Vanessa Lewis
Cambridge,MA
Summary
Results-driven research associate with over three and a half years of experience, proficient in executing diverse assays and experiments. Skilled at fostering collaborative environments and effectively communicating results. Eager to leverage technical expertise and strong intrapersonal skills to further drive scientific advancement.
Overview
4
4
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Research Support Associate
Irvine Lab, Koch Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
06.2023 - Current
- Provides technical assistance for immunoengineering projects to senior lab members on diverse projects, including: Antigen-drug conjugate HIV vaccine model, Lipid nanoparticle (LNP) production for RNA-based vaccine, Vaccine adjuvant research, specifically on Saponin-MPLA nanoparticle (SMNP)
- Routinely and independently performs ELISAs, cytokine assays, and prepares cells for cytometric analysis on mouse samples
- Manages a colony of over 200 transgenic mice, responsibilities included: breeding, genotyping, inventorying, culling, etc
- Handles mice humanely and effectively for ethical and reproducible experimental data
- Conducts quality control assessments for experiments to ensure accuracy and reliability of results
- Analyzes data from experiments using Prism software
- Mentors and supervise MIT undergraduate in learning basic lab techniques
- Actively participates in lab, sub-group, journal club, and collaborator meetings
- Strictly adheres to all laboratory safety SOPs.
Research Specialist
Silvestri Lab, Emory National Primate Research Center
Atlanta, GA
10.2020 - 06.2023
- Executed multiple concurrent pre-clinical trial studies pertaining to treatment or prevention of HIV/SIV in non-human primate model, rhesus macaques
- Collaborated on projects with other institutions such as The La Jolla Institute of Immunology, Scripps Research, and Massachusetts General Hospital
- Assisted Ph.D
- Candidate in non-human primate dissertation trial investigating eradication strategies for HIV in rhesus macaques
- Processed blood and a variety of tissues following the established study SOPs
- Assisted in writing and optimizing protocols for a variety of non-human primate studies
- Organized shipping/receiving of samples to/from collaborators
- Participated in departmental laboratory meetings and journal clubs by attending and presenting
- Demonstrated and trained research staff on biosafety protocols, appropriate equipment usage, and laboratory methodology for a biosafety level 2 laboratory.
Education
Bachelor of Science in Cellular Biology -
University of Georgia, Franklin College of Arts And Sciences
08-2020
Skills
Skills
Laboratory Techniques
Animal Work (mouse and non-human primate):
◦ body weight measurements, cheek bleeds, colony management, dissections (especially lymph nodes and spleen), injections (intraperitoneal, intramuscular, intratumoral, subcutaneous), strain genotyping
Bacterial Cell Culture:
◦ transformation, colony isolation, inoculations, protein expression, plasmid extraction (mini and midipreps)
Chemistry:
◦ biotinylation reactions, buffer preparation
Immunology:
◦ cytokine assays (LEGENDplex), ELISA, immunofluorescence staining
Mammalian Cell Culture:
◦ culture of mammalian cell lines (adherent and nonadherent), electroporation, cell viability assays
Nucleic Acids:
◦ gel electrophoresis, cloning, restriction enzyme digestion, PCR, plasmid amplification and purification, preparation of RNA-based vaccines
Photometrics:
◦ Light microscopy, confocal microscopy (live and fixed), spectrophotometry
Proteomics:
◦ Transfections, protein purification
Other:
◦ Cryosectioning, basic lab tasks (making media, pouring agar plates, etc)
Technological Familiarity
Scientific:
◦ Prism GraphPad
General:
◦ Microsoft Softwares: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote
Publications
- yayaya
Timeline
Senior Research Support Associate
Irvine Lab, Koch Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
06.2023 - Current
Research Specialist
Silvestri Lab, Emory National Primate Research Center
10.2020 - 06.2023
Bachelor of Science in Cellular Biology -
University of Georgia, Franklin College of Arts And Sciences
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