Biotechnology Consultant: Bio Pharmaceutical, Cell Based Assays, Autoimmune and Inflammatory Diseases

Technical Consultant #1403

Drug Discovery: Designed, developed, patented and licensed novel compounds for treatment of multiple sclerosis which are being tested in clinical trials.
Cell and Organ Culture: Primary cells, cell lines and clones, hybridomas, L-transfectants.
Cell Manipulations: Isolation and purification of various cell types from mouse and human tissues including T cells, B cells, monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells, and neutrophils.
Cellular Assays: Design and development of cell-based assays for screening of candidate drug compounds (T cell activation, proliferation; antigen presentation, cytokine secretion, chemotaxis).
Flow Cytometry: Proficiency in multicolour FACS analysis, sample preparation and staining; FACS-based assays (apoptosis, BrDU incorporation, intracellular cytokine staining), cell sorting.
Protein Work: Purification of antibodies, HLA proteins; preparation of tetramers; design of peptides and copolymers; development of protein - based assays for drug screening; Western blot.
Molecular Biology: Purification of DNA and RNA; restriction enzyme digestions; agarose and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; PCR; in situ hybridization; Southern blot.
Animal Work: Establishment of autoimmune models for screening of candidate drug compounds; generation of irradiation chimeras; injections (intraocular, intra - peritoneal, subcutaneous); harvesting of organs; ex-vivo cellular assays.

Independent Pharmaceutical Consultant, 2006-Present

Introduced and established immunological approaches for drug screening assays:

Purchased and operated FACSCalibur flow cytometer.
Performed multicolor immunofluorescence cell staining, acquisition and data analysis.
Developed FACS-based assay for measuring of reactive oxygen species production in neutrophils isolated from peripheral blood and in cell lines.
Established cell isolation protocols using magnetic bead immunolabeling methods.
Set-up cytokine secretion assay in primary cells using intracellular staining procedure.
Introduced a cellular screening assay detecting pro - inflammatory cytokines by cell surface immunostaining approach.
Established in-house assay for transmigration of neutrophils and monocytes.
Measured cytokine secretion in endothelial and glial cells as targets for anti-inflammatory compounds.
Advised on the in vivo models of inflammation and autoimmunity as candidate systems for drug screening.

Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, Visiting Scientist, 2005-Present

Research Project: Genetic associations between autoimmune and infectious diseases.

Designed functional peripheral blood cell-based assays for measuring lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine secretion in rheumatoid arthritis patients developing tuberculosis upon treatment with Enbrel.
Taught selected topics on T cell development, aging, autoimmunity and immunotherapies to undergraduate and graduate students at Harvard Medical School.

Molecular Immunology Foundation, Boston, MA, Principal Investigator, 2001-2005

Developed transgenic mouse models and irradiation chimeras for studies of T cell maturation and emigration.
Designed peptide - based compounds for thymic vaccination.
Collected and analyzed tissues by biochemical and immunological methods.
Established experimental in vitro systems and functional assays for T cell positive selection, proliferation and immigration.
Employed immunofluorescent methods and FACS analysis for cell phenotyping.
Produced HLA class I/peptide tetramers for detection of rare T cell populations.

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, Research Associate, 1995-2001

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology

Research Project: Development of novel therapies for autoimmune diseases.

Studied the MoA of Copaxone as a basis for development of novel therapies.
Designed peptide and protein based compounds for treatment of multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Used animal models of these diseases and established in vivo protocols for administration of tested compositions.
Studied protein-protein interactions, T cell responses and cytokine secretion profiles.

Research Project: Synthetic Copolymers and Peptides as Candidate Therapies for Autoimmune Inflammatory Diseases.

Developed in vitro ELISA based assays for detection of protein-ligand interactions in the context of Copaxone binding to HLA class II molecules.
Handled large scale production of monoclonal antibodies for immunoaffinity purification of HLA-DR proteins.
Purified membrane and recombinant HLA-DR proteins from EBV - transformed homozygous B cell lines and insect cells, respectively.
Developed cell-based assays for screening of peptides and copolymers.
Employed immunofluorescent methods and FACS analysis.

Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Immunology, 1992-1995

Research Project: Binding of Copolymer 1 to MHC Molecules on Antigen-Presenting Cells.

Developed a fluorescent labeling method for detection of Copaxone on the surface of living antigen-presenting cells.
Established cellular assays for binding of Copaxone and peptides to the surface HLA receptors.
Used various tissue culture techniques.
Implemented cell staining methods and flow cytometry for detecting of peptide/MHC or Copaxone/MHC complexes.

Ph.D., Cell Biology and Immunology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
M.Sc., Molecular Genetics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
B.A., Biology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel