Gabriel O. Akerele
Durham, NC. ***** + 615-***-**** *********@*****.***
Skills
Assay Development
Wide range of laboratory techniques such as PCR, qPCR, Protein and Immunostaining assays, Cell Culture (Primary and Secondary Cells), Molecular Cloning, Classical and Modern Microbiological Techniques, Transcriptomics and Metagenomics.
Team Building, and Multidisciplinary Collaboration
Laboratory management
Live animal handling and welfare
Analytical Thinking
Proficient Data analysis using SAS, JMP, CLC and GraphPad Prism.
Competent Programming skills using Python for big data analysis.
Research and Publication
Generating, Summarizing and Presenting Reports
Experience
SENIOR RESEARCH SCIENTIST 01/2022 - Current
Targan Inc - Morrisville, NC
Developing, validating, executing, and reviewing protocols for in vitro assays, in line with the strategic vision and direction of the company
Collaborating with a diverse and cross-functional team of software and mechanical engineers to develop unique insights and solutions to challenges.
Assisting with Laboratory reorganization to accommodate a rapid expansion in human and material resources of Targan.
General laboratory maintenance, inventory management, and ensuring safety and sterility protocols are adhered to.
Communicating with skill, technical updates about team activities, progress, and challenges during company-wide meetings
POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATE 08/2021 - 12/2021
Meharry Medical College - Nashville, TN
Optimizing molecular cloning and transfection assays for localization and expression analysis of HIV pathogenesis factors with the aim of discovering novel drug targets
Maintaining various adherent and suspension mammalian cell lines such as Hela, 293T cells, SupT1 cells, and so on
Developing and optimizing immunocytochemical staining assays and flow cytometry analysis of mammalian cells
Generation and assessment of virus-like particles using immunological assays.
POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH 08/2020 - 07/2021
Associate University of Georgia - Athens, GA
Maintenance and monitoring of lab inventory and order supplies, acquisition, setting up and management of laboratory equipment and resources associated with 2 biosafety level 1 and one biosafety level 2 laboratories.
Ensuring compliance with biological and chemical safety standards concerned with acquisition, handling, storage, and waste disposal.
Orientation and training of new students, including 2 PhD and 2 master's students in laboratory etiquette, regulations, and techniques.
Assistance in the development of standard laboratory operating procedures
Assistance of junior colleagues in troubleshooting protocols to maintain quality of experimental results and writing and editing technical reports.
Primary technician in charge of managing 6 field and 1 invitro study that cost more than $200,000 to $300,000, to test the efficacy of company products, such as direct fed microbials, in improving poultry production performance.
Formulation, in vitro and in vivo assessment of nanoparticle vaccines against necrotic enteritis for oral delivery
High throughput screening and bioinformatics analysis of RNA seq and microbiome data
Writing and proof-reading of manuscripts for publication.
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT 08/2017 - 08/2020
University of Georgia - Athens, GA
Development, optimization, and execution of protocols for immunological assays including, but not limited to ELISA, in vitro T-cell proliferation, magnetic cell sorting, antibody staining, flow cytometry, nitric oxide production, and antigen-antibody neutralization.
Quantification, purification, and assessment of proteins using SDS-PAGE, western blot, and ion exchange chromatography.
Culture and extraction of extracellular, cell wall, and membrane proteins from bacteria
Mammalian secondary cell culture
Poultry primary and secondary cell culture
Development and execution of protocols for gene expression assays including RNA extraction, DNA extraction, primer design, PCR, and quantitative RT-PCR
Development and execution of microbiological assays such as bacteria enumeration from poultry gut using direct plate count, most probable gene number method (MPN), qPCR, and so on
Formulation and administration of poultry vaccines for necrotic enteritis studies
Design of trials and formulation of poultry experimental diets
Preparation of buffers and other reagents for laboratory use
Data collection, entry and analysis using statistical tools such as EXCEL, SAS, and JMP.
TEACHING AND LAB ASSISTANT 08/2019 - 12/2019
Instruction and supervision of 22 undergraduate students enrolled in Avian molecular biology.
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT 01/2015 - 05/2017
Tennessee State University - Nashville, TN
Bioinformatic analysis of metagenomic, metabolomic, and RNA seq data using a variety of -omics tools
Development of software pipelines using python coding language for rapid and efficient analysis of large datasets
Formulation and administration of Salmonella vaccines in poultry for immunological studies
Development and execution of protocols for gene expression assays including RNA extraction, primer design, PCR, quantitative RT-PCR
Assessment of DNA and RNA quality using Nanodrop, bioanalyzer and agarose gel electrophoresis
Assistance with the use of bioreactor for growing bacteria
Assistance with microencapsulation of probiotic bacteria
Development and execution of protocols for ELISA.
SUMMER INTERN 08/2015 - 08/2015
Meharry Medical College - Nashville, TN
Observation of rats for social defeat stress related behaviors
Vaginal swabbing of rats
Cryo-sectioning, fixing and staining of rat brain tissue for microscopic examination
Giemsa staining of rat vaginal swabs and microscopic examination to assess pregnancy in female rats
Assistance with preparation of buffers and other reagents for laboratory use
Preparation of sucrose solutions for administration to rats.
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT 09/2014 - 12/2014
Tennessee State University - Nashville, TN
Growth and preservation of mammalian tissue culture (glioblastomas)
Fixing and immunocytochemical staining of cells for fluorescent microscopy
Assistance with chemical treatment and lentiviral transduction of tumor cells for in vitro studies.
ASSISTANT LAB TECHNICIAN 02/2011 - 03/2012
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture - Nigeria
Assistance with culture media preparation for mycological studies
Data entry for analysis
Culture and observation of seeds for potential exotic pathogenic fungi species.
RESEARCH ASSISTANT 11/2010 - 02/2011
University of Ibadan Ibadan - Nigeria
Collection of fecal samples of pigs for laboratory analysis
Preparation of selective and differential media for culture of enteric bacteria
Antibiotic sensitivity testing using disc diffusion methods to screen for multidrug resistant E
Coli and Salmonella.
Education and Training
University of Georgia, Selvaraj - Athens, GA Ph.D
Poultry Sciences, 08/2020
Evaluating the in vitro characteristics and protective efficacy of chitosan nanoparticle vaccines against necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens.
Tennessee State University - Nashville, Nahashon, TN Master of Science
Animal Science, 05/2017
Expression and characterization of toll-like receptors and other immune genes in the adult guinea fowl using transcriptome analysis.
University of Ibadan - Nigeria Bachelor of Science
Microbiology, 10/2010
Antibiotic resistance patterns of E. coli Isolated from cattle fecal specimen from several farms and markets in Ibadan. Senior year Project Supervisor: Kayode F. Fashae, Ph.D.