CHRISTIAN TAGWERKER, PH.D.

acgbkh@r.postjobfree.com

San Diego, CA 92121

619-***-****

SCIENTIST / BIOTECHNOLOGIST

Research scientist with more than 11 years of experience and expertise in

biotechnology, both domestically and internationally. Further expertise:

microbial physiology, cloning technology, proteomics, genomics, synthetic

biology, biofuels and biopolymers, molecular biology assays and analysis.

Demonstrated success in DNA synthesis, test methods development, prototype

design and development. Proven ability in laboratory set-up. Recognized for

identifying critical issues and implementing effective solutions. Excellent

communicator as indicated by breakthrough experiments yielding highly

accessed publications in peer-reviewed journals. Core competencies include:

. Sequencing/Cloning/Synthesizing

. Conduct/Design Experiments

. Bench Production/Scale-ups

. Test Methods Development /Assays

. Prototype/Process Design/Building

. Protocol improvement/Protocol writing

. Research Publications

. Understand/Express/Interpret Complex Scientific Information

. Examine/Data/Objects

. Lab Set-up

. Training/Coaching

. HPLC/GC/GPC/MS

. Reagent manufacturing/Working knowledge of GMP, ISO, and FDA

regulations

EDUCATION

Ph.D. in Microbiology, Major: Biochemistry, LFU Innsbruck (Leopold Franzens

University, Innsbruck) in collaboration as Visiting Scholar with UC Irvine,

CA

M.Sc. in Microbiology with Honors, Major: Biochemistry, LFU Innsbruck

First Diploma in Medicine, and. med. LFU Innsbruck

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

University of Basel, Department of Anorganic Chemistry, Basel, Switzerland

2013 - Present

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER - HEAD OF BIOLOGY LAB

Reporting directly to Head of Department, Professor Thomas R. Ward

. Biological applications of artificial metalloenzymes: metabolic

engineering of E. coli and Yeast, (S. cerevisiae, Pichia), combined

with Streptavidin/Biotin-catalysts for chemical engineering: e.g. in

vitro and in vivo (cytoplasm/periplasm) metathesis, C-H activation,

imine reduction and hydrogen production.

. Defining project work plans, conducted independent research to meet

protein (e.g. streptavidin) and chemical (e.g. formate/hydrogen)

production standards.

. Large scale biofermentations, scale-up to 20 liters from lab bench

volumes

. High-throughput saturated mutagenesis (HTS) library construction and

screening.

. Routine BSL1 (Bio Safety Level 1) Lab maintenance, Biosafety and

Training, Publication reviews.

. Supervision of 2-3 research technicians and advising undergraduate to

masters students throughout the academic year.

. Presented regular updates for research groups on current and past

literature/publications, organized weekly group meetings for 20+

Thomas Ward group members.

J. Craig Venter Institute, Synthetic Biology and Bioenergy Group, La Jolla,

CA 2008 - 2012

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW - Reporting directly to Scientific Director and Nobel

Prize laureate Hamilton O. Smith and Distinguished Professor Clyde A.

Hutchison IIIrd

. Analysis of large DNA sequence data sets from Illumina and 454/Roche

platforms of bacterial and eukaryotic genomes.

. Transplantation of bacterial genomes from one species to another

(Mycoplasma) - setup and maintenance of BSL2 (Bio Safety Level 2)

laboratory.

. Cloning and cultivation of Diatoms and Cyanobacteria with Microbial

and Environmental Genomics group headed by Ken Nealson and Andy Allen.

. Interaction with various departments within J. Craig Venter Institute

- Proteomics and Sequencing facilities, PFGRC (infectious disease

department), Plant Genomics, Genomic Medicine, Synthetic Genomics Inc

(SGI).

. Cloning of intact bacterial genomes in yeast, S. cerevisiae -

independently pioneered cloning of an intact cyanobacterial genome

(>1.7 Mbases) in yeast, which utilizes the standard genetic code,

establishing an important basis for algae cloning platforms in yeast.

. Regular research progress reports (3 meetings/teleconferences per

week) with group directors and interdisciplinary team of scientists at

east coast headquarters, Maryland.

. Presentations at scientific conferences and publications in peer-

reviewed journals.

. Kept concise laboratory notebooks/protocols (requirement to be signed

and approved by senior researcher, scanned and submitted in a timely

manner).

. Regular BSL2 lab Laboratory Safety Training, Injury Illness Prevention

Program Training, Fire Safety Training.

. Supervision of interns, research associates, new employees, recruiting

and annual personnel performance appraisals of existing employees.

Department of Physiology and Biophysics, UC Irvine, Irvine, CA 2007

- 2008

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATE - Reporting to Professor Lan Huang

. Extension of tandem affinity protein and protein complex purification

procedures.

. Routine mass spectrometry, sample preparation and analysis, MS data

analysis.

. Implementation of in vivo protein cross-linking reagents for

purification of complex protein mixtures and studying cross-linking

reagent fragmentation behavior.

. Maintenance and use of QSTAR XL (Applied Biosystems), SQ-D2 (Waters)

and Orbitrap (Thermo Scientific) instruments.

Vienna Biocenter, Vienna, Austria

2007

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW - Reporting to Professor Gustav Ammerer

. Yeast genetics and cloning

. Studied yeast systems biology aspects with a focus on cell signaling.

Department of Biological Chemistry, School of Medicine, UC Irvine, Irvine,

CA 2002 - 2006

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSOCIATE - Reporting to Professor Peter Kaiser

. Filed disclosure and record of invention at Office of Technology

Transfer, UC Irvine, case no. 2005-046-1 - first step toward patent

applications.

. In vitro synthetic assembly and cloning of a codon-optimized tandem

affinity tag (HB-tag) for protein purification under strong denaturing

conditions and assessment in S. cerevisiae to study complex

ubiquitination and sumoylation profiles.

. Independently pioneered and optimized an on-bead/resin digestion

protocol for optimal peptide generation for subsequent MS (mass

spectrometry) analysis.

. Improved offline fractionation and desalting of peptide samples for

LC/LC MS/MS.

. Construction of HB-tag module plasmid library for rapid PCR-based gene-

tagging in S. cerevisiae.

. Adaptation of the HB-tag method to mammalian cells, mammalian cell

line culturing, transfection, DNA/RNA/Protein extraction.

. Combination of the HB-tag procedure with SILAC (stable isotope

labeling of amino acids in cell culture), with or without in vivo

cross-linking reagents

. Identification and publication of novel in vivo ubiquitin chain

linkages and ubiquitination sites in S. cerevisiae.

Pharmaceutical Factory MONTAVIT GmbH before 2002

QUALITY CONTROL ASSISTANT

. Manufacturing processes of prescription medicines for respiratory

infections, urinary incontinence and motion sickness.

http://www.montavit.com/en/areas-of-therapy

. FDA Registration Number: 9680814, GMP-certified facility, ISO

9001:2008, ISO 13485:2007.

RESEARCH SKILLS

Genetic tools: Primer design, PCR, qPCR, Multiplex, DNA Isolation,

Purification, Transformation, Plasmid Construction, Gel Electrophoresis,

Southern blotting, Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (CHEF/FIGE) systems,

CsCl gradient ultracentrifugation, Flexstation3. RNA isolation and

analysis, Northern blotting. Cloning of whole bacterial genomes into S.

cerevisiae. Transplantation of whole genomes from one species to another

(i.e. Mycoplasma mycoides LC to M. capricolum). Next generation sequencing

platforms: Illumina and 454/Roche, sequencing and analysis.

Cell Culture: Biofermentations up to 20 liters (E. coli, Yeast). Mammalian

cells, transient transfection in common mammalian cell lines (HeLa),

microinjection, DNA/RNA/Protein extraction. Cyanobacterial culture methods,

specifically Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus. Eukaryotic algae culturing

techniques: Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Pavlova, Nannochloropsis sp. High-

throughput screening (HTS) of E.coli library clones in 96-well format

(saturated mutagenesis analysis). Cryopreservation. Flow cytometry (FACS).

Proteomics: Protein purifications, enzyme/protein activity assays (ELISA,

reporter assays), 1-D/2-D SDS-PAGE, Western Blotting, affinity

chromatography (UPLC, HPLC - GE-AKTA, Waters systems). Mass Spectrometry -

sample preparation (in-gel digests, desalting), experience with MALDI, ESI

sources, QSTAR XL (Applied Biosystems), SQ-D2 (Waters) and Orbitrap (Thermo

Scientific) instruments.

Microscopy, Fluorescence microscopy - imaging with Molecular Probes in

E.coli, Yeast and eukaryotic algae.

Bioinformatics (CLC Genomics Workbench, UNIX scripting, PERL basics,

MATLAB, ProteinProspector, Mascot, Analyst, Xcalibur, BioWorks, Igor,

Unicorn, Sequin, DNA Strider, pDraw32, Cytoscape, GOnet, GeneBank/Entrez,

ChemSketch, MDL ISIS Draw, SoftWare Pro).

General Computer Skills for Mac/PC (Illustrator, Word, OpenOffice, Excel,

Power-Point, Outlook, Lotus, Photoshop, SmartDraw, Corel, Browsers,

EndNote, Mendeley)

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Accepted request to join an inorganic chemistry lab at University of Basel

to promote biological applications of artificial metalloenzymes. Performed

metabolic engineering of E.coli combined with Streptavidin/Biotin-catalysts

and high-throughput screening (HTS) of clones in 96-well plate formats

(saturated mutagenesis). Results: Important initial steps for hydrogen

overproduction.

Identified the urgent requirement for cloning and manipulating intractable,

photosynthetic bacteria at a non-profit research institute. Pioneered the

first cloning of an intact cyanobacterial genome using the standard genetic

code, enabling stable cloning platforms in yeast for algae. Results:

Significant scientific breakthrough; important milestone to be met for the

J. Craig Venter Institute, Synthetic Biology and Bioenergy group funding.

Participated in learning a complex genome transplantation procedure,

developed and routinely managed at the headquarters of a research

institute. Launched the necessary actions for a biosafety lab (BSL level 2)

implementation at a new company location. Results: New work items and media

were ordered and transplant clones were obtained in a few weeks.

Maintained state of the art practices in culturing microorganisms from

bacteria, yeast and sensitive photosynthetic organisms. Carried out

required monitoring and sequence analysis by DNA extractions, Results:

Breakthrough experiments yielding highly accessed publications in peer-

reviewed journals.

Focused on protein-protein interactions and modifications during graduate

work. Pursued various cloning strategies in budding yeast combined with

early DNA assembly methods; initiated combined efforts of a yeast genetics

lab and a mass spectrometry group. Results: Protein tagging systems and

protein identification methods fostered important new insights related to

human cancers and disease.

Presented complex data in 25-minute talks during the academic year and at

annual departmental retreats for the Biological Chemistry division at UC

Irvine. Summarized and designed a presentation based on large data sets

from experiments for the entire department. Results: Received an

"Outstanding Graduate Student Presentation Award" at the Lake Arrowhead

retreat, UCLA Conference Center.

Published methods for cloning bacterial genomes in yeast in open access

journals. Selected as invited speaker at BIT's 4th World Genome and DNA Day

Conference, Nanjing, China; contributed a presentation summarizing new

research data from research group. Results: Received great feedback from

attendees; compliments from Senior Scientist at New England Biolabs (NEB),

quote: "an excellent talk".

Acknowledged various ethnicities, cultures and ideologies collaborating at

academic research institutes. Attended a rigorous schedule of 3 group

meetings per week and brought about questions and issues beyond technical

and scientific matters from colleagues. Results: Often personal and inter-

personal conflicts between different members of the team were resolved and

led to a more cohesive unit.

Employed at Pharmaceutical Factory Montavit, GmbH as direct employee. FDA

Registration Number: 9680814, GMP-certified, ISO 9001:2008, ISO 13485:2007.

Results: Acquired knowledge in GMP and ISO regulations and reagent

manufacturing processes.

Awarded:

. Pre-doctoral 2-year 'DOC'-Fellowship of the Austrian Academy of

Sciences

. Outstanding Graduate Student Presentation Award, UCLA Conference

Center

Affiliated with: ASMS, HUPO, ASCINA

PUBLICATIONS

Karas, B.J., Molparia, B., Jablanovic, J., Hermann, W.J., Lin, Y-C.,

Dupont, C.L., Tagwerker, C., Yonemoto, I.T., Noskov, V.N., Chuang, R-

Y., Allen, A.E., Glass, J.I., Hutchison, C.A. III., Smith, H.O.,

Venter, J.C., Weyman, P.D. Assembly of eukaryotic algal chromosomes in

yeast. Journal of Biological Engineering 7 (1), 1-12 (2013).

Tagwerker, C., Dupont, C.L., Karas, B.J., Ma, L., Chuang, R-Y., Benders,

G.A., Ramon, A., Novotny, M., Montague, M.G., Venepally, P., Brami,

D., Schwartz, A., Andrews-Pfannkoch, C., Gibson, D.G., Glass, J.I.,

Smith, H.O., Venter, J.C., Hutchison, C.A. III. Sequence analysis of a

complete 1.66 Mb Prochlorococcus marinus MED4 genome cloned in yeast.

Nucleic acids research 41, 1-9 (2012).

Karas, B.J., Tagwerker, C., Yonemoto, I.T., Hutchison III, C.A. & Smith,

H.O. Cloning the Acholeplasma laidlawii PG-8A Genome in Saccharomyces

cerevisiae as a Yeast Centromeric Plasmid. ACS Synthetic Biology 1, 22-

28 (2012)

Guerrero, C., Tagwerker, C., Kaiser, P. & Huang, L. An integrated mass

spectrometry-based proteomic approach: quantitative analysis of tandem

affinity-purified in vivo cross-linked protein complexes (QTAX) to

decipher the 26 S proteasome-interacting network. Molecular & cellular

proteomics : MCP 5, 366-78 (2006).

Tagwerker, C., Zhang, H., Wang, X., Larsen, L., Lathrop, R.H., Hatfield,

G.W., Auer, B., Huang, L. and Kaiser, P. HB-tag Modules for PCR-based

Gene tagging and tandem affinity purification in Saccharomyces

cerevisiae. Yeast 23, 623-32 (2006)

Tagwerker, C., Flick, K., Cui, M., Guerrero, C., Dou, Y., Auer, B., Baldi,

P., Huang, L. and Kaiser, P. A tandem-affinity tag for two-step

purification under fully denaturing conditions: Application in

ubiquitin profiling and protein complex identification combined with

in vivo cross-linking. Molecular & cellular proteomics : MCP 5, 737-48

(2006).

Kaiser, P., Tagwerker, C. (2005). Is this protein ubiquitinated? Methods

Enzymol. 399:243-8.

Volunteer Work includes: Basketball-Coach for TI/DSG-Club; Tyrolean

Basketball Association (TBV), Innsbruck and Tyrol; Team-Manager of the

Herren-Landesliga TI/DSG-Club Basketball-Team (Senior League), Innsbruck,

Austria

Speaks English (fluent), German (fluent), French

Professional References Available Upon Establishment of Mutual Interest

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