Kaori C Oda
Seattle,WA
Summary
Motivated, committed, creative, and collaborative team player with 23 years of various mouse work in industry and academia, specializing in neurodegenerative disorder, NK cell and CART cell therapies, and APC. I am passionate about VIATRIS’s mission and believe my hands-on experience in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro research, dedicated to delivering transformational therapies to patients with unmet medical needs will be a great match. And the accomplished in cross-functional program management IACUC author, certified rodent surgeon and trainer, and mentorship provide impactful contributions to the advancing innovative treatments.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
Work History
Laboratory Manager
University of Washington, Neurosurgery
01.2025 - Current
- Serving as a PI proxy to execute and maintain animal work, IACUC writing, and histology
- Perform and teach animal surgeries and tissue harvest.
- Execute histology, analyze, and collect data.
- Mentor students and new employees, organize logistics with volunteers.
Principal Associate NK Biology
Astellas Pharma (Universal Cells)
01.2022 - 01.2025
- Served as an in vivo project leader for NK cell and APC projects
- Created research plans and established and executed timelines ensuring timely progression through milestones, stage gates, and go-no-go decisions in a highly matrixed and collaborative environment.
- Developed, optimized, and qualified in vivo experiments as framework for target discovery, hit identification, and proof-of-concept for an IND enabling projects.
- Established, authored, and maintained in vivo SOPs.
- Authored and assured IACUC amendments in time of each deadline.
- Initiated and scheduled laboratory equipment maintenance and reported accurate documentation.
- Maintained offsite lab operations lead, streamlining lab processes and improving operational efficiency.
- Trained hands on in vivo methods for scientists.
- Increased experimental volume and scope by collaborating with external academic research labs and contract research organizations, providing oversight of planning, design, analysis, and interpretation of data.
- Ex vivo analysis by multi color flow cytometry.
Research Scientist 3
Seattle Children’s Therapeutic Institution (Mike Jensen Lab)
01.2019 - 01.2022
- Served as a pivotal solo role of the in vivo experiments for the collaboration projects with Blue Bird Bio/ 270 bio led to a successful IND submission
- Established, designed, and executed the time sensitive IND enabling in vivo project with a biotech company.
- Performed or/and directed in vivo experiments in support of research departments across multiple modalities and models. Updated SOPs and recorded for the IND. Trained and managed research associates.
- Facilitated effective data analysis and presentation by providing foundational academic research, methods, assays, and subject matter expertise. Established and managed record keeping, laboratory space, and operations.
- Drove progress by leading the conception, design, and execution of preclinical in vivo cell therapy studies, validating and characterizing potential therapeutic targets and assets, resulting in robust data that supported further preclinical development and investment.
- Executed and assisted stereotactic surgeries for brain tumors.
- Established, designed, genotyped, bred, and maintained the mouse strains for the humanized mice.
Research Scientist 2
University of Washington, Comparative Medicine
01.2018 - 01.2019
- Served as an IVF core transgenic microinjectionist and led hands on in vivo studies
- Performed pronuclei, 8 cell, and blastocyst mouse embryo injection with DNAs and ES cells to establish transgenic mouse colonies
- Prepared CRISPER tRNA, electroporated mouse embryos with it, and transferred them into pseudo pregnant mice
- Led hands on in vivo procedures and oversaw mouse colony management for other research labs
Research Scientist 2
University of Washington, Biological Structure
01.2014 - 01.2018
- Served as a lead of hands on in vivo experiments in mice and zebrafish
- Designed the primers, executed PCR, and maintained the transgenic mouse and zebrafish colonies.
- Injected plasmid DNAs into zebrafish eggs.
- Increased experimental volume and scope by collaborating with external academic research labs and contract research organizations, providing oversight of planning, design, analysis, and interpretation of data.
- Mapped excitatory synaptic inputs from bipolar cells to retinal ganglion cells and segmentation of retinal neurons in EM stacks in reconstruction of developing human retinal circuit using serial block face scanning electro microscopy (SBFSEM).
- Performed in mouse and zebrafish retinas IHC.
- Responsible for lab management, chemical stock, and purchasing.
Research Technologist 3
University of Washington, Medical Genetics
01.2005 - 01.2014
- Served as a lead of the transgenic mouse colony establishment and hands on in vivo experiments.
- Designed the primers, executed gPCR, and maintained the transgenic mouse colonies.
- Performed injections (IV, IP, PO), transcardiac perfusions, desiccated brains and spinal cords.
- Performed IHC (paraffin, frozen, and fixed tissue cutting, antibody staining)
- Executed behavioral testing, and collected data.
- Executed cloning and DNA extraction.
Education
B.A. - Biology
Western Washington University
Skills
- Proficient hands-on in vivo methods (IV, IP, SC, IM, IT, IC stereotactic surgeries), blood and tissue collections
- Execute and manage IVIS imaging
- Perform IHC, flow cytometer
- Perform mouse embryo microinjection
- Develop humanized mouse strain
- Design, execute, and analyze in vivo experiments
- Develop and author SOPs and IACUC amendments
- Manage and oversee cross-functional collaborations between NK cells, APC, TME teams
- Laboratory and operation oversight
- Interdisciplinary collaboration
- Train and mentor scientists and students
- Rodent surgery
- In vivo experimentation
- IACUC compliance
- Animal husbandry
- Histology techniques
- Data analysis
- Project management
- SOP development
- Research planning
- Tissue harvesting
- Flow cytometry
- Transgenic mouse production
- Embryo microinjection
- Laboratory operations management
- Collaboration with CROs
- Experimental design
- Training and mentorship
- Hand-eye coordination
- Regulatory documentation
- Surgical precision
- Surgical techniques
- Micro-surgery
- Wound closure techniques
Timeline
Laboratory Manager
University of Washington, Neurosurgery
01.2025 - Current
Principal Associate NK Biology
Astellas Pharma (Universal Cells)
01.2022 - 01.2025
Research Scientist 3
Seattle Children’s Therapeutic Institution (Mike Jensen Lab)
01.2019 - 01.2022
Research Scientist 2
University of Washington, Comparative Medicine
01.2018 - 01.2019
Research Scientist 2
University of Washington, Biological Structure
01.2014 - 01.2018
Research Technologist 3
University of Washington, Medical Genetics
01.2005 - 01.2014
B.A. - Biology
Western Washington University
PUBLICATIONS
- American Journal of Medical Genetics, Vol 164, issue 8, August 2014, p2091-2096
- De novo microdeletion of BCL11A is associated with severe speech sound disorder Beate Petur, Mark Matsushita, Kaori Oda, Wendy Raskind https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajmg.a.36599
- PLOS.One, April 27, 2016 Genetic Candidate Variants in Two Multigenerational Families with Childhood Apraxia of Speech Beate Peter, Ellen M. Wijsman, Alejandro Q. Nato Jr., Mark M. Matsushita, Kathy L. Chapman, Ian B. Stanaway, John Wolff, Kaori Oda, Virginia B. Gabo, Wendy H.Raskind https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0153864
- JCI, The Journal of Clinical Investigation, March 19, 2024 Drug-regulated CD33-targeted CAR T cells control AML using clinically optimized rapamycin dosing Jacob Appelbaum, April E. Price, Kaori Oda, Joy Zhang, Wai-Hang Leung, Giacomo Tampella, Dong Xia, Pauline P.L. So, Sarah K. Hilton, Claudya Evandy, Semanti Sarkar, Unja Martin, Anne-Rachel Krostag, Marissa Leonardi, Daniel E. Zak, Rachael Logan, Paula Lewis, Secil Franke-Welch, Njabulo Ngwenyama, Michael Fitzgerald, Niklas Tulberg, Stephanie Rawlings-Rhea,1 Rebecca A. Gardner,1 Kyle Jones, Angelica Sanabria,6 William Crago, John Timmer,6Andrew Hollands, Brendan Eckelman, Sanela Bilic, Jim Woodworth, Adam Lamble, Philip D. Gregory, Jordan Jarjour, Mark Pogson, Joshua A. Gustafson, Alexander Astrakhan, and Michael C. Jensen https://www.jci.org/articles/view/162593/pdf