Demetri Dartis

• Analyze Gram stains, culture plates, and organism morphology on aerobic, anaerobic, fastidious, selective, and enriched media to accurately differentiate and identify clinically significant pathogens.
• Operate and troubleshoot major diagnostic systems, including MicroScan, BD Phoenix, MALDI-TOF, blood culture instruments, and supporting platforms.
• Averaged 75–95 digital culture reads per hour (depending on the type) for Group A strep, respiratory, stool, urine, ear/nose/eye, throat, and MRSA surveillance cultures using Epic and Sunquest/iCitrix LIS.
• Perform antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) and organism identification using MALDI-TOF, Gram stain correlation, biochemical interpretation, and colony morphology.
• Evaluate and correct AST algorithm flags on MicroScan panels by confirming inducible clindamycin resistance phenotypes and validating intrinsic resistance profiles for Gram-negative pathogens to ensure accurate susceptibility reporting.
• Communicate critical results and culture status to physicians and nursing staff, ensuring timely clinical decision-making.

• Cultured and maintained mammalian CHO cells

• Gathered data from various laboratory instruments and presented to senior membership at weekly meetings.
• Measured and recorded metabolite concentrations using automated equipment
• Set-up and operated Bioreactors for antibody production and harvest

• Accurately measured antibody titer using Poros HPLC UV Vis and Octet Biolayer Interferometry

• Developed strong microbiology skills: plate count, slide smear preparation, gram staining, viable count, colony count, aseptic transfer of starter cultures and media
• Performed weight by volume calculations to maintain optimal growth conditions for cell culture.

Role: Purify mammalian Shoc2 protein for X-ray crystallography in order to help the lab determine the 3-dimensional structure of Shoc2

I learned how to:

• Conduct protein purification experiments using Ion-exchange & LC/MS chromatography
• Perform SDS-Page and enzyme assays
• Assess antibody affinity to a target ligand using Bio-Layer Interferometry

Upon publishing our results, I understood how to:

• Set up DNA ligation reactions, DNA extractions, RT-PCR
• Measure absorbance of growing cultures at key growth intervals to check for contamination
• Separate intact genomic DNA with Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis
• Perform cytotoxicity assays on eukaryotic cells

• Learned how to conduct basic calibrations according to laboratory SOPs
• Entered patient information into blood-bank LIS for testing
• Processed FFP, RBCs, and Cryoprecipitate from whole blood.
• Labeled blood components for storage
• Updated status of completed tests on patient samples in LIS