Contractor, Clinical Science Systems & Innovation - Multiple Pharmaceutical Clients - East Coast, US
(2025-08)
- Partner with regulatory, quality, and operational stakeholders to design compliant clinical research systems and validated development platforms.
Associate Scientist to Principal Scientist, Immunology & Translational Sciences - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals - Tarrytown, NY
(2015-06 - 2025-05)
Left Regeneron in 2016 for the academic appointment below and returned in 2019, progressing to Principal Scientist. Approximately 7 years total.
- Directed design, development, and validation of 100+ immunological assays (flow cytometry, multiplex cytokine panels, cell-based functional assays) across 5+ concurrent biologics programs.
- Performed in vivo dosing studies in murine models and ELISA-based drug level quantification, generating PK/PD data that informed program decisions.
- Established documentation standards, SOPs, and reproducibility frameworks across all laboratory operations, the same standards that govern a well-run teaching lab.
- Led and mentored a team of 7-9 scientists and research associates, including undergraduate summer interns.
Course Director & Instructor, Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology - University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus - San Juan, PR
(2016 - 2019)
- Designed and directed MICR 8545, Immune Cell Trafficking, a new graduate course built around critical analysis of primary literature. Structured the course historically, so students traced how concepts developed rather than only absorbing current findings.
- Taught MICR 8540, Principles of Immunology, to PhD candidates: delivered over half of all lecture sessions, coordinated guest faculty talks, wrote and graded exams, and held weekly office hours.
- Designed MICR 8542, Advanced Topics in Immunology, structured around scholarly paper discussion to push students past introductory material into independent scientific reasoning.
- Co-instructed MSEG 7230, Mechanisms of Disease, with departmental faculty for a cohort of over 100 medical students, building course content that connected basic science to clinical presentation using case-based vignettes.
- Taught introductory immunology to Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Nursing students, adapting the same core science for audiences with different clinical entry points.
- Mentored 15+ graduate students and research associates, including individualized development plans and professional recommendations.
Assistant Professor & Principal Investigator, Immunology - University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus - San Juan, PR
(2016-02 - 2019-05)
Founded and directed an independent research laboratory in immune tolerance and regulation, building infrastructure, SOPs, and funding from the ground up.
- Served as an Institutional Review Board (IRB) member, evaluating clinical research proposals for ethical and regulatory compliance.
- Directed multidisciplinary collaborations resulting in peer-reviewed publications and national conference presentations.
Graduate Research Assistant / Immunology Research Scientist - NYU Grossman School of Medicine - New York, NY
(2007-07 - 2015-05)
- Conducted NIH-funded research on sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) signaling and lymphocyte trafficking; developed a transgenic mouse model enabling real-time visualization of S1P gradients.
- Supervised and mentored prospective students and technicians in day-to-day laboratory work and experimental design.
