Adjunct Instructor

Posted on: 2008-02-18

Rita Francis Summary Scientific, Informatics and IT professional with 10+ years of related professional and academic experience. Unique combination of Teaching, research and IT consulting in the Pharmaceutical and University fields. Strong Biology, Chemistry, IT (databases, programming and support) skills Technical Skills Computing Experience: Over 10 years of experience in the following platforms, databases, and language coding. Database end-user experience with Access with Visual Basic coding, DB2, Oracle Forms/Reports, SQL, FoxPro, FileMaker Pro. Operating systems worked on include Unix, Red Hat Linux, OS/2, Win 3.1, Win 95, Win 98, Office 2000, Office 2003. Languages worked with HTML, XML, Java 1.2, Javascript, Visual C++, Borland C, Fortran, Pascal. End-user experience with Internet Explorer, Netscape Communicator, Outlook, Groupwise, Lotus Notes, Word Perfect, Word, Excel, Powerpoint. Protocols employed include Telnet, FTP, Dogpile. Over 15 years of experience with Apple and MacIntosh software including Cricketgraph, JMP, Filemaker Pro, Framemaker, Reference Manager, Endnote, Geneworks, Plasmid Artist, MacVector, and other specialized software of instrumentation or informatics. Bioinformatics Experience: Insight, Del Phi, Homology, Chime, Blast, PubMed, Ras Mol, and other NCBI related software. Proficient in shell scripting on Unix platform with Red Hat Linux, C, and C++. Java 1.2 certified through PSU. Learning Perl. Biochemistry Experience: Protein and carbohydrate mapping through cleavage reactions, antibody epitope mapping, lectin staining. Western analysis, capillary electrophoresis, or SDS-PAGE. Protein synthesis, production, and purification expertise for the recovery of recombinant proteins from cell transfection employing electroporation, cesium chloride purified DNA transfection, or liposome mediated transfection. Scaleup and purification of proteins through FPLC, peptide mapping through HPLC, use of size exclusion, affinity, antibody, or other specialized resins for protein purification. Protein characterization through calorimetry (DSC or ITC), fluorimetry, NMR, GC-Mass spec, UV-Vis spec, IR spec, or other customized assays developed in house for testing of enzyme activity or function. Lead on some biochemistry projects while assisted on others as part of a multidisciplinary discovery team. Elisa and anti-idiotypic antibody development along with antibody design, synthesis, and purification with QA testing and characterization. Biology Experience: Trained and certified in radioactive and animal work. Other techniques trained in: bone and tissue preparation for immunohistochemisty, electron and light microscopy, advanced physiology techniques, and histomorphometry. Several years of teaching laboratory sections in biology. Master’s degree in Biology with thesis project in biochemistry. Molecular Biology Experience: Management of molecular biology driven projects including experience and expertise in DNA, RNA, preparation and isolation; cDNA, oligomer synthesis, PCR; cloning, site-directed mutagenesis through PCR; DNA sequencing DNA/RNA restriction mapping, North, Southern, gel electrophoresis with quantitative analysis through staining or UV-Vis spec. Lead on genewalking project and cloning projects. Molecular Virology Experience: Full-time setup and management of P2 level facility which included experience in the creation, selection, amplification, and characterization of native and recombinant viruses. Specific expertise in the design and development of recombinant viral vectors for targeted and random recombination; experience in plaque counting, selection, and recombination, purification; infection and scale-up for protein production in various human and other animal cell lines. Lead in vaccine virus project. Regulatory Affairs Experience: Assistance to lead regarding upkeep of IND, NDA, and briefing documents internally and to FDA. Management of clinical protocol and amendments, database management for paper and electronic submissions. Writing and editing of existing SOP’s for internal and external review during the drug approval process. Writing certification in Biomedical Writing, USP, 2006. Writing and Publishing Experience: As an intern at Loma Linda University and the Mayo Clinic, contributed data and its interpretation to publications derived from internship under the mentoring of the Lab Supervisor (PubMed—Francis and Turner). As the president of two graduate organizations, Andrews University and the University of Notre Dame, started a monthly newsletter with advertising, a scholarly journal called the Quarterly, and a book of student research called Abstracts. (You can call both graduate associations and their University appointed advisors to verify…Dr. David Steen—Andrews University; Sister Jean Lenz—University of Notre Dame or Graduate Dean at ND). As an employee of Wyeth, participated in the creation of data from research and its interpretation resulting in publications listed in PubMed (Francis and Caltabiano). As an employee at Wyeth, participated in Literature Reviews and Brown Bag lunch presentation of important literature published in scholarly journals pertaining to Women’s Health. As a student at the University of Sciences in Philadelphia, obtained a certificate in Biomedical Writing and have written mock letters to the FDA, IND/NDA outlines, clinical summaries, case histories, and literature reviews as part of class assignments (please contact Dr. Susanna Dodgson, USP, 215-596-880.) Professional Experience RxBiosciences October 2007 – Current Product Development and Marketing • Some lab work as a biochemist for proprietary contracts. Development of business plans and marketing strategies to grow business. Consulting basis. GlaxoSmithKline August 2005 – November 2006 Regulatory Affairs • Preparation of documents for NDA, IND, and other correspondence with FDA. Major input on processing, proofreading, and putting together electronic format of documents. Binding of major submissions for hearings. • Other miscellaneous tasks associated with regulatory affairs issues. Part of the time was as a Smith-Hanley Consultant to GSK. University of Sciences in Philadelphia August 2004 – April 2006 Visiting Instructor and Adjunct Faculty • Management of 250-350 students yearly in the area of Organic and General Chemistry. Worked with faculty to streamline curricula, prepare materials, and coordinate services provided by the university for students. Advised students, graded papers, and taught freshman and sophomore level students. Temple University January 2004 – April 2004 Instructor • Taught General Chemistry to about 60 students in an afternoon and evening class during the Winter Semester. I was a Temple Employee and worked with a set syllabus to finish out the year. Prior work has included employment as a consultant, business analyst, and research scientist at Smith-Hanley, Wyeth, Mayo Clinic, and Loma Linda University. Marketsource June – September 2004 Event Sales Representative • Preparation of promotion area, greeting customers, product Demonstrations for Comcast High-Speed Internet (Broadband technologies) and processing transactions on Kiosk The Vision School May -July 2004 Computer Instructor • Lesson Planning for Microsoft Office products o Word, Excel, Access, Outlook, Powerpoint, Visual Basic • Lecturing, computer Lab design and implementation for Office products, assistance to students with lab exercises, troubleshooting and Tutoring Temple University January-May 2004 Adjunct Professor • Lecturing in Chemistry, Thermodynamics, Kinetics, Electrochemistry, Buffering systems with pH assessment, Catalysis, Solubility and solution phase chemistry • Advising and tutoring students, making and grading tests and exams in topics lectured University of Vermont Spring-Fall 2002 Research Technician • Document and data preparation for publication including data analysis, graphing in excel, word documentation of research methods • Biotechnology development and procedures including gene mapping • Northern, Southern, and Western mapping of matrix metalloproteins (MMPs) and Receptors EP 2,3,4 • Antibody binding experiments for epitope mapping for MMPs and receptor proteins employing monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. Western with alkaline phosphatase or horseradish peroxidase as signal. • RT-PCR of MMPs and receptor proteins. Isolation of RNA from cervical tissue via homogenization and standard kit preparation techniques. • Buffer and solution preparation for protein, DNA, and RNA work. • Animal research: isolation of cervix at various stages of pregnancy to assess for cervical ripening and MMP levels • Engineering research in materials development • Work with organic dyes and electrochemistry, exploratory research • IR, UV-VIS with organic dyes(hydroxyquinones) and various metal-ligand complexes, independent exploratory research • Computing integration employing various language tools. • Data analysis of results from experiments. • Technologies used: ChemDraw, Excel, Access, Word, BLAST, ABI software. • Multivariate linear and/or logistic regression used for statistical analysis IT consultant 1999-2002, 2003 • Worked to develop business planning for software integration projects. • Employed UML and use cases to work for new and existing maintenance of software. • Created sequence diagrams, employed use case analysis, developed test cast scenarios, created language integration options. • Built interfaces and web portals, employed data modeling, project management tools, object-oriented and legacy system analysis for software integration. • Built data models for interfaces in C, C++, Java to Oracle 8i and 11i, Peoplesoft, JDEdwards, and other major financial packages for tax calculations. • Performed risk and gap analysis with resource scoping and parameter mapping. • Technologies used: Java, ASP, Visual Basic, C++, C, Oracle, Peoplesoft, JDEdwards, SAP. • Worked to define solution architecture and to develop multiple pilot integration's between external trading partners and internal SAP system. • .Development of PL/SQL scripts for reporting and web delivery • Creation of test scripts for validation, gathered functional requirements for contact services. Participated in design discussing for software integration of B2B services. • Technologies used: SQL Server, Visual Basic Wyeth 1996-1999 Scientist - R&D for Drug Discovery Contributing member to two drug discovery teams in areas focused in the development of therapeutics related to Women’s Health. Employment of high-throughput screening assay development, coordination of combichem for small molecule development of solid and liquid formulations. • Protein purification of phosphodiesterase IV (PDE IV). • Isolation of alphaIIbeta3 integrin receptor. • Creation of anti-idiotypic antibodies through PCR and cloning techniques. • Nuclear transcription assay development. • Cloning of alphaII integrin into Bluescript and expression vectors. • PCR and gene walking project with CBFAs. • RT-PCR from thyroids of animals treated with various drug leads. Design of primers for RT-PCR with organic dyes like FAM, ROX, and HEX conjugated to primers. • Development of radioactive 3H PDE IV assay. • Capillary electrophoresis for purification of small DNA fragments. • Cell culture and in vitro reporter assay development(luciferase), integration, and employment for high throughput screening. • Use of fermentors and bioreactors to produce proteins in vitro for assay development and validation. • Daily responsibilities included assay design, implementation, and validation as well as coordination or SOP’s, GMP’s within the realm of biotechnology. • In vivo animal model development and drug testing. • Communication through seminar presentations, procedure documentation, literature reviews, and coordination of data with development teams. • Maintained experimental study protocols and reports • Interacted with those in other groups for project documentation and completion • Creation of documents from database information for reporting • Training and experience in several proprietary databases and statistical programs across computer platforms. Multivariate linear and/or logistic regression employed. • Successful implementation of screening assays for SAR development for two concurrent teams. • Record keeping and data tracking through the use of proprietary database. • Assay validation protocols developed and tracked through in-house computer programs. • Data analysis and reporting on a weekly basis using Word and Excel. • Technologies used: MacVector, Word, Excel, Oracle, FoxPro. Education Andrews University July – Current Doctoral student • Development of IDP(internal development plan) • Development of Core competencies • Teaching • Scholarship • Communications • Change-Agent • Organizer • Consultant • Development of Dissertation Research in Mixed Methods • Currently in the process of developing a proposal that uses mixed-methods of study and research (qualitative and quantitative data and analysis) Penn State University, Java Certification. 2001 Penn State University, MBA, MIS 1999 Andrews University M. S. in Biology (with honors), 1990 Andrews University B.S. in Biochemistry (with honors) 1988 Professional memberships, fellowship awards/honors, selected professional publications provided upon request. CourseWork Experience  Financial and managerial accounting  Communication skills  International marketing and management  International corporate finance  Prices and markets  Financial management  Analysis of financial markets  Entrepreneurship  Programming language concepts  Systems Integration  Introduction to software engineering  Data structures  Data management of system design  Legal aspects of information technology  Management of information systems • Financial analysis of international markets, currency arbitrage, corporate turnarounds and capital investments in international and bond markets. • Case analysis of marketing strategies taken by various multinational corporations for market penetration and expansion. • Analysis of pricing structures for optimal production and growth in emerging and saturated markets. • Use case analysis of corporate technologies employed with UML. Learning strategies for requirements and specification analysis for software development • Essays on corporate responsibility, benevolent action, and management practices for employee empowerment through coursework in business ethics. • Programming projects in Microsoft SQL Server/Oracle 8i, Java 1.1, NT, C, C++. Skills  Experienced in technical management, strategic/tactical planning, product development, and contract negotiations in profit and nonprofit sectors. Worked with strategic alliances at Wyeth; worked with negotiating programs and funding on two campuses—Andrews University and the University of Notre Dame.  Led organizational management through presidency of two graduate organizations—Andrews University and the University of Notre Dame.  Performed assay development, compound testing and product development at Wyeth. Documentation and filing of information with FDA at GSK.  Performed weekly audits of materials in GXP environment and managed input of information into databases at Wyeth. Performed QC and management of documents to FDA for GSK.  Filed weekly reports on all compound testing for two programs in R&D including all QC reporting done at Wyeth. Management of several reports for FDA with GSK.  Presented testing, assay development, and research work at weekly meetings including literature reviews—Wyeth. Presentation of milestones and goals achieved at GSK.  Started and edited compilation of scholarly research for University of Notre Dame and Andrews University.  Organized seminars, graduate student orientation, fund-raising, and social events for graduate student union and graduate student association at the University of Notre Dame and Andrews University.  Served on university planning and academic committees at the University of Notre Dame and Andrews University. Technical Skills and publications provided upon request. Experience in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Molecular Biology, Software, and consulting provided upon request. 610-348-3683 or [email protected]. Rita Francis Professional Publications Gilbert, A.M., Caltabiano, S., Koehn, F. E., Chen, Z. J., Francisco, G. D., Ellingoe, J. W., Kharode, Y., Mangine, A., Francis, R., TrailSmith, M., Gralnick, D. Pyrazolopyrimidine-2,4-dione sulfonamides: novel and selective calcitonin inducers. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 45(11), 2342-5, 2002. Gilbert, A. M., Caltabiano, S., Roberts, D., Sum S. F., Francisco, G. D., Lim, K., Asselin, M., Ellingboe, J. W., Kharode, Y., Cannistraci, A., Francis, R., TrailSmith, M., Gralnick, D. Novel and selective calcitonin-inducing agents. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 43(6), 1223-33, 2000. Turner, R. T., Francis, R., Brown, D., Garand, J., Hannon, K., Bell, N. The Effects of Fluoride on Bone Implant Histomorphometry in Growing Rats. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 4, 447-483, 1989. Turner, R. T., Francis, R., and Wakley, G. K. Evidence that Progesterone Regulates Bone Formation in Rats by Antagonizing the Inhibitory Effects of Estrogen. Program Abstracts, Endocrine Society National Meeting, Seattle, WA, 1989. Turner, R. T., Francis, R., Wakley, C. K., Evans, G. L. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 4(1):S377, 1989. Turner, R. T., Colvard, D. S., Bleiberg, B., Evans, G., Francis, R., Spelsberg. T. C. Bone Metabolism on Rat Tibia is Regulated by Sex Steroids. Calcium Regulation and Bone Metabolism. Cohn, D. V., Glorieux, F. H., and Martin, T. J., editors. Elsevier Science Publishers. 1990, pp. 448-454. Posters R. P. Francis. Redox active semiquinone ligands and their coordination complexes as routes to designed materials, presented at the ACS Meeting, Boston, MA, August 2002.