Assistant Medical

Mark Robert Blackstad

**** *** **. *.*., Forest Lake, MN 55025

Tel: 612-***-****

e-mail: *********@*****.***

Education

Bethel College, St. Paul, MN. B.S., 1988: Major- Biology, Minor- Chemistry

Honors and Awards

Superior Performance Award, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1997

Superior Performance Award, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1996

Superior Performance Award, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1995

Superior Performance Award, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1994

Sigma Zeta, 1988

Dean's List, Bethel College, Spring 1988

Dean's List, Bethel College, Fall 1987

Academic Scholarship, Bethel College, 1984

Salutatorian, Robbinsdale Armstrong High School, 1984

National Honor Society, 1984

Professional Experience

1. Senior Scientist, Analyst III, Molecular Breeding & Genomic Technology (MBGT) Eurofins BioDiagnostics, River Falls, WI: 2015-2016.

Assisting in the research and development efforts of EBDI to identify and develop new assays and technologies to be used in the future.

Performing and designing PCR and real-time PCR assays.

Scoring and analysis of data generated. Overseeing the technical quality of the data generated and troubleshooting problems that arise.

Finding solutions to technical problems with assays and projects.

Generating reports and sending them to customers while explaining the data to customers and clearing up questions they may have on the results.

Monitoring the safety of our lab and its procedures.

Designing and performing SNP genotyping utilizing KASP and TaqMan technologies on the Douglas Tape Array system.

Assisting and performing SNP genotyping utilizing Golden Gate and Infinium technologies with the Illumina iScan system.

2. Protocol Validation Analyst, BioDiagnostics, River Falls, WI: 2009-2015.

Responsible for coordinating and performing the validation of all DNA based testing assays either arriving from outside trait providers or developed internally.

Development of new DNA based testing assays.

SNP discovery and validation studies.

SNP genotyping with various state of the art genotyping systems.

3. DNA Analyst, BioDiagnostics, River Falls, WI: 2008-2009

Responsible for coordinating and performing a high throughput marker assisted genotyping project; SNP analysis.

Responsible for quantitative real-time PCR, SNP analysis and PCR analysis.

4. Laboratory Technician, BioDiagnostics/Aerotek, River Falls, WI: 2007.

Responsible for quantitative real-time PCR and PCR analysis.

5. Scientist, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. 2003-2006: Stem Cell Institute; Quantitative PCR Core Facility.

Responsible for running the Quantitative PCR Core Facility for the Stem Cell Institute including all scheduling, billing, ordering reagents and maintaining the instruments.

Responsible for overseeing and training most users of the quantitative PCR instruments.

Responsible for performing molecular and cellular biology laboratory work including DNA, RNA, PCR, and quantitative PCR work.

Generated quantitative PCR and molecular biology data used in several prestigious journal publications. (see publications section)

6. Assistant Scientist, Fairview University Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN. 2000-2003: Bone Marrow Transplant / Stem Cell Institute.

Responsible for overseeing and training many users of the quantitative PCR instruments.

Responsible for performing molecular and cellular biology laboratory work including DNA, RNA, PCR, and quantitative PCR work.

Generated quantitative PCR and molecular biology data used in several prestigious journal publications. (see publications section)

7. Assistant Scientist, VA Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN. 1993-1999: Dr. Robert T. Perri lab; ; Molecular and Cellular Biology of the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) B-Cell.

Responsible for performing all of the molecular and cellular biology laboratory work including DNA, RNA, protein, PCR, and cell culture work.

Responsible for supervising and training students doing work and projects in the lab.

Responsible for the day to day running of the lab including all ordering of supplies and maintaining the lab's equipment and instruments.

8. Assistant Scientist, VA Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN. 1991-1992: Dr. Gregg A. Filice lab; Molecular Biology of Toxoplasmosis and HIV.

Responsible for performing molecular and cellular biology laboratory work including DNA, RNA, PCR, southern blot, and mouse work.

Responsible for ordering of supplies and maintaining the lab's equipment and instruments.

Generated PCR and molecular biology data used in scientific publications. (see publications section)

9. Assistant Scientist, VA Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN. 1989-1990: Dr. Neil Kay lab; Molecular Biology of the CLL B-Cell.

Responsible for performing molecular and cellular biology laboratory work including DNA, RNA, PCR, and southern blot.

Generated PCR and molecular biology data used in scientific publications. (see publications section)

10. Research Assistant, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN. 1986-1988: Dr. C. Weldon Jones lab; Molecular Biology of Drosophila and Musca domestica hormone induced genes.

11. Teaching Assistant in Molecular Biology, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN. 1988.

Peer Reviewed Publications

1. D. Billadeau, M. Blackstad, P. Greip, R.A. Kyle, M. M. Oken, N. Kay, and B. Van Ness (1991) Analysis of B-Lymphoid Malignancies Using Allele-Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction: A Technique for Sequential Quantitation of Residual Disease. Blood 78:3021.

2. G.A. Filice, J.A. Hitt, C.D. Mitchell, M. Blackstad, S.W. Sorensen (1993) Diagnosis of Toxoplasma Parasetemia in Patients with AIDS by Gene Detection after Amplification with Polymerase Chain Reaction. Journal of Clinical Microbiology Sep;31(9):2327-31.

3. L.Peterson, M. Blackstad, and N.Kay (1993) Clonal Evolution in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, B. Cheson, NY,NY.

4. Tolar J, Jiang Y, McElmurry R, Jahagirdar B, Blackstad M, Verfaillie C, Blazar B: The in utero transfer of murine multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPCs) result in brain and liver differentiation. Blood 2001;98:475a.

5. Schwartz, RE, Reyes, M, Koodie, Jiang Y, Blackstad M, Johnson S, Lund T, Lenvik T, Hu W-S, Verfaillie CM. Multipotent adult progenitor cells from bone marrow differentiate into functional hepatocyte-like cells. J. Clin. Invest. 109, 1291-1302, 2002.

6.Jiang Y, Jahagirdar B, Reinhard L, Schwartz RE, Keene CD, Ortiz X, Reyes M, Lenvik T, Lund T, Blackstad M, Du J, Aldrich S, Lisberg A, Largaespada DA, Verfaillie CM. Pluripotent nature of adult marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells. Nature 418:41-9, 2002.

7.Xia H, Qi H, Li Y, Pei J, Barton J, Blackstad M, Xu T, Tao W. LATS1 tumor suppressor regulates G2/M transition and apoptosis.

Oncogene. 2002 Feb 14;21(8):1233-41.

8.Jiang Y, Vaessen B, Lenvik T, Blackstad M, Reyes M, Verfaillie CM. Multipotent progenitor cells can be isolated from post-natal murine bone marrow, muscle and brain. Exp Hematol, 30: 896-904, 2002.

9.Lamming C, Blackstad M, Augustin L, Lund TC, Hebbel RP, Verfaillie CM. Spontaneous circulation of myeloid-lymphoid-culture-initiating cells and SCID repopulating cells in Sickle Cell Crisis. J.Clin.Invest. 111:811-9, 2003.

10. Jiang Y, Henderson D, Blackstad M, Chen A, Miller RF, Verfaillie CM. Neuroectodermal differentiation from mouse multipotent adult progenitor cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 100:11854-60, 2003.

11. Gupta S, Verfaillie CM, Chmielewski D, Kren S, Eidman K, Connaire J, Heremans Y, Lund T, Blackstad M, Jiang Y Luttun A, Rosenberg ME. Isolation and characterization of kidney-derived stem cells. J Am Soc Nephrol Nov 17(11):3028-40, 2006. Epub 2006 Sep 20.

12. Venkatramana Pegadaraju, Mark Blackstad, Robert Bialozynski, Chondra Carlson. BDI Wild SUN a novel molecular quality assurance tool to detect wild sunflower contamination in cultivated sunflower species. Molecular breeding (in prep)

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