ABDUL RASHID ABDULAI, MSc

Arnow Ave, Bronx, NY **469 adlf5z@r.postjobfree.com 518-***-**** PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Co-founder & CEO, AfroConstruct LLC April 2018 – Present Bronx, NY

• Led a multidisciplinary team to create an online marketplace to link West African immigrants building houses in their respective countries directly with trustworthy vendors of building materials and real estate service providers.

• Strategically invested about $13k to register business in two other countries, recruited managers and partnered with related businesses.

• Continues to lead team to iterate business model and implement strategic approaches to secure more seed funding and partnership opportunities.

Science and Business Research Specialist, Occam Medtek (a CCNY spin-off) Sept 2019 – Aug 2020 City College of New York - New York, NY

• Worked alongside a multidisciplinary team to identify gaps in current treatment options for chronic itch and develop a need statement.

• Defined design specifications for a device to mitigate pruritic symptoms in patients with atopic dermatitis.

• Led market and stakeholder research to assess market access and reimbursement strategies.

• Assisted in logistics for fabrication and testing the device via application of good manufacturing practices and complying with industry standards.

• Led research and drafting of protocols to test all design specifications.

• Worked alongside team to fabricate a minimum viable prototype and used virtual models and simulations to validate design choices.

Science Intern Feb 2020 – May 2020

Melanoma Research Alliance - Washington, DC

• Created a database of FDA-approved melanoma drugs and expanded on MRA’s existing drug pipeline database from MRA-funded projects.

• Assisted in convening Industry Roundtable including leading FDA staff from CDER and CBER, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

• Assisted Grant Review Committee in conducting peer review.

• Developed and presented a slide deck summarizing due diligence for considering a melanoma venture philanthropy initiative.

Science Research Contractor Mar 2017 – Oct 2017

Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance - New York, NY

• Contracted to edit a 130-page book titled “The Insider’s Guide to Metastatic Breast Cancer”.

• Conducted literature review to include the proper scientific citations.

• Added over 300 peer-reviewed citations to the book for publication. Science Intern May 2016 – Aug 2016

Breast Cancer Research Foundation - New York, NY

• Created a portfolio analysis for three cancer immunotherapeutic agents (Avelumab, OX40, and 4-1BB) under a newly launched program called Investigator-Initiated Drug Research Program (IIDRP).

• Researched and drafted a comprehensive review article about cancer immunotherapy with emphasis on the three agents, a blog post for the foundation’s website and delivered presentations on the subject.

• Assisted in the grants administration program and reviewed a diverse portfolio of research grant proposals. Science Intern May 2016 – Aug 2016

Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance - New York, NY

• Worked alongside a co-intern to develop novel visualization tools to investigate current recruiting clinical trials and track trial results for metastatic breast cancer

• Helped in pooling data for closed metastatic breast cancer clinical trials to be added to closed trial database incorporated into bubble charts

ACADEMIC RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Research Associate and Senior Lab Technician Jul 2016 – Jan 2018 City College of New York, New York, NY. Pezzano Lab, PI: Mark Pezzano, PhD

• Investigated how canonical Wnt signaling inhibitor DKK1 affects distinct cell populations during thymopoiesis.

• Identified and characterized bipotent progenitor cells for cortical and medullary thymic epithelial cells in WNT reporter transgenic mouse model and the Wnts and Fzds they express.

• Lab management, maintenance of supply inventory and payment of vendor invoices. Research Assistant Jul 2014 – Jul 2016

City College of New York, New York, NY. Guyden Lab, PI: Jerry Guyden, PhD (retired)

• Studied the implicated roles of thymic nurse cells (TNCs) in autoimmunity utilizing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)-prone NZB/W F1 mouse models.

• Preliminary data showed an inverse correlation between decreased TNC numbers and increased autoreactive IgG levels with age and disease progression.

Research Assistant Jan 2015 – Feb 2015

City College of New York, New York, NY. Gunner Lab, PI: Marilyn Gunner, PhD

• Analyzed the structure and electron affinity of a series of membrane proteins mostly implicated in human diseases.

• Researched the Na+/K+ pump and wrote a review paper about it. TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Tutor and Peer Mentor Jan 2017 – Present

Axim Tutors - Bronx, NY

Tutor and Peer Mentor Jan 2015 – Dec 2016

City College of New York - City College of Academy Preparation (CCAPP) - New York, NY Tutor and Peer Mentor Fall 2015

City College of New York - City College of the Arts Early College Program - New York, NY VOLUNTEER AND SERVICE EXPERIENCE

President Feb 2019 – Present

African Muslim Youth Organization Inc. - Bronx, NY General Secretary Aug 2017 – Feb 2019

African Muslim Youth Organization Inc. - Bronx, NY Event Coordinator Jan 2019 – Mar 2019

Mount Sinai Mobile Mammography Program - Bronx, NY Family Liaison Oct 2014 – May 2016

Hospital for Special Surgery - New York, NY

EDUCATION

CUNY City College of New York, New York, NY, M.S., Translational Medicine, Summa Cum Laude Jul 2020 Moskowitz Academic Scholarship

CUNY City College of New York, New York, NY, B.S., Biology, Magna Cum Laude Jan 2017 CUNYAC Scholar-athlete of the Year (2017); RCMI Research Scholarship; Student-athlete Honor Roll; First Place in Cell & Molecular Biology, CSTEP (2015); ECAC All-star Men’s Second Team; CUNYAC All-star Men’s First Team (2015 & 2016); CUNYAC Sportsmanship Award; CUNYAC Men’s Soccer Championship (2015); CUNYAC Men’s Indoor & Outdoor Track and Field Championship (2016); Founding Officer & President of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars at CCNY; Dean’s List Wartburg College, Waverly, IA Sep 2013–May 2014

Loret Ruppe International Scholarship; Dean’s List PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

MIT xPRO July 2020

Drug and Medical Device Development: A Strategic Approach SKILLS

Animal Husbandry

Microsoft Office Suite

RT2–PCR Array

RT-PCR

Cell Culture

Data Analysis

Leadership & Communication

Project Management

Cell Sorting & FACS

Confocal Microscopy

Endnote

IHC/ICC

ABSTRACTS AND PRESENTATIONS

Posters:

• “Novel visualization tools to search ongoing clinical trials and track trial results for metastatic breast cancer” San Antonio, TX, December 2016 DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.SABCS16-P2-14-03

• “Elimination of Thymic Nurse Cells by Autoreactive IgG Antibodies May Lead to the Pathogenesis of Autoimmunity in Lupus-Prone NZBW/F1 Mice” Albany, NY, February 24, 2016

• “Elimination of Thymic Nurse Cells by Autoreactive IgG Antibodies May Lead to the Pathogenesis of Autoimmunity in Lupus-Prone NZBW/F1 Mice” New York, NY, November 18, 2015

• “Elimination of Thymic Nurse Cells by Autoreactive IgG Antibodies May Lead to the Pathogenesis of Autoimmunity in Lupus-Prone NZBW/F1 Mice” Seattle, WA, November 12, 2015

• “Autoreactive IgG Antibodies Target Thymic Nurse Cells and May lead to Autoimmunity in NZB/W F1 Mice” Bolting Landing, NY, April 18, 2015

PowerPoints:

• Abdulai, AR. Melanoma Drugs and IP, Melanoma Research Alliance, New York, NY, June 3, 2020

• “Cancer Immunotherapy: Where We Are Now and The Future It Holds for Breast Cancer Patients” Breast Cancer Research Foundation, New York, NY, August 10, 2016

• “Immunotherapy: Targeting Molecular Biomarkers on Immune Cells to Increase Anti-Tumor Responses” Breast Cancer Research Foundation, New York, NY, July 25, 2016

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