Curriculum Vitae |
PROFILE
My diverse background in physical chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology enables me to utilise different aspects of scientific research where a multidisciplinary approach is required. I use my experience to improve vaccine development since I am strongly interested in vaccine formulation and stability. Having been employed in industry and academia allows me to work in a multitude of settings providing the right skillset for the task at hand.
EDUCATION
Ph.D in Chemistry – University of Bath (UK)
Sep. 2015 – Jun. 2019
MSc Biomedical Sciences – Cardiff Metropolitan University (UK)
Sep. 2013 – Jan. 2015
BSc Biology & Medical Laboratory Research
Hanze University of Applied Sciences (NL)
Sep. 2006 – Aug. 2011
Extracurricular:
Chairman of the Study Association, Equilibrium
Sep. 2007 – Jun. 2009
EXPERIENCE
Lecturer (Teaching)
Oct. 2021 – Jun. 2022
Dept. of Biology & Biochemistry, University of Bath (10 Months)
Teaching position on for lecturing on neuroscience and biochemistry topics.
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Mar. 2019 – Jun. 2022
Dept. of Chemistry, University of Bath (3 years 3 months)
Ensilication of diphtheria and pertussis toxoids for the development of a thermally stable DTP vaccine. Collaboration with Indonesian partners to establish in vivo efficacy of ensilicated DTP.
Ph.D in Chemistry
Sep. 2015 – Jun. 2019
Dept. of Chemistry, University of Bath (3 years, 10 months)
Ensilication of tetanus toxin C fragment for the development of thermostable vaccines.
Application of a novel methodology using sol-gel chemistry to protect vaccine proteins from thermal denaturation using silica. The antigenic (recombinant) tetanus toxin C fragment (TTCF) was the model protein used within this study. The focus of the PhD was to investigate three aspects; protein stability, mechanistic analysis of stabilisation and physiochemical materials analysis of the vaccine protein stabilised within the silica matrix.
Research Technician, Mymetics B.V.
Jan. 2015 – Sep. 2015
Leiden, The Netherlands (9 months)
Virosome vaccine development against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. Working as part of a development team. Setting-up/troubleshooting multiple ELISA’s for specific RSV targets. Small scale cell culture HEP-2 and Vero cells. Designing experiments to improve vaccine development, stability and quality.
Technician, Crucell Holland B.V. (Janssen Vaccines)
Apr. 2012 – Sep. 2013
Analytical Development, Leiden, The Netherlands (1.5 years)
Assay development and sample analysis for testing candidate vaccines. Worked as part of a team to contribute to further development of these vaccines. Responsible for the SRID assay. Working in a BSL-2/2+ environment. Handling different strains of the influenza virus, adenovirus and poliovirus. Working according to GMP/GLP standards (certificate achieved). Handling shipments with virus material for outsourcing purposes. Planning of sample analysis for team members. Hepatitis B vaccinated/ Polio vaccinated
Internship – Swansea University, Swansea, Wales
Mar. 2011 – Aug. 2011
Dept. of Allergy & Immunity, School of Medicine (6 months)
BSc final placement: Investigation of immunological regulation in pregnant women without gestational diabetes. Supervisor: Prof. Catherine Thornton
Internship – University Medical Centre Groningen
Oct. 2010 – Mar. 2011
Department of Molecular Virology, The Netherlands (6 months)
BSc work placement: Production and characterisation of reference varicella-zoster virus antigen for use in in-house ELISA. Supervisor: Dr Aalzen de Haan
CERTIFICATES, AWARDS & GRANTS
(C) Associate Fellow Higher Education Academy (AFHEA)
(A) 1st UoB Chemistry Postdoc Symposium Best Presentation Award
(G) Post-doctoral research grant (£80k)
The British Council, Newton Fund
(G) Post-doctoral research grant (£50k)
The Annett Charitable Trust, Bath
(A) Best Student Contribution
Bioencapsulation Conference, September 2016, Lisbon, Portugal
(G) PhD Scholarship, full stipend (3 years funding)
The Annett Charitable Trust, Bath
(C) GMP basic
Feb. 2013, University of Applied Sciences Leiden, The Netherlands
(C) Safe Microbial Techniques
Feb. 2007, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Biochemical & Immunology
SDS-PAGE, Western blot, ELISA, ELISpot, recombinant expression, affinity chromatography, protein crystallography, BCA, Lowry/Bradford, TBARS, SRID, flow cytometry
Virus / Cell Culture
HEK293, HaCat, Vero, Hep-2, MDCK, PBMC isolation, HeLa, K562, VZV, CMV, RSV, adenovirus, TCID50
Physical / Inorganic Chemistry
DSC, DLS, TGA, SAXS, FT-IR, UV-Vis, CD, EM, Ensilication
Molecular Biology
RT-PCR, gene reporter assay, RNA/DNA isolation, gel electrophoresis, cDNA library
AUTOMATION KNOWLEDGE
Office: Advanced user with MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint
Statistics: Experienced in using MATLAB, Minitab, SPSS and R (GNU)
Coding: Experienced in Python, PHP, HTML, CSS, Java
OTHER
Languages: Bilingual, Dutch and English.
Memberships: Member of the Royal Society of Biology (MRSB)
Affiliate member of the Royal Society of Chemistry
Interests: Microcontroller electronics (Arduino/Raspberry Pi), 3D printing, CAD modelling (FreeCAD), Website hosting/design/building (www.gwpore.com, www.adras.xyz)