Project IV: “Human Neutrophil Arrays for Elucidating the Inter-Cellular Signals during Swarming”
- Developed micro stamping protocol for high-density patterned arrays of proteins
- Statistical analysis of multiplex ELISA data on the characterization of neutrophil migration in a complex chemokine-gradient microfluidic platform
- Project V: “Engineering Three-dimensional Neutrospheres Human Cell Culture Platform as a Model for Alzheimer’s Disease”
- Developed a three-dimensional human neural cell culture system on microfluidic chips to characterize Alzheimer’s pathology cascades using IF staining for proteins
- Project VI: “Engineering in vitro Blood-Brain Barrier Platform for Disease Modeling and High-Throughput Drug Screening.”
- Project VIII: “Microfluidic devices for COVID-19 patients’ neutrophil chemotaxis studies.”
Education
M.S. - Biology
Villanova University
B.S. - Cellular Biology
Shahid Beheshti University
Tehran, IRANSkills
- ELISA
- AlphaLISA
- MSD
- PCR
- QPCR
- SiRNA technology
- Immunohistochemistry (IHC)
- Immunofluorescence (IF)
- Cryostat sectioning
- Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)
- Bacterial staining
- Cell signaling and pathway
- DNA extraction
- Electrophoresis
- Western blot
- Simple Western
- Protein quantification
- Northern blot
- Green fluorescent protein GFP transfection
- DNA sequencing
- Caspase assay
- Flowcytometry
- Capillary assay
- Cell-Based Assay
- Cytokine assay
- Lumit assay
- HTRF assay
- Incucyte
- Opera Phenix
- Confocal microscopy
- Fluorescent microscopy
- Cry microscopy
- Light microscopy
- Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
- Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
- High-speed video imaging
- Time-lapse imaging
- Viability assessment using fluorescent probes
- Flow cytometry software (FlowJo)
- MSD and AlphaLISA Software (MSD, Vworks, Labcyte Echo)
- Simple Western software (Compass)
- Statistical software (JMP)
- Graph software (Prism, Sigmaplot)
- Imaging Software (IncuCyte, QCapture Pro, Phantom PCC, VideoMach, ImageJ, Fiji, NIS Elements, Columbus)
- Simulation software (MATLAB, COMSOL Multiphysics)
- Designing Software (AutoCAD)
- BRAVO
- Genedata
- Envision
- DragonFly
- Immune cell isolation from human blood
- Culture of mouse and human cells
- Culture of bacteria
- Micro-fabrication
- Microstamping and Microfluidic Technologies
- Mouse and rat eyes dissection
- Handling and care of zebrafish
- Sample isolation (oocytes and sperm, embryos)
- In vitro fertilization IVF
Publications
- F. Jalali, F. Ellett, P. Balani, M. Duncan, F. Dewhirst, G. Borisy, D. Irimia, No man's land: Species-specific formation of exclusion zones bordering Actinomyces graevenitzii microcolonies in nanoliter cultures, Microbiology,open, 2021, 10
- F. Jalali, F. Ellett, D. Irimia, Rapid antibiotic sensitivity testing in microwell arrays, Technology, 2017, 5, 107-114
- F. Jalali, A. DiBenedetto, J.O.M. Karlsson, Chilling causes perivitelline granule formation in activated zebrafish oocytes, Cryobiology, 2018, 81, 210-213
- E. Reátegui, F. Jalali, A. Khankhel, E. Elliot, J. Dalli, H. Cho, C. N. Serhan, D. Irimia, Microscale arrays for the profiling of start and stop signals coordinating human-neutrophil swarming, Nature Biomedical Engineering, 2017, 1, 0094
- J. Kim, E. Reátegui, A. Hopke, F. Jalali, M. Roushan, P. Doyle, D. Irimia, Large-scale patterning of living colloids for dynamic studies of neutrophil–microbe interactions, Lab on a Chip, 2018, 18, 1514-1520
- F. Ellett, F. Jalali, D. Irimia, Microfluidic arenas for war games between neutrophils and microbes, Lab on a Chip, 2019, 7, 1205-1216
- J. Kim, F. Ellett, C. Thomas, F. Jalali, R. Anderson, D. Irimia, A. Raff, A microscale, full-thickness, human skin on a chip assay simulating neutrophil responses to skin infection and antibiotic treatment, Lab on a Chip, 2019
- F. Jalali, F. Ellett, P. Balani, M Duncan, G. Borisy, F. Dewhirst, D. Irimia, No man’s land: Species-specific formation of microscopic “exclusion zones” bordering Actinomyces graevenitzii microcolonies in low-volume co-cultures, MicrobiologyOpen, 2020
Timeline
Scientist II, Biochemical Cellular Pharmacology
Genentech
01.2025 - Current
Scientist II, Biology discovery
Merck
04.2022 - 09.2024
Scientist II, Immunology
Merck
01.2021 - 04.2022
Research Assistant
Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School
08.2015 - 01.2021
M.S. - Biology
Villanova University
B.S. - Cellular Biology
Shahid Beheshti University