Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Additional Information
Publications
Timeline
Generic

KATHERINE SEISS

Boston,MA

Summary

Highly motivated and collaborative scientist with over ten years of experience in biologics and oncology drug discovery. Broad range of experience in molecular and cell biology and cancer biology with expertise in pre-clinical development of antibody-drug conjugates and small molecule drug discovery. Highly proficient in experimental design, trouble-shooting and execution with a strong technical expertise in cell-based functional assays. Experience in target discovery and validation to optimization.

Overview

14
14
years of professional experience

Work History

Principal Scientist II

Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research
08.2022 - Current
  • Directly mentor and manage associates at the level of research associate to principal scientist working on pipeline projects from early discovery through optimization to biological candidate

Principal Scientist I

Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research
11.2019 - 08.2022
  • Biology lead for multiple oncology pipeline programs utilizing antibody-drug conjugate technologies
  • Responsible for the coordination of the development and optimization of ADC discovery projects from conception to development candidates and IND submission
  • Developed and applied luminescent cell-based assays including bioluminescence resonance energy transfer based assays and bioluminescent protein quantification assays to evaluate protein degradation or binding
  • Developed and established workflow assays to screen protein degrader compounds including CRISPR-mediated HiBiT tagged cell lines and highthroughput
  • Developed and applied FACS-based epidemiology panels to evaluate expression of targets of interest for ADC technology on immune cells for hematological cancers.

Scientist I/II

Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research
03.2016 - 11.2019
  • Performed in vitro assays for antibody discovery campaigns evaluating properties such as antibody internalization, cell binding capabilities and epitope binning
  • Developed and established in vitro PD assays to evaluate cell signaling effects and PPI activity upon drug treatment including MSD/ELISA immunoassays, TR-FRET and AlphaLISA immunoassays
  • Developed and established in vitro PD and mechanistic studies to understand the biology and MOA of LMW payloads
  • Extensive hands-on expertise in cell culture and transient, stable and clonal cell line generation
  • Independently planning and executing experiments to evaluate targeted protein degrader candidates
  • Implemented liquid handling robotics to streamline workflows and high-throughput capabilities.

Scientist I

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
07.2012 - 03.2016
  • Performed experiments to develop and validate clinical trial and companion diagnostic assays supporting the Novartis Oncology portfolio following ISO 13485 laboratory practices and documentation standards
  • Assisted in the development and validation of the commercially available RUO Acrometrix BCR-ABL Panel, a secondary reference panel mimicking five levels of BCR-ABL disease burden that has been aligned to a WHO international standard and evaluated by global KOL laboratories intended to monitor third party BCR-ABL assays generated for disease management
  • Performed non-clinical validation experiments to identify assay specifications (LOD, LOQ, linearity, accuracy and precision) for a novel digital PCR assay to detect extremely low disease transcripts of the BCR-ABL fusion gene for detection in CML patient samples
  • Assisted in the analytical validation including study design, execution, analysis and documentation of experimental results for a PMA submission of a Sanger Sequencing assay to detect point mutations in breast cancer
  • Authored and reviewed technical documents including study plans, protocols, work instructions and reports for technical and clinical studies in support of PMA/FDA submissions
  • Participated as a member of a cross-functional team to initiate 5S implementation into the laboratory spaces and manage the IQ/OQ/PQ of laboratory instruments
  • Managed ordering, inventory and budget spending for the fiscal year.

Research Technician II

The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard
07.2009 - 07.2012
  • Quantified HIV-1 reverse transcripts, HIV-1 specific 2-LTR circles and integrated HIV-1 DNA in CD4+T cells from various patient cohorts: healthy donors, HIV-1+ elite controllers and HIV-1+ chronic progressors
  • Investigated the effect of a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p21, on early HIV-1 replication steps in CD4+ T cells from different patient cohorts
  • Established and applied a FACS panel to cell sort CD4+ T cell subsets (naive T cells, terminally differentiated T cells, central memory, effector memory and T memory stem cells) from HIV-1+ and healthy donor populations and investigated the long-term viral persistence specifically in CD4+ T memory stem cells via RT-qPCR
  • Performed viral outgrowth assays to observe viral replication within CD4+T cell subsets from different patient cohorts co-cultured with Tzm-bl cells
  • Evaluated telomerase activity in HIV-1+ specific CD8+T cells isolated from HIV-1+ elite controllers and progressors by analyzing mRNA expression of the catalytic subunit of telomerase, hTERT, and further evaluated epigenetic methylation of the hTERT promoter subregion amongst different patient cohorts.

Education

Bachelor of Arts in Biology -

Boston University
Boston, MA
05.2009

Skills

  • Molecular Biology: PCR, qPCR, digital PCR, Sanger sequencing, DNA/RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, Maxi/mini preparation, Western Blot, Primer Design, Transfection/transformation, Chromatin immunoprecipitation, Restriction enzyme digestion, Fluorescent microscopy, ELISA/MSD, HTRF/TR-FRET immunoassays, AlphaLISA technology
  • Instrumentation: Echo Acoustic Liquid Handler, Biomek i7 Liquid Handler
  • Cellular Biology: Cell line and primary cell tissue culture (BSL-1, 2 and 2), plasmid/siRNA transfection and nucleofection, Cell line engineering (protein KI, KO, transient/stable cell line generation, bulk/single-cell sorting), CRISPR gene editing (plasmid and RNP delivery), PBMC isolation, MACS cell isolation, Intracellular cytokine staining, FACS and Flow cytometry (3, 4 and 5 laser), Lentivirus production and transduction, Luminescent cell-based assays, 2D and 3D cell culture
  • Computer Programs/Software: Microsoft Office, GraphPad PRISM, FlowJo, Sequencher, SeqScape, JMP Statistical Software, QuantaSoft Software

Additional Information

Identifies and validates molecular targets that play a key role in a particular disease process. Studies origin, relationship, development, anatomy, functions, and chemical processes of living organisms. Analyzes materials to determine their toxic or nontoxic properties, binding and efficacy. Isolates or purifies analyses, and identifies hormones, minerals, proteins, and/or cultures of microorganisms to determine their biological properties. Examines and conducts research on chemical aspects chemistry of cells and cell division. Requires an understanding of one or more of the following: molecular biology, biochemistry, microbiology, cell biology, biophysics, virology and/or immunology. May identify and produce small quantities of new drugs, pharmaceutical compounds and/or nutrients. May develop an assay which employs in-vitro and/or in-vivo biological and immunological systems. May experiment with animals and tissue to determine the effect of new drug compound entities utilizing in-vivo, in-vitro and ex-vivo models on cells, tissues and whole animal systems.

Publications

Williams K., Seiss K., Beamon J., Pereyra F., Rosenberg E. S., Walker B. D., Yu X. G., and Lichterfeld M. Epigenetic regulation of telomerase expression in HIV-1-specific CD8+ T cells. AIDS, 2010 Jul 31; 24(12):1964-6. Huang J., Burke P., Yang Y., Seiss K., Beamon J., Cung T., Toth I., Pereyra F., Lichterfeld M., and Yu X. G. Soluble HLA-G inhibits myeloid dendritic cell function in HIV-1 infection by interacting with leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor B2. The Journal of Virology, 2010 Oct; 84(20):10784-91. Chen H., Li C., Huang J., Cung T., Seiss K., Beamon J., Carrington M. F., Porter L. C., Burke P. S., Yang Y., Ryan B. J., Liu R., Weiss R. H., Pereyra F., Cress W. D., Brass A. L., Rosenberg E. S., Walker B. D., Yu X. G., and Lichterfeld M. CD4+ T cells from elite controllers resist HIV-1 infection by selective upregulation of p21. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2011 Apr 1; 121(4):1549-60. Buzon MJ, Seiss K, Weiss R, Brass AL, Rosenberg ES, Pereyra F, Yu XG, Lichterfeld M. Inhibition of HIV-1 integration in ex vivo-infected CD4 T cells from elite controllers. The Journal of Virology, 2011 Sep; 85(18):9646-50. Huang J, Yang Y, Al-Mozaini M, Burke PS, Beamon J, Carrington MF, Seiss K, Rychert J, Rosenberg ES, Lichterfeld M, Yu X. G. Dendritic cell dysfunction during primary HIV-1 infection. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2011 Nov 15; 204(10):1557-62. Huang J, Al-Mozaini M, Rogich J, Carrington MF, Seiss K, Pereyra F, Lichterfeld M, Yu XG. Systemic inhibition of myeloid dendritic cells by circulating HLA class I molecules in HIV-1 infection. Retrovirology, 2012 Jan 30; 9(1):11. Lichterfeld M, Cung T, Seiss K, Rosenberg ES, Pereyra F, Yu XG . Shelterin Dysfunction and p16INK4a-Mediated Growth Inhibition in HIV-1-Specific CD8 T Cells. The Journal of Virology, 2012 May; 86(10):5533-40. Buzon MJ, Sun H, Li C, Shaw A, Seiss K, Ouyang Z, Martin-Gayo E, Leng J, Henrich TJ, Li JZ, Pereyra F, Zurakowski R, Walker BD, Rosenberg ES, Yu XG, Lichterfeld M. HIV-1 persistence in CD4+ T cells with stem cell-like properties. Nature Medicine, 2014 Feb; 20(2):139-42. Buzon MJ, Yang Y, Ouyang Z, Seiss K, Rogich J, Le Gall S, Pereyra F, Rosenberg E, Yu XG, and Lichterfeld M. Increased Susceptibility to CD8 T-Cell Mediated Killing Influences the Reservoir of Latently HIV-1 Infected CD4 T Cells Young Investigator Award to attend the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2012) held March 5-8, 2012 at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, WA.

Timeline

Principal Scientist II

Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research
08.2022 - Current

Principal Scientist I

Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research
11.2019 - 08.2022

Scientist I/II

Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research
03.2016 - 11.2019

Scientist I

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
07.2012 - 03.2016

Research Technician II

The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard
07.2009 - 07.2012

Bachelor of Arts in Biology -

Boston University
KATHERINE SEISS