Research assistant
Resume:
ASHMITA SAIGAL
*******@****.*****.***
**** ****** ****** #**, ************, PA-19104
EDUCATION
a) School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (May'12)
Master of Biotechnology (Track : Biopharmaceuticals)
GPA=3.86/4.00
b) Jaypee Institute of Information Technology (Deemed University), Noida, India (Jun'10)
Bachelor of Technology, Biotechnology Engineering, Dept. Rank 1
GPA=9.20/10.00
SKILLS
a) Laboratory/Technical : FACS / flow cytometry, Tandem Mass Spectrometry, Chromatograghy (HPLC, Size exclusion, Hydrophobic, Ion Exchange), Immunological assays (ELISA, Ouchterlony Double Diffusion, Radial Immunodiffusion, Dot Blot), SDS-PAGE, Western Blot, PCR, DNA isolation from Drosophila melanogaster, Animal (mice) handling / dosing / performing minor surgeries, Mammalian / microbial cell culture
b) Bioinformatics : Promoter Predictor, Dot Plot, GC Plot, ORF Finder, BLAST, FASTA, PAM, BLOSSUM, Needleman Wunch, Smith-Waterman algorithm, FloJo
c) Programming Languages : C
d) Software / Tools : Graph Pad Prism, FloJo, Analyst (version 1.5), Rasmol, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Image Ready, Microsoft Word / Excel / PowerPoint
PUBLICATION
Biodegradation of Carbazole & Dibenzothiophene by Bacteria Isolated from Petroleum-Contaminated Site, Bioremediation Journal, 15(4):189_195, 2011
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
1) Employment
a) Institute of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (Department of Pharmacology : Fitzgerald Lab, University of Pennsylvania)
Research Assistant in Cyclo-oxygenase (COX) Biology and inflammation study (Oct'10-present)
-Studied interaction between NSAIDs and aspirin via ex-vivo assays
-Assisted in quantification of extent of acetylation by aspirin, identification of acetylation (Post Translational Modification) of proteins via click chemistry and
determination of role of nicotine in atherogenesis
-Screened COX inhibitory potential of the newly synthesized chemical compounds via biochemical assays and used Diarylpyrazoles as potential probes for imaging the COX expression in Brain
-Studying the interaction between dietary fatty acids and aspirin.
b) Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., San Francisco, CA
Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetic Intern (Jun-Sep'11)
Evaluated the effect of a xenobiotic (developed for treatment against multiple myeloma) on Cytochrome P450 enzyme activity in rat liver microsome and quantified using Absciex QTRAP5500.
The project involved LC-MS method development, conduct of biochemical assays and quantifying the effect on CYP1A/2B/2C and 3A enzyme activities via mass spectrometry.
2) Projects
a) Study of effect of macrophage cyclooxygenase on inflammation and its resolution (Jan'11-present) :
Evaluate the effect of the NSAID celecoxib, a COX2 inhibitor with respect to the vehicle and study Macrophage COX2 Knock Out (MAC COX2 KO) mice against the control LysMCre mice to
ascertain the role of macrophage COX2 in response to zymosan induced peritonitis inflammatory model. Inflammation will be measured by quantifying gene expression, prostaglandin
production, inflammatory cytokine formation and the infiltration of inflammatory-cells using LC-MS/MS and Fluorescence Activated Cell sorting (FACS).
b) Novel idea for Anthrax Vaccine development, its economics and marketing (Oct'11-Dec'11) :
Proposed that a conjugate vaccine for anthrax with Poly-D-Glutamic Acid conjugated to 20kDa amino terminal of Protective Antigen of Bacillus anthracis delivered intranasally via a
mucosal adjuvant Mast Cell Activator compound 48/80, can not only elicit T-cell dependent long lived immune response but is structurally / functionally stable and long term storability
as well.
c) HDAC3-Drug Discovery and Development (Oct'10-Dec'10) :
Analysed the role of HDAC-3 in cancer, studied the ADMET properties of the potential inhibitors and designed a High Throughput Screening protocol for drug development.
d) Biodesulphurisation and Biodenitrogenation (Published) (Jul'09-May'10) :
Quantified sulfur and nitrogen degradative abilities of microbial isolates obtained from on-site soil samples of Haldia, Jaipur and Panipat (India) oil refineries using HPLC and
optimized the PCR to identify the associated genes using Rhodococcus erythropolis IGTS8 and Psuedomonas resinovorans as commercially available controls for desulphurization and
denitrogenation respectively.
e) Protein structure Prediction and Anti-angiogenic effect of IP6 (2009) :
Evaluated the old and recently developed protein structure prediction strategies for their application in therapeutics, drug discovery and development. Also, analyzed of the role of IP6
through MTT proliferation assay, Matrigel Plug assay and VEGF mRNA expression levels.
3) Pharmaceutical / Biotech related Business Projects (Sponsored by Penn Biotech Group, The Wharton School) (Oct?11-Dec?11 and Feb?11-May?11)
a) Assessed the marketing strategy and design of a soon to be launched product of a leading biomedical device company in order to enhance protocol compliance and prevent nosocomial
infection.
b) Analyzed the landscape of emerging business models in mobile healthcare for a leading biopharmaceutical company alongwith positioning of their organizational structure(s) and long-term
investment strategy in BRIC countries.
4) Trainings
Geno-Biosciences Pvt. Ltd, India (Jun?09-Jul?09) : Received training in Proteomics and Immunotechnology.
COURSES
1) Vaccine and Immunotherap (Fall'11)
2) Stem Cells, Protein and Drug Delivery (Spring'11)
3) Health Care Management : The Management and Economics of the Pharmaceutical, Biotech and Medical Device Industries (The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania) (Spring'11)
4) Drug Discovery and Development (Fall'10)
LEADERSHIP SKILLS
1) Vice President of PennRangoli - The Indian Association at University of Pennsylvania (2011-2012).
2) Consultant at the Penn Biotech Group, The Wharton School (Spring'11, Fall'11).
3) A SPIC MACAY volunteer in organizing the concert by Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (20th Feb'11) and Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasiya at University of Pennsylvania,USA (19th Sep'10).
4) Represented the Biotechnology department at Synthes Medical to discuss recent biomedical developments in the world (2009).
5) Founding member of a Biotech society RIBOSE (Resonance of Biotech Students and Engineers) (2006).
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