Cerena Leaffer

Leads the management and scientific utilization of a large-scale aging mouse colony comprising hundreds of animals, overseeing cohort organization, experimental enrollment, health monitoring, and age-based study planning. Independently designs and executes in vivo aging studies, including young-versus-aged comparisons and short-term dietary, inflammatory, and therapeutic intervention studies to characterize age-dependent physiology and resilience. Implemented a colony-wide RapID animal identification and inventory system, tagging and cataloging hundreds of mice to improve animal traceability, cohort management, sample tracking, and experimental planning.

Research Associate III at Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (2025-10 – Present)

• Leads the management and scientific utilization of a large-scale aging mouse colony comprising hundreds of animals, overseeing cohort organization, experimental enrollment, health monitoring, and age-based study planning.
• Independently designs and executes in vivo aging studies, including young-versus-aged comparisons and short-term dietary, inflammatory, and therapeutic intervention studies to characterize age-dependent physiology and resilience.
• Implemented a colony-wide RapID animal identification and inventory system, tagging and cataloging hundreds of mice to improve animal traceability, cohort management, sample tracking, and experimental planning.
• Develops and integrates longitudinal phenotyping workflows incorporating multiparameter flow cytometry, behavioral/gait analysis, grip strength, body composition, and plasma biomarker measurements to assess age and treatment-related phenotypes.
• Provides in vivo study design and experimental support to collaborating research groups, advising on animal models, dosing and sample-collection strategies, phenotypic endpoints, study logistics, and troubleshooting.

Research Associate II at Tevard Biosciences (2024-04 – 2025-06)

• Conducted both in vivo and molecular benchwork to support preclinical studies in epilepsy and dilated cardiomyopathy disease models.
• Genotyped in-house to inform study design and cohort selection, performed IV injections to support cardio studies, monitored open-field experiments and seizure induction in epileptic mouse models, and supported necropsy procedures, including rodent brain region dissection.
• Isolated nucleic acids in cardiac studies to carry out downstream analysis assays (viral copy numbers, tRNA levels, and allelic expression in titin), and executed digital PCR for quantification and analysis of drug-related biomarkers.

Research Associate at Vertex Pharmaceuticals (2023-07 – 2024-04)

• Conducted diverse in vivo assays, including foot flexion measurements in mice to evaluate myotonic dystrophy, and measured glomerular filtration rates in mouse models of APOL1-mediated kidney disease.
• Analyzed biological samples via fluorescent and colorimetric assays to determine important biomarkers.
• Performed animal dosing, sacrifice, tissue collection, and sample processing.

Animal Care Technologist at Jean Mayer USDA HRNCA at Tufts University (2021-01 – 2023-08)

• Provided husbandry/technical support to rodents in the Comparative Biology Unit to support investigative staff members' research on nutrition-based experiments.
• Monitored body weights, food intakes, and health statuses of experimental mice and rats, collected/entered/analyzed data and provided direct input for scientific direction/design implementation of research projects.
• Developed training program for junior technicians, mentored/guided them in rodent care/handling techniques

Master of Science in Bioengineering, concentration in Cell and Tissue Engineering – Northeastern University (2023-05)

Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering, concentration in Cell and Tissue Engineering – Northeastern University (2022-05)