Part-Time Research Manager

Bushra Amreen

Email: *.*******@*****.*** ******.******@****.*** Location: New York, NY

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bushra-amreen

Professional Summary

I'm a Research Manager at the Department of Environmental Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai with over 10 years of experience across biochemistry, neuroscience, epidemiology, and biostatistics. I manage interdisciplinary studies at the intersection of exposomics, bioinformatics, and molecular epidemiology, contributing to various stages of research, from administration and regulatory oversight to assay optimization, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. I'm driven by a passion for collaborative, translational science that explores how complex environmental and molecular exposures influence human health. Education

City University of New York, Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy MPH, Epidemiology and Biostatistics New York, NY May 2022 GPA: 4.0 Awards: Departmental Award for Excellence - Epidemiology & Biostatistics Thesis: Longitudinal assessment of WHO’s Treat-all policy implementation on HIV biomarkers in Central Africa. Ithaca College

B.Sc. in Biochemistry, Minor in Mathematics Ithaca, NY May 2011 Awards: Dana Scholarship for Undergraduate Interns, President’s Scholarship, Dean’s List Honors Thesis: Role of SR proteins in alternative splicing by mutational analyses of SRP2 in fission yeast (S.pombe) Work Experience

Research Manager

Department of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY May 2023 – Present

• Facilitated cross-team collaboration to initiate and drive forward complex research projects, coordinating efforts across regulatory, laboratory, and data analysis teams.

• Managed end-to-end execution of multi-cohort research studies post-grant award, ensuring adherence to timelines, budgets, and regulatory standards.

• Conducted statistical analyses on genomic, epigenomic, exposomic and epidemiologic data using R and shell scripts.

• Managed data preprocessing and QC on institutional HPC clusters using R, Bash, and job scheduling tools.

• Managed and extracted data as necessary from EPIC and REDcap.

• Authored and co-authored scientific manuscripts, contributing formal analysis, writing, data visualization results and literature reviews; one peer-reviewed publication and two manuscripts in final preparation.

• Created, submitted, and maintained IRB protocols, serving as the regulatory lead for human subject’s research across multiple projects.

• Oversaw biospecimen collection, processing, and storage from diverse biological matrices (blood, placenta, plasma, CSF, FFPE tissue), supporting high-throughput molecular assays.

• Led high-throughput molecular assay development and optimization, including DNA/RNA extractions from FFPE- embedded tumor tissues, blood, and placenta.

• Coordinated with internal and external cores for bulk RNA-sequencing, Whole Exome sequencing, OLINK, Methylation and LC-MS assays.

• Served as primary procurement and vendor liaison: selected vendors, obtained quotes, created purchase orders, and tracked payments for project-critical materials.

• On-boarded and trained new staff in protocols, biosafety, and regulatory procedures; ensured continuity and compliance in operations.

• Maintained and calibrated laboratory equipment; oversaw lab safety compliance and biosafety documentation as lab safety officer.

• Collaborated on LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System) development to improve departmental sample tracking and data management workflows.

Graduate Researcher

The CUNY Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health, New York, NY Aug 2020 - Jun 2022

New York City Metropolitan Area, New York City Metropolitan Area Project: Analyzed effectiveness of WHO’s Treat-all policy on longitudinal HIV biomarkers in Central African countries using novel imputation methods and segmented mixed effects models in R Volunteer

Project New Yorker, Queens, NY

June 2018 – Sep 2020

• Observed outreach, planning, and fundraising activities of a community-based nonprofit in Jamaica, NY.

• Aided in preparation of grant application for “NACCHO and ASTHO Improving Social Determinants of Health – Getting Further Faster project”. Funding was successfully granted by the CDC. Research Specialist

Howard Hughes Medical Institute & Columbia University, Zuker Laboratory, New York, NY May 2016 – Sep 2017

• Collaborated in projects involving neuroscientific mechanisms of taste using optogenetic methods and behavioral assays.

• Managed and troubleshot daily laboratory activities such as personnel management and training of a diverse team of 20 individuals while collaborating with various levels of institution.

• Maintained research protocols and resolved budgeting issues.

• Oversaw and maintained the laboratory’s large animal colony.

• Managed and implemented policies to ensure IACUC compliance (IRB equivalent for animal research).

• Independently designed and implemented animal depression assays. Research Assistant

Rockefeller University, Laboratory of Nobel laureate Dr. Paul Greengard, New York, NY Oct 2011 – May 2016

• Specialized in complex stereotactic surgeries and behavioral assays for neurological disorders (depression, anxiety, autism, and schizophrenia) which led to two publications in Journal of Neuroscience and Molecular Psychiatry.

• Conducted perfusions, brain dissections, cryostat sectioning and confocal microscopy.

• Edited grants and scientific papers.

• Conducted data analysis, interpretation, and troubleshot issues for projects.

• Genotyped, weaned and maintained large mouse colonies. Rockefeller University, Laboratory of Dr. Magda Konarska – New York, NY

• Successfully generated, maintained, and screened plasmid libraries and yeast strains using different yeast mutagenesis methods and RNA and ‘yeast growth’ quantification assays.

• Managed daily laboratory operations.

Publications

1. Amreen, B., Lesseur, C., Jagani, R., Yelamanchili, S., Barrett, E.S., Nguyen, R.H., Sathyanarayana, S., Swan, S.H., Andra, S.S. and Chen, J., 2025. Exposure to polyoxyethylene tallow amines (POEAs), glyphosate co-formulation surfactants, in a US pregnant population and their potential endocrine disrupting effects. Environmental Pollution, 374, p.126205. 2. Guan, H., Chen, J., Kaur, K., Amreen, B., Lesseur, C., Dolios, G., Andra, S.S., Narasimhan, S., Pulivarthi, D., Midya, V. and De Witte, L.D., 2025. High-dimensional mediation analysis to elucidate the role of metabolites in the association between PFAS exposure and reduced SARS-CoV-2 IgG in pregnancy. Science of The Total Environment, 980, p.179520.(Publication) 3. Lee, K.W., Westin, L., Kim, J., Chang, J.C., Oh, Y.S., Amreen, B., Gresack, J., Flajolet, M., Kim, D., Aperia, A. and Kim, Y., 2015. Alteration by p11 of mGluR5 localization regulates depression-like behaviors. Molecular psychiatry, 20(12), pp.1546- 1556.

4. Jin, J., Cheng, J., Lee, K.W., Amreen, B., McCabe, K.A., Pitcher, C., Liebmann, T., Greengard, P. and Flajolet, M., 2019. Cholinergic neurons of the medial septum are crucial for sensorimotor gating. Journal of Neuroscience, 39(26), pp.5234-5242. Presentations

1. Amreen, B., Lesseur, C., Sadikki, H., Saul, S.R., Kazi, S., Leung, A.M., Nguyen, E.Y., Monaghan, M., Taioli, E., Genden, E.M., Chen, J. & van Gerwen, M., 2025. Exploring differential methylation patterns in Agent Orange exposed thyroid cancers among Vietnam era US Veterans. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY. Poster Presented at 2025 12th Annual New York City Epidemiology 2025 Forum & Manuscript in Preparation. (PDF Available at www.researchgate.net) 2. Amreen, B., Milazzo, F., Gigase, F., D’souza, D., Kim-Schulze, S., De Witte, L.D., Bergink, V., Chen, J., Lesseur, C. & Rommel, A.S., Impact of gestational maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on neonatal inflammatory biomarkers. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY. Poster Presented at 12th Annual MCHDI Retreat 2024, New York, NY & Manuscript in Preparation (PDF Available at www.researchgate.net), 3. Amreen, B., Lesseur, C., Chen, Y., Liu, S., Kaur, K., Andra, S.S., Narasimhan, S., Pulivarthi, D., Gigase, F., Lieb, W., Perez- Rodriguez, M.M., De Witte, L.D., Bergink, V., Rommel, A.-S. & Chen, J., 2024. Association between maternal PFAS burden and birthweight in the Generation C study in New York City. Poster presented at: NYC Epidemiology Forum; October 2024, New York, NY. (PDF Available at www.researchgate.net) 4. Brabander, C., Amreen, B., Lesseur, C., Chen, J. and Nomura, Y., 2025. Susceptibility to substance use initiation: the developmental cascade from placental HPA-axis programming to infant temperament. Poster presented at: NIDA Genetics and Epigenetics Research Meeting, March 2025. Bethesda, MD. 5. Brabander, C.J., Lesseur, C., DeIngeniis, D., Blum, M., Wang, A.Z., Amreen, B., Tsuchiya, K.J., Sheffield, P.E., Chen, J. and Nomura, Y., 2026. Placental heat shock protein gene networks link prenatal heat exposure to child temperament development: a molecular pathway analysis. Poster to be presented at: Molecular Psychiatry Meeting, March 2026. 6. Milazzo, F., Gigase, F., Suleri, A., Amreen, B., Bergink, V., de Witte, L., Leusser, C. and Rommel, A-S., 2025. The association between neonatal inflammatory profiles and social responsiveness in young children. Poster to be presented at: Annual Meeting of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology,2025. 7. Srirangam, P., Amreen, B., Moore, K., Graziani, M., Gigase, F.A.J., De Witte, L.D., Brody, R., Bergink, V., Rommel, A-S., Jessel, R.H., Chen, J. and Lesseur, C., 2024. Placental cardiovascular gene expression differences upon development of preeclampsia and gestational SARS-CoV-2 infection. Poster presented at: NYC Epidemiology Forum, 2024, New York, NY.

8. Perez-Rodriguez, M.M., Moore, K., Amreen, B., Castro, J., Rooney, T., Gigase, F.A.J., Jessel, R.H., Smith, E., Adler, A., Dubois, B., Mills, A., Kaplowitz, E., Habersham, L., Strong, N., Ohrn, S., Graziani, M., Brody, R.I., Ma, Y., Lieb, W., Janev ic, T., Bergink, V., De Witte, L.D., Rommel, A-S., Chen, J. and Lesseur, C., 2025. Exploring the association between prenatal SARS-CoV-2 infection, placental immune and inflammatory gene expression and postpartum depression with a validation analysis. Poster presented at: CINP 2025 Conference, Melbourne, Australia 9. Amreen, B. & Inada,M., 2011. Investigating the role of SR proteins in alternative splicing by mutational analyses of SRP2 in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Poster presented at: National Conference on Undergraduate Research

(NCUR); April 2011, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY.

10. Amreen, B., 2011. Investigating the role of SR proteins in alternative splicing by mutational analyses of SRP2 in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Oral presentation at: Undergraduate Honors Thesis Defense; May 2011, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY.

11. Inada, M., Feinberg, P., Amreen, B. & Pleiss, J., 2011. Investigating a mode of regulating gene expression via alternative splicing coupled with mRNA decay in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Poster presented at: The Eukaryotic mRNA Meeting; September 2011, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY. Grants

Lesseur,C., Chen, J., Andra, S.S., Rommel, A., Liu, S.H., & Amreen, B. (2023). Impact of prenatal PFAS exposure on the placental transcriptome and fetal growth. Pilot grant awarded by Mount Sinai Center on Health and Environment Across the LifeSpan (HEALS) & Tisch Cancer Institute Developmental Fund. Fall 2024. Grant. Role: Co-Investigator.

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