Stephen A. Kaba

Head of the mRNA-based antigen design team, supervise/manage a team of PhD scientists & non-PhD research associates in performing in vitro and ex-vivo studies in molecular biology, nucleic acid design and manipulations, nucleic acid bio-analytics and using wide range of molecular and cellular biology tools to drive design, evaluation, and selection of candidate vaccines. Guide the team to develop, optimize, quantify, validate, and implement molecular, biochemical, physicochemical, and cell-based assays for characterization of candidate vaccine and therapeutic immunogen/antigenic molecules (proteins, peptides, antibodies & RNAs) to support preclinical/clinical studies.
Accomplishments:
• Development of Shingles vaccine: Provided scientific direction and leadership resulting in the design, generation, characterization, and development of two different protein-based and mRNA-based Shingles candidate vaccines.
• COVID-19 vaccine: Provided concepts, ideation and design resulting in the generation and characterization of broad-spectrum antigens and selection of top candidates as potential “booster” for COVID-19 vaccine.
• Successfully guided the establishment of structure-guided antigen design capabilities, and antigen/protein expression, purification, and characterization approaches/immunoassays.
Skills: technical leadership · managerial skills · cross-functional collaboration & partnerships · team building · strategic planning · scientific mentorship & staff professional development · significant experience in vaccinology · mRNA biology · protein/peptide expression, production, characterization, assay validation and implementation.

• Overseer of several projects and protocols, providing technical/scientific guidance from conceptualization, design to protocol generation and experimental execution including the training of residents, junior scientists, interns, and students
• Also, was responsible for seeking funding and managing internal and external collaborations
• Accomplishments:
• Established osteomyelitis rat model: Conceived, designed and oversaw the execution and development of a rat model for studying and evaluation of osteomyelitis and therapeutic drugs following polytraumatic (blast, burn, amputation) injuries
• Improved work efficiency: Helped improve work efficiency in the lab/department by uplifting morale of my team through positive approaches such as creation of a pleasant work environment for everyone, effective delegation, work assignment and excellent communication skills about 100% completion of deliverables, two years in a roll leading to over 15% increase in federal funding for our department
• Skills: adept leadership & initiative animal models, preclinical studies, therapeutic drug development and evaluation

• Lead and manage multiple research teams (with 7 direct reports) in the study of two related areas: 1) in vivo modeling to recapitulate combat-related injuries and sequela in both small and large animals and 2) the development of cellular techniques and/or pharmaceutical treatment regimens to mitigate trauma-induced injury, encourage tissue repair, and/or enable composite tissue transplantation after combat injuries (e.g., burn, blast, amputation, other)
• Solutions to these problems have been exceptionally elusive such that technical advances would have significant impact on military and civilian medicine
• Accomplishments:
• Reduced turnover from 7.0 to about 3.5 percent: Successfully created and fostered an environment of respect, trust, and teamwork by promoting inclusivity, facilitating collective decision-making and a culture of recognition resulting in the retention of employees
• Validation of a Rat model of heterotopic ossification: Successfully designed, performed a
• Co-authored and gained a joint Navy-Army DoD grant of 10 million US dollars for the department
• Publication: Successfully published several articles in high impact peer-reviewed scientific journals
• Skills: Demonstrated technical/scientific & managerial leadership & initiatives
• Therapeutic drug development
• Non-infectious diseases
• Excellent organization
• Team building & management
• Cell biology
• Animal models
• Pre-clinical studies
• Osteomyelitis
• Excellent writing, editing & oral communication
• Strategic partnerships
• Cross-functional team leadership
• Problem-solving
• Strategic planning
• Self-direction
• Committed team player
• Survival surgeries.

• Leads a research team in the conception and formulation of productive research Ideas or approaches
• 2
• Independently plans, develops, implements, and manages all experiments and protocols under study, or leads a team in all activities
• 3
• Evaluates progress of experiments to ensure that they are proceeding as planned
• 4
• Analyzes results of experiments to determine whether data generated is accurate and valid
• 5
• Develops new methods for, and collects, analyzes, organizes, and records experimental data appropriate for publication and future reference by others
• 6
• Manages the day-to-day operation of the laboratory, including coordinating research projects and personnel, and ensuring availability of equipment and supplies
• Accomplishments:
• Successfully leveraged familiarity and vast experience with animal handling practices and data collation, analysis, and organization to generate clear and concise information and written, documents focus on GMP Production and clinical trial of a self-assembling protein-nanoparticle and toll-like receptor liposomal MPLA adjuvant malaria vaccine
• Successfully developed, manufactured, and produced (GMP product) a self-assembling protein nanoparticle candidate malaria vaccine, currently undergoing phase 1 clinical trial
• Successfully co-authored and procured $7.2 USD grant from the Joint-Warfighter Malaria Research Program (JWMRP) for the advancement of and manufacturing of proteins and adjuvant components of a malaria vaccine
• Several publications in peer-reviewed journals
• Skills: Immunology
• Vaccine and drug development
• Infectious diseases
• Leadership
• Team
• Building & Management
• Cell Biology
• Animal Models
• Pre-clinical Studies
• Malaria
• Strategic
• Partnerships
• Microbiology
• Cross-functional Team Leadership
• Strategic Planning
• Grant writing
• Recombinant DNA techniques
• Protein expression, purification, and characterization.

• Held bottom-line accountability for scientific research execution on developing a malaria vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum by leveraging the then newly and untested self-assembling protein nanoparticle (SAPN) technology
• Responsible for the conceptualization, design, and experimental execution to test and validate the SAPN invention
• Accomplishments:
• Successfully designed a SAPN-based prototype murine malaria vaccine and independently performed advanced biomedical research to validate the SAPN technology
• Successfully utilized data form the prototype SAPN-based malaria vaccine studies to write and procured a $2.5M grant to be used to design a human-usable SAPN-based malaria vaccine
• Successfully published data from the prototype murine vaccine studies in peer-reviewed journals
• Skills: Recombinant DNA techniques
• Sequencing
• SAPN technology
• DNA/RNA extraction
• PCR
• HPLC
• ELISA
• ELISPOT
• Western Blots
• Electron microscopy
• Dynamic light scattering technique
• Vaccinology
• Protein expression, purification & characterization
• Animal models
• Preclinical vaccine evaluation
• Infectious diseases.