Biochemistry Researcher

ABIY GIRMA MELAKU

Objective

Ambitious, accomplishment-driven researcher with strong laboratory and impressive research experience seeking full-time employment in a research lab.

Education

Master of Science, Nutritional Sciences, July 2012

Oklahoma State University – Stillwater, OK GPA- 4.0 Honors: Phi Kappa Phi

Bachelor of Arts, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, May 2008.

Cornell College – Mt. Vernon, IA GPA – 3.5 Honors: Dean’s List

Laboratory Skills

Familiar with Lowry protein assay, northern blot, Southern blot, dot blot, plasmid isolation, RNA and DNA isolation, spectrometric analysis and sequencing, cloning, transduction, transfection, chromatography techniques, SDS-PAGE, making plates, media and buffer preparation, mice breeding and rearing, animal sacrifice and harvest, bone µCT scanning and analysis, Gram’s staining,

gravitational and suction filtration, fractional distillation, ELISA, Fischer Esterification, acid-base extraction, Iodometric and Acid-base titration, pKa determination, UV-Vis and AA spectrometry.

Computer Skills

Proficient with online BLAST searches, Gene Construction Kit, SeqMan, EditSeq, SAS, SPSS

Relevant Experience

Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant Jan. 2010- Aug. 2012

Nutritional Sciences Department – Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK

Bred, reared, and sacrificed ~150 C57BL/6 mice for a department wide experiment involving graded levels of dietary Selenium to see how that affects bone formation in a stress model. Harvested bones, organs and tissues. Scanned bone mineral density, content,strength using PIXImus and µCT. Served as a teaching assistant and as a lecturer in several graduate level courses.

Research Assistant I Oct 2008 – Dec 2009

Aerotek Scientific- Rockville, MD with Genvec, Inc. – Gaithersburg, MD

Certified the structural and functional integrity of wildtype and modified adenoviruses by PCR, Western Blotting, enzyme digestion,sequencing, Luciferase assay, and GFP assay. Sustained suspension and adherent mammalian cell lines for use in research. Assistedin virus production and purification. Organized and presented experiments done alone and in teams.

Quality Control Analyst I Oct 2008 – Dec 2009

Aerotek Scientific- Rockville, MD with Genvec, Inc. – Gaithersburg, MD

Coordinated QC sample submissions. Performed internal and contract laboratory testing to provide chain-of-custody and timely results. Improved laboratory performance by eliminating sample backlogs, bottlenecks, and by minimizing invalid results.

Performed release and stability cGMP testing for gene therapy products (Phase I) including immunoassays responsible for final product clearance for use in clinical trials and FDA submissions in support of drug approval.

Student Researcher Feb. 2008

Senior Molecular Biological Problems course - Cornell College, San Salvador, Bahamas

Collected and surveyed fire coral Millepora samples in the field. Isolated mitochondrial DNA from two different species (M.complanata and M. alcicornis) and an unknown hybrid for further research into the effects of genetic, morphological, and environmental factors in the speciation of the hyrozoan coral, Millepora. DNA samples were isolated with high purity and yield.

Program Coordinator April 2007 – May 2008

John Snow Incorporated-USAID – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Assisted in summarizing achievements and failures to plan out the path the project will take in the following 2.5 years through teamwork with junior and senior professionals. Collected, tabulated, and interpreted data on the injection practices of pharmacies and hospitals in Addis Ababa. Devised strategies to enable company to utilize resources efficiently, diverting funds for other projects and saving ~$5,000.

Independent Student Researcher Nov. – Dec. 2007

Senior Molecular Biological Problems course – Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, IA

Assisted professor in his personal research project involving Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Isolated DNA from mutant and wild-type strains of P. aeruginosa for sequencing to better understand the biochemistry behind the properties of swarming and biofilm formation. Isolated and purified DNA from 3 mutant strains (2C3, 3H7, 1B1O) and 1 WT (PAO1) strain. DNA samples were amplified with inverse and forward-backward PCR. Pace of project was self-determined and the achieved results over 3.5 weeks surpassed those achieved during the summer.

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