Zuelay Rosario, Ph.D.

Email: acwhd9@r.postjobfree.com

Phone: 787-***-****

www.LinkedIn.com/in/ZRosarioCruz

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Research Assistant, Department of Biochemistry & Microbiology.

Rutgers University 2010 – 2016 New Brunswick, NJ.

Planned and performed laboratory research with the main goal of identifying novel drug targets by better understanding how bacteria survive at the host-pathogen interface.

Employed microbiology, molecular biology, and biochemistry assays that resulted in identification of new genes and characterization of their physiological roles in a major human pathogen.

Trained technicians and research associates in GLPs and lab methods.

Wrote and revised protocols and manuscripts for peer-reviewed publications.

Presented results and obtained awards at local and national scientific meetings.

Research & Development Intern, Microbiology Research Group.

Johnson & Johnson Summer 2014 Skillman, NJ.

Identified bacterial pools suitable for Antimicrobial Efficacy Testing (AET) of prototypes.

Evaluated skin commensal microorganisms grown in co-culture aerobically and anaerobically.

Research & Development Intern, Ingredient & Process Research Group.

Kraft Foods Summer 2009 Glenview, IL.

Conducted metabolic profiling and identified strains appropriate for a bench-scale fermentation process.

Optimized fermentation conditions to generate a Parmesan ingredient in less time.

Developed a culture rotation scheme to reduce phage contamination and prevent batch loss.

Quality Control Intern, Cheese & Dairy Business Unit.

Kraft Foods Summer 2008 Glenview, IL.

Developed a guideline for faster identification and investigation of out-of-spec (OOS) products.

Implemented a bi-annual grading system involving 5 manufacturing sites in North America.

Reviewed Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plans at two main plants.

EDUCATION

Doctorate in Microbiology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ. May 2016.

B.S. in Industrial Biotechnology, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PR. May 2010.

SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS

Discovered a copper-responsive operon and characterized the physiological role of its genes Submitted for publication.

Created knockout strains and conducted phenotypic assays to show a role in copper detoxification. Described expression and regulation of the operon and purified a novel membrane protein to show its metal binding activity.

Described the physiological role of bacillithiol Published.

Created bacillithiol mutant strains and used phenotypic assays to show defects in metal metabolism. Showed decreased activity of metal-dependent enzymes and rescued phenotypes by overexpression of functionally redundant proteins.

Described defects in metal pools in strains lacking Nfu Published.

Employed gene reporter assays to show defects in iron metabolism in strains with mutational inactivation of Nfu.

Described changes expression of the suf operon Submitted for publication.

Conducted transcriptional assays to characterize expression of the suf operon, involved in biosynthesis of iron-sulfur clusters.

Purified SufT Material for NSF grant proposal.

Employed a GST-based system to purify SufT, a protein involved in iron-sulfur cluster maturation, for determining its role using in vitro biochemical assays.

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

Rosario Z et al. Submitted. Cbl is an extracellular membrane-associated Cu-binding protein.

Rosario Z, Boyd JM. 2016. Curr Genetics. Physiological roles of BSH in intracellular metal processing.

Rosario Z et al. 2015. Mol Microbiol. Bacillithiol has a role in Fe-S cluster biogenesis in S. aureus.

Mashruwala AA, Rosario Z, et al. 2015. Mol Microbiol. Nfu facilitates the maturation of Fe-S proteins and participates in virulence in S. aureus.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Aseptic technique

Bacterial growth

Culture media

Microbial transformation

Electroporation

Transductions

Knockout construction

Primer design

Cloning

PCR

DNA purification

Restriction digest

Agarose electrophoresis

SDS-PAGE

RNA purification

cDNA preparation

rt-PCR

Protein expression

Protein purification

Western blotting

UV-Vis

AWARDS FOR PRESENTATIONS

Best Poster - Joint Molecular Biosciences Graduate Student Association Symposium.

2013 & 2016.

Best Poster - American Society of Microbiology (ASM) New Jersey Chapter Meeting.

2013, 2014 & 2015.

Outstanding Student Poster (top 40 out of ~2,900 posters) - ASM National Meeting.

2014.

FELLOWSHIPS & SCHOLARSHIPS

James Macmillan Graduate Fellowship. 2015.

Rutgers Graduate School of New Brunswick Travel Award. 2015.

American Society of Microbiology Science Teaching Fellowship. 2014.

American Society of Microbiology Student Travel Award. 2014.

Douglas E. Eveleigh Travel Award. 2014.

Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Scholarship. 2011.

Graduate School of New Brunswick Diversity Fellowship. 2010.

Amgen Foundation Bio-Minds Fellowship. 2008.

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