Malavika Abhineshababu
Class of 2020
Employer: University of Wisconsin - Madison
Title: Graduate Student

Malavika graduated with a Bachelor of Technology in Industrial Biotechnology at Anna University, in Chennai, India. The M.S. in Biotechnology Program fits in with Malavika's career pathway plans that started with two internships through Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Her first internship studied purification of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) and immunogen design to develop potential vaccine against HIV-1. The second internship looked at three G:C base pairs in the anticodon stem of the initiator tRNA.

Malavika looks to put her molecular biology, biochemistry, and biophysics skills to work during her time in the M.S. in Biotechnology Program so that she can become a leader in biotechnology.

Mugdha Bandiwadekar
Class of 2020
Employer: Pramuk HealthCare, Mumbai, India
Title: Technical Sales Executive

Mugdha received her Bachelor of Technology in Biotechnology at Dr. B.Y. Patil University, School of Biotechnology & Bioinformatics. Mugdha has had a keen eye on the food industry for some time, and runs a small bakery service. She also pursued an internship opportunity in food testing at MicroChem Siliker Pvt Ltd. It was during this internship, where Mugdha had decided to expand upon her laboratory knowledge and move into the operational side of the industry.

Mugdha is currently a technical sales executive for Pramuk HealthCare in Mumbai, India. The knowledge and experiences from the M.S. in Biotechnology Program will allow her to become a key contributor to the Biotechnology Industry.

Joan Bunyi
Class of 2020
Employer: Covance Laboratories
Title: Reporting Associate

Joan received her bachelor's degree in biology from UW-Madison. She currently works at Covance Laboratories as a Reporting Associate. As a reporting associate, Joan works with the study direction group and produces reports for toxicology, ocular, and safety pharmacology studies. While a student, she also worked as a lab manager in the UW-Madison Structural Biology Lab and as a lead tutor for students ages 3-16.

Joan's goals include exploring the role of drug development and research within the biotechnology industry. She plans to use the knowledge gained from the program to make contributions to early drug development, becoming an ocular study director and being responsible for directing preclinical research and managing multiple projects.

Cindy Chang
Class of 2020
Employer: NCKU Research and Development Foundation
Title: Senior Manager, Industrial and International Collaboration

Cindy received her bachelor's degree in accountancy from the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan and her master's degree in accountancy from the University of Denver in Colorado. Cindy brings with her experiences as a senior manager for NCKU R&D Foundation in Taiwan where she was a leader of industrial collaborations with a number of global pharmaceutical stakeholders. Cindy is currently conducting a large animal study to mimic human chronic heart failure as part of a collaboration between the Cardiovascular Physiology Core Lab at UW-Madison and NCKU R&D Foundation in Taiwan.

Cindy's goal while in Madison is to integrate people, process, and technology to help transform the findings and research to the next levels within the biotechnology industry, including, but not limited to: IP protection, technology transfer, clinical trial initiation, and establishing start-up companies. She feels that the M.S. in Biotechnology Program will allow her to build upon her foundational scientific knowledge and confidence and ultimately strengthen her non-scientific abilities.

Divya Datla
Class of 2020
Employer: University of Wisconsin - Madison
Title: Graduate Student

Divya graduated from GITAM University with a Bachelor of Technology degree in Biotechnology. While at the university, Divya interned at Macquarie University in Australia where she was involved in a testing for antibiotic resistance in flying foxes.

Divya’s goals include utilizing her knowledge and experience in effort to discover novel and viable technologies that will proved beneficial in the field of pharmaceutical biotechnology.

Sarah Datza
Class of 2020
Employer: Covance Laboratories
Title: Associate Analytical Chemist III, Food Solutions

Sarah received her biology degree from Edgewood College and completed her capstone work researching the effects of chlorinated solvents on the tyrosine hydroxylase enzyme responsible for producing dopamine and the potential development of Parkinson's disease. She is currently working at Covance Laboratories as an Associate Analytical Chemist III on the Fat Soluble Vitamins Team. As part of the team, Sarah uses a number of platforms to extract food samples and analyze the fat soluble content. She has also been part of the First Responder Safety Team at Covance, which has provided an opportunity to find out more about all of the different departments within Covance.

Sarah plans expand her science knowledge and explore the business and regulatory aspects of the Biotechnology industry while in the M.S. in Biotechnology Program so that she can move up the career ladder and take on a management role within Covance.

Taylor Ellingson
Class of 2020
Employer: University of Wisconsin - Madison
Title: Research Specialist

Taylor is a recent graduate from UW-Madison with a degree in Psychology and is currently employed as a Research Assistant in the Landick Laboratory. Her current project works with the Small Molecule Screening Facility to identify new Mycobacterium tuberculosis RNA polymerase inhibitors. It was her work at Covance Laboratories as a Sample Coordinator that allowed Taylor to understand how a contract research organization works, and where she was also introduced to patent law.

Taylor plans to blend the laboratory, business, and law curriculum within the M.S. in Biotechnology Program so that she can utilize her passion of scientific writing and analysis as she prepares to become a patent attorney.

Steven Evelhoch
Class of 2020
Employer: Saint Mary's Hospital
Title: Surgical Physician

Steven received both his Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Dental Surgery degrees from Creighton University. He also has a Management of Healthcare degree from Vanderbilt University, and most recently received his M.B.A. from UW-Madison. He Saint Mary's Hospital as an Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon.

Steven plans on using the lessons learned from the M.S. in Biotechnology Program to further build upon his blended knowledge of medicine and biotechnology. He expects to venture out as a solid leader in both medicine and biotechnology and transition into bigger and better ways to contribute to society.

Karali Fedor
Class of 2020
Employer: Covance Laboratories
Title: Senior Research Analyst

Karali received her degree in Psychology from UW-LaCrosse where, as part of her undergraduate research, she collected and analyzed zooplankton samples to track microorganism growth and quantities. Karali currently works as a Senior Research Analyst in the Early Drug Development Division at Covance Laboratories. Her role within the Quantitative Whole Body Autoradiography sector allows her to not only perform a variety of analyses from a number of different platforms, but also develop skills in writing reports and discussing findings with study directors.

Karali knows that the M.S. in Biotechnology Program will allow her to explore and hone her knowledge in Early Drug Discovery, specifically in metabolomics and ultimately become a Study Director at Covance.

Kristy Gargulak
Class of 2020
Employer: Medical College of Wisconsin
Title: QA/QC Technician

Kristy graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Molecular Genetics and currently works as a Quality Assurance/Quality Control Technician at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Her work focuses on research and development relating to QA/QC of cGMP and GLP lentiviral vector batches.

Kristy believes that the M.S. in Biotechnology Program will allow her to develop her leadership skills so that she can apply the knowledge honed in science, business, and the law as she grows into a director role within a QA/QC department.

Tyler Gonzales
Class of 2020
Employer: Illumina
Title: Research Associate 2

Tyler received a biology degree and chemistry minor from UW-Eau Claire. He currently works at Illumina as a Research Associate 2 after spending three years at PPD as an Associate Scientist. While at PPD, he was part of a team that led a product through the entire new drug application process. This product (Bevespi Aerosphere) went on to receive FDA approval. Tyler moved on to Illumina where he has been part of the protein manufacturing team, purifying enzymes for over two years.

Tyler knows that he will be able to continue growing his skills through the M.S. in Biotechnology Program so that he can stay on top of the most current discoveries and development. These skills will allow him to become a leader within an industry that continues to be a driving catalyst for applied uses of technology discoveries.

Emily Hogoboom
Class of 2020
Employer: Covance Laboratories
Title: Pathology Study Technician II

Emily graduated from Marquette University with a degree in Biomedical Sciences. She has worked for the past year at Covance Laboratories as a Pathology Study Technician II, where she processes tissue samples for various clinical studies. Prior to joining Covance, she worked as Certified Nursing Assistant at two patient care and rehabilitation nursing centers.

Emily seeks a greater understanding of the increasing overlap between clinical patient care and the field of biotechnology as it relates to human health and therapeutic product development. Her immediate goal is to develop cross-functional knowledge of biotechnology as it serves the healthcare industry, with the potential long term goal of becoming a doctor or physician assistant.

Ethan McLeod
Class of 2020
Employer: FUJIFILM - Cellular Dynamics Incorporated
Title: Research Specialist

Ethan graduated from UW-Madison with a degree in genetics and double minors in computer science and stem cell studies. During his undergraduate coursework, Ethan also worked for Dr. Slukvin, as well as Gene Uenishi's laboratories. It was here where he was able to ask many questions and learn stem cell differentiation techniques. He currently is a Research Specialist for FUJIFILM-Cellular Dynamics, Inc., where he is responsible for all in vivo mouse testing and mouse maintenance.

Ethan's ultimate goal is to start his own company. He believes that the M.S. in Biotechnology Program and the uniquely tailored biotechnology industry courses of science, business, and the law will be integral to jump starting his career aspirations.

Adrian Mikol
Class of 2020
Employer: Catalent Pharma Solutions
Title: Process & Cleaning Validation Specialist

Adrian received her degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with a Biomolecular Sciences Concentration from North Carolina State University. She currently is a QA Validation Specialist at Catalent Pharma Solutions where she works closely with three different teams (process development, manufacturing sciences, and production) all working together to develop a process and cleaning validation program for the site.

Adrian looks forward to exploring the education opportunities within the M.S. in Biotechnology Program so that she can develop her technical skills in the industry; expand her leadership skills; and build upon the business and law aspects so that she can continue to provide unique perspectives needed to be an active contributor and collaborator within the biotechnology industry.

Nandini Nallappan
Class of 2020
Employer: University of Wisconsin - Madison
Title: Graduate Student

Nandini graduated from SRM Institute of Science and Technology with a Bachelor of Technology degree in Genetic Engineering. Her research projects included working on drug development and screening of KCa3.1 channel blocker under Dr. Yanxia for NMRC. She was also able to work on projects in collaboration with the Singapore Institute of Immunology.

Nandini believes that the M.S. in Biotechnology will allow her to build upon her current knowledge and develop more skills on the business side of the industry. In this way, she will be able to become a competitive leader within the industry.

Shrinidhi Navale
Class of 2020
Employer: University of Wisconsin - Madison
Title: Graduate Student

Shrinidhi recently received her Bachelor of Engineering in Biotechnology degree from Visvesvaray Technology University Belgaum, in India after studying at KLE Technological University (previously B.V. Bhoomaraddi College of Engineering and Technology). As part of her undergraduate program, Shrinidhi participated in several internships and academic projects. These include working at SDM Institute of Medical Sciences and Hospital and the Central Research Institute (CRI) in Kasauli, Himachalpradesh.

Shrinidhi is looking forward to exploring the theoretical and applied nature of the M.S. in Biotechnology Program. Her goal is to expand her knowledge in regulatory affairs and drug discovery so that she can align her knowledge and skills in order to become a productive biotechnology leader.

Austin Oliphant
Class of 2020
Employer: Exact Sciences
Title: Senior Research Associate I

Austin received dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Biochemistry and Spanish from the University of Tampa. He currently is working at Exact Sciences as a Senior Research Associate I where he is primarily involved in developing molecular-based assays, detecting targets of interest from samples of liquid biopsy origin and identifying process improvements and efficiencies. As a collaborator, Austin is also involved in training and mentoring junior and incoming scientists on complex technologies.

Austin's goal is to become a critical leader focused on scientific and business strategies within the biotechnology industry. He knows that the M.S. in Biotechnology Program will allow him to explore how to successfully meet and solve the complex scientific, business, and legal challenges that the biotechnology sector faces every day.

Nikhil Pereira
Class of 2020
Employer: Eurofins Scientific
Title: Microbiologist

Nikhil graduated from UW-Madison with a bachelor's degree in microbiology. He currently works at Covance as a microbiologist where he sets up samples for clients for performing diagnostics, reporting on the data and codifying pathologenic information. Recently, Nikhil added the role of programming the LIMS system, which has allowed him to learn coding, as well as improve the lab's efficiently.

Nikhil expects to expand his functional knowledge of biotechnology and utilize his education within the M.S. in Biotechnology Program to eventually start his own company. He is looking forward to working with all of his fellow classmates to practice learning what it takes to create and market technologies that add value to human life.

Matthew Piotrowiak
Class of 2020
Employer: Covance Laboratories
Title: Study Technician

Matthew received his bachelor of science degree in biology from Illinois Wesleyan University in Illinois. He currently is a Study Technician in the In-Life Operations area at Covance, where he works with study directors and staff veterinarians in order to meet high standards for animal welfare and ensure study compliance and good laboratory practices.

Matthew intends to use the lessons learned from the M.S. in Biotechnology Program to further explore the drug development process. By gaining knowledge and skills, Matthew looks to move up the Animal Operations career pathway to become a study coordinator or toxicologist, and ultimately a study director or more.

Daniel Pirsch
Class of 2020
Employer: Catalent Pharma Solutions
Title: Assistant Scientist

Daniel received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology at the University of Minnesota and has followed that up with two certificates in biotechnology and stem cell technologies. He currently works at Catalent as an Assistant Scientist in Upstream Process Development. Prior to his work at Catalent, Daniel worked in R&D at Platypus Technologies.

Daniel is focused on continuing his contribution to provide new knowledge and technologies to the biotechnology industry. He expects the M.S. in Biotechnology Program to help him blend his knowledge of the skills required in operations and regulations. He also looks forward to expanding his network of peers, faculty, and alumni, and to playing a bigger role in a larger scientific community.

Jacqueline Rodriguez
Class of 2020
Employer: Bioriginal (Wisconsin Specialty Protein)
Title: Quality Assurance Laboratory Technician

Jacqueline graduated from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez with a Bachelor's degree in Biology. She currently is a Quality Assurance Laboratory Technician at Bioriginal.

During her prior work at a dairy facility, she was introduced to a small manufacturing plant that produced specialty products to domestic and international infant formula companies. Following on this early experience, Jacqueline's future plans are to make a difference in industrial food production and its scalability.

She believes that the M.S. in Biotechnology Program will allow her to understand the vital trends of the industry and further develop her communication skills so that she can be an integral part of biotechnology operations.

Serge Romero
Class of 2020
Employer: Exact Sciences
Title: Change Management Specialist

Serge is an Organizational Change Management Specialist at Exact Sciences. In this role he helps prepare, equip, and support people through change so that company initiatives, and the organization as a whole are more successful. He combines his experience in organizational change management with knowledge of processes, systems, and analytics to drive client success.

Serge has entered the M.S. in Biotechnology Program to gain hands-on knowledge of the scientific foundations underpinning biotechnology, as well as understand how biotechnology companies develop business strategies to successfully market their products to global audiences.

Tanner Ruechel
Class of 2020
Employer: Promega Corporation
Title: Production Scientist

Tanner graduated with a degree in Biology with a Molecular and Genetics Emphasis at UW-Platteville. He also received a post-baccalaureate certificate in Biotechnology at Madison College. Currently, Tanner is working at Promega as a Production Scientist II, where he is responsible for the manufacturing and quality control of over 100 quality products.

As a production scientist, Tanner's goals are to strengthen his background in the legal, regulatory, and marketing aspects of launching a product. The M.S. in Biotechnology Program will enhance his communication skills through regular team interaction and dive into innovative ways to improve upon existing processes and product lines.

Shivani Saxena
Class of 2020
Employer: University of Wisconsin - Madison
Title: Graduate Student

Shivani graduated with a Bachelor of Technology degree from Banasthali University in India where she was able to participate in a tissue engineering and cell culture department at the Indian Institute of Technology as an intern. Shivani plans on continuing her career pursuits in biotechnology as well as nanotechnology.

Shivani looks forward to expanding her knowledge and experiences through the M.S. in Biotechnology Program's multidisciplinary approach of blending science, business, and ethics. This cross-functional knowledge will allow her to meet innovations head on.

Adithi Thangaraju
Class of 2020
Employer: University of Wisconsin - Madison
Title: Graduate Student

Adithi is a recent graduate of Shiv Nadar University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biotechnology. As an undergraduate, Adithi was a research intern for the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in India, where she was part of a team that studied the structure and functional relationship of the enzyme Mycobacterium tuberculosis FACL13.

Through her experience with the M.S. in Biotechnology Program, she expects to gain further knowledge and experience so that she can continue to blend the laboratory and professional leadership workspaces in the biotechnology industry.

Samuel Arndt
Class of 2019
Employer: DuPont Probiotics and Nutrition
Title: Culture Plant Production Process Operator

Samuel L. Arndt (B.S., Agricultural Business Management, UW-Platteville) is currently at DuPont Nutritional and Health where he is a Production Process Operator that produces a variety of bacterial cultures used in cheese, yogurt, and probiotics. Most recently, Samuel has expanded his role by working the quality control lab within the DuPont plant.

Samuel looks to use his academic plan in the M.S. of Biotechnology Program to achieve his short term goals to grow and advance within the culture development area at Dupont, as well as his long terms goal of becoming a head research scientist and technology leader at a global agricultural company. While at UW-Platteville, Samuel spent a semester abroad in Dronten, Netherlands where he studied European Union Structural Funds Management.

Pooja Bandawane
Class of 2019
Title: Graduate Student

Pooja Dnyaneshwar Bandawane (M.Sc., Applied Microbiology, Vellor Institute of Technology (VIT), Tamil Nadu, India) has been working as a research trainee at the Indian Institute of Science in the areas of Molecular Genetics and Developmental Biology as part of her coursework. Pooja has also been an intern at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, India where she was able to broaden her knowledge and experience in the drug development process on an industrial scale.

Upon graduating from the M.S. in Biotechnology Program, Pooja expects to use her knowledge and experiences in both India and the U.S. to shape her dream of becoming an entrepreneur within the Biotechnology industry.

Robert Boyle
Class of 2019
Employer: BBI Solutions (Madison)
Title: Product Development Lead

Robert F. Boyle, Jr. (B.S., Biology, UW-Whitewater) is a Product Development Lead at BBI Detection where he oversees all product development projects, ensures deadlines, and maintains quality and design controls within the department. Robert has moved up within BBI over the last eight years where he started as a production scientist. Robert's experience provides him with knowledge in Lateral Flow Immunoassays, and thorough understanding of ISO 13485, 9001, and 13485.

At BBI, Roberts introduced a synthetic process that led to the elimination of outsourcing colloidal gold, allowing for a significant reduction in the per unit costs of manufactured tests. Robert has also been responsible for commercializing five products at BBI that lead to millions of dollars in profits for BBI; conducting proof-of-principle work that compared novel nanocrystal technology to colloidal gold as a visual indicator in lateral flow immunoassay detection; collaborated with a prototyping company to develop a battery powered, modular cell lysis and DNA extraction cartridge.

Robert looks to blend his manufacturing knowledge at BBI with the business, regulatory, and laboratory experiences from the M.S. in Biotechnology Program to become a strong leader in the biotechnology industry. His goals are to focus on innovation, customer diversity, expanding the product portfolio, and acquiring FDA certification.

Roy Du
Class of 2019
Employer: Catalent
Title: Quality Control Associate

Roy Du (B.S. Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is a Quality Control Associate at Catalent Pharma Solutions where he works on quality specifications for test development methods and equipment qualifications to maintain Good Manufacturing Practice standards. Prior to working at Catalent, he worked with a variety of laboratories in both Urbana, Illinois and Shanghai, China as a research assistant, intern, and team member.

Roy expects his current experience to grow with each course within the M.S. in Biotechnology Program so that he can become an industry leader. He believes his leadership skills will develop through working with diverse people who bring with them specific areas of expertise and passion in developing and producing quality products.

Katie Field (Burkholder)
Class of 2019
Employer: Covance, Inc.
Title: Study Technician II

Kathrine (Katie) Burkholder (B.S., Biology, Calvin College) is a Study Technician II at Covance. As part of the Ocular Specialty group, Katie runs toxicology studies for pre-clinical stage drug testing. She is responsible for collecting and managing data from primary observations, test material administration, and clinical sample collection. Additionally, she is responsible for providing client communication, quality checks, and managing data collection and QA audit responses.

Katie is looking forward to being a part of the M.S. in Biotechnology Program to expand her knowledge and advance her career at Covance. She said it best in her admissions statement: "this program will make me better at my job, and my job will make me a better student."

Anaga Gopalakrishnan
Class of 2019
Title: Graduate Student

Anaga Devi Gopalakrishnan (B.Tech., Biotechnology, PSG College of Technology, India) is looking to apply her skills and knowledge from her academic program in India and merge them into the new knowledge and skills learned in the M.S. in Biotechnology Program.

Amanda Hrabovsky
Class of 2019
Employer: Covance, Inc.
Title: Study Technician

Amanda L. Hrabovsky (B.S., Zoology & Environmental Studies, UW-Madison) is a Senior Study Technician at Covance Laboratories. She works within the InLife Operations department at Covance where she is the lead technician in four studies of immunocompromised animals. The pilot studies were the first of their kind at Covance and involved performing optical coherence tomography on stem cells living on scaffolds in the subretinal space of a rat eye.

Upon graduating from the M.S. in Biotechnology Program, Amanda knows that she will be using her expanded knowledge and skills to confidently become a scientific colleague and oversee studies at Covance.

Kenyon Koeper
Class of 2019
Employer: Pharmaceutical Product Development, LLC (PPD)
Title: Senior Project Manager

Kenyon H. Koeper (B.S., Chemistry, University of Alabama) is a Senior Project Manager in Biopharmaceuticals at Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) where he mentors the Biopharmaceutical group to complete large molecule projects. In addition, he acts as the primary contact for international clients; reviews proposals and provides pricing; and maintains the Biopharmaceutical department's revenue and forecasting metrics. In 2013, Kenyon received the CEO Performance Excellence Award at PPD. The award recognizes employees that delivers world class quality and customer service; makes substantial contributions to PPD; or develops innovative ideas to improve business processes.

Kenyon has a passion for how large molecules are developed and used within pharma and biotechnology. Upon graduating from the M.S. in Biotechnology Program, Kenyon plans on providing even greater impact on the developmental pipelines because of his knowledge of the business, legal, and regulatory aspects to both large pharma and small biotech companies.

Tiffany Lee
Class of 2019
Employer: Accuray
Title: Product Surveillance Specialist

Tiffany H. Lee (B.S., Bioengineering, University of the Pacific) is currently working as a Product Surveillance Specialist at Accuray in Madison, Wisconsin. Here, Tiffany does post-market quality surveillance and investigations. Tiffany's educational background in bioengineering is paired with two minors in applied mathematics and engineering management. As part of her undergraduate work, Tiffany was able to take part in of a number of projects. Her senior project, Sound Lounge, developed an inexpensive method to evaluate the level of hearing loss for individuals in developing countries. This project won first place in the Bioengineering Senior Project Day and she also submitted the project under the name EON to VentureWell's BME idea national competition in 2016.

Ben Martin
Class of 2019
Employer: Covance, Inc.
Title: Pathology Lead Technician

Benjamin L. Martin (B.S. Biochemistry, Winona State University) is currently a Pathology Study Technician II and a member of the advanced solution preparation team at Covance Laboratories. Benjamin also brings graduate work in Chemical Biology from Purdue, where he was worked on confirmation of substrate binding site of Ste14p through site directed mutagenesis in effort to better develop drugs to target pancreatic cancer. Benjamin not only has experiences in membrane proteins, mammalian cell culture, and molecular cloning, but also has been a teaching assistant in chemistry.

Benjamin sees his prior academic work as a strong background to blend with biotechnology. Most recently, Benjamin has been chosen to a be a Lead Technician Apprentice. These accomplishments along with graduating from the M.S. in Biotechnology Program will allow Benjamin to achieve another milestone, that of Study Director at Covance.

Mollie McArthur
Class of 2019
Employer: Covance, Inc.
Title: Study Technician

Mollie McArthur (B.S., Biomedical Science, UW-River Falls) is currently working as a Study Technician at Covance Laboratories. Prior to Covance, Mollie worked at Eurofins Biodiagnostics laboratory in River Falls, Wisconsin as a lab assistant testing seeds for plant health. As part of her undergraduate education, Mollie did a semester abroad in Taiwan to study Chinese medicine and heart failure as well as worked with Plantables where she worked on finding different soil substrates for wild flowers and in hopes to active native pollinators.

Mollie hopes to advance her knowledge of drug design processes as she grows in her career pathway in Study Direction at Covance.

Madison Porter
Class of 2019
Employer: Covance, Inc.
Title: Analyst II

Madison T. Porter (B.S., Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana) is currently working at Covance Laboratories as an Analyst I and represents the Dose Analysis department in Quality Assurance cross-department meetings. Madison sees himself applying his knowledge of cultural awareness in the laboratory, often acting as liaison and negotiating compromises that adhere to policy and maintaining data integrity.

Madison seeks to use his education in the M.S. in Biotechnology to build and reinforce his analytic abilities in effort to provide excellent services to all of his clients.

Marcelo Rodrigues
Class of 2019
Employer: UCB - Uzinas Chimicas Brasileiras S/A
Title: CEO

Marcelo Brunini Rodrigues (MD, MBA, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and Fundacao Dom Cabral (FDC), Brazil) runs a century-old company, UCBVET, one of the ten Brazilian veterinary pharmaceutical companies that was started by his great grandfather. Today the UCBVET team consists of qualified professionals (veterinarians, pharmacists, chemists, biologists, and animal scientists) to provide veterinary therapeutics, anti-parasite, and antimicrobials.

Marcelo's plan upon graduating from the M.S. in Biotechnology Program is to add new molecular technologies into UCBVET in effort to develop and expand new product lines.

Ernesto Rodriguez
Class of 2019
Employer: Covance, Inc.
Title: Study Technician

Ernesto Rodriguez (B.S., Biologic Sciences, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois) is a Study Technician I in the Safety Assessment department at Covance Laboratories where he monitors and documents test administration and sample collection ensuring that they meet good laboratory practice and adherence with animal laboratory compliance.

Ernesto plans to use his education in the M.S. in Biotechnology to grow his career in clinical research within Covance, acquiring greater responsibilities and refining his leadership skills to ultimately expand into drug and therapy development.

Bryan Rutsch
Class of 2019
Employer: Kirkland & Ellis, LLP
Title: Attorney

Bryan Rutsch (J.D., University of Wisconsin, Law School; B.S., Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison) currently works as an Intellectual Property Attorney at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Chicago, Illinois providing counsel to clients in all aspects of their intellectual property portfolios, with particular emphasis on complex litigation work. Prior to that Bryan was with Abbott Laboratories where he worked as an Advanced HIV Product Specialist.

Bryan's goals include utilizing new found knowledge and experiences from the M.S. in Biotechnology program, along with his prior work in law and biochemistry and shift his career to become a biotechnology consultant for a consulting/private equity/venture capital firm.

Ashley Sanner
Class of 2019
Employer: Catalent
Title: Analytical Chemist

Ashley Sanner (B.S., Biology, UW-Whitewater) currently works as an Assistant Scientist, a promotion from Laboratory Associate in the area of Analytical Development at Catalent Pharma Solutions. Ashley's department is responsible in executing the analytical testing for all research and process development activities. Ashley started her biotechnology career as an Assistant Scientist at PPD, LLC.

Ashley expects that the M.S. in Biotechnology program will allow her to continue learning about the industry and ultimately become an expert in analytical services for biologics, working on molecules that save lives.

Lavanya Saxena
Class of 2019
Title: Graduate Student

Lavanya Saxena (B. Tech, Biotechnology, Thapar University, India) is currently a Research Assistant at MEMS, Bigtec Labs, in Bangalore, India where worked in the area of molecular biology and nano-chemistry. One of Lavanya's projects at Bigtec includes working on magnetic nano-particles for use in nucleic acid extraction devices, with the goal of developing a rapid and simultaneous detection assay for a variety of bacterial agents.

Upon graduation from the M.S. in Biotechnology Program, Lavanya hopes to establish herself as a leader who will play a role in shaping the growth of the biotech industry.

Christina Scofield
Class of 2019
Employer: PPD
Title: Scientist

Christina K. Schofield (B.S., Health Science, Aurora University, Aurora, Illinois) is working as a Scientist at Luminex Corporation where she performs validations and specifications for a variety of different products. Prior to working at Luminex, Christina served as HPLC Chemist and R&D Technical Writer at Wockhardt Pharmaceuticals in Morton Grove, Illinois.

Christina will use her M.S. in Biotechnology degree throughout her career pathway in biotechnology and quest to remain a life-long learner.

Chengang Shen
Class of 2019
Title: Graduate Student

Chengang Shen (B.S. Pharmacy, Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, China) is working on his final project: Liposomal Formulation of NIR Absorbing Chromophores at Wuhan University.

Chengang is planning on using his M.S. in Biotechnology degree to advance his career in drug production and research.

Candace Tang
Class of 2019
Title: Graduate Student

Chin-Ju 'Candace' Tang (B.S., Biotechnology from Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan) currently works as a Research Assistant at the Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica in Taiwan. She is part of the team developing a method to identify ligands of Siglec proteins, and have established a platform to label Siglec ligands.

Candace hopes to work in a clinical medical laboratory upon completing the M.S. in Biotechnology program.

Kavita Tirumale
Class of 2019
Title: Graduate Student

Kavita Tirumale (B. Tech, Biotechnology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India) was an intern at several places while an undergraduate at VIT including Strides Shasun, a pharmaceutical company, and Biocon, a large biopharmaceutical company in India where she performed biocompatibility studies for insulins using a variety of platforms.

Kavita plans on using her knowledge and experience in the M.S. in Biotechnology program and apply them in the area of genetic engineering so that she may contribute to the field of biopharmaceutical research.

Sree Tumuluru
Class of 2019
Title: Graduate Student

Sree S. Tumuluru (B. Tech, Biotechnology, Sreenidhi Institute of Science and Technology, India) interned in the Department of Pharmacy at Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India.

Upon graduating from the M.S. in Biotechnology, Sree aspires to initiate a start-up biotechnology company that develops effective treatment for cancer and other diseases.

Sabrina Valencia
Class of 2019
Employer: Roche NimbleGen, Inc.
Title: Manufacturing Technician

Sabrina Valencia (B.S., Biochemistry, Lawrence University) is currently a manufacturing technician at Roche Sequencing Solutions.

Sabrina expects that completing her M.S. in Biotechnology will lead her career path of project management, and the application of biotechnology within the fields of disease prevention and management.