Omayra Padilla De Jesus, PhD, MBA (she/her/ella)

Experience

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  Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  Jan 1992 - Jan 1992

  Student Researcher - Summer Program sponsored by ACS

  • Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry of Organic Compounds• Advisors: Dr. Robert T. Short & Dr. Peter J. Todd

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  University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus

  Jan 1994 - Jan 1995

  Undergraduate Researcher

  • Isolation and elucidation of bioactive compounds in plants• Advisor: Prof. Pedro I. Chavez

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  UC Berkeley

  Jan 1997 - Jan 1997

  Undergraduate Research Assistant - Summer Research Opportunities Program

  • Research: Organic synthesis of template for the preparation of a water-soluble host for the combinatorial study of peptide-peptide interactions.• Advisor: Prof. Paul A. Bartlett

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  University of Puerto Rico

  Jan 1997 - Jan 1998

  • Isolation and structure elucidation of novel secondary metabolites of marine invertebrates as plausible biological active agents.• Advisor: Professor Abimael D. Rodriguez

  • Undergraduate Researcher

    Jan 1995 - Jan 1998

  • Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Lab Tutor

    Jan 1997 - Jan 1997
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  UC Berkeley

  Jan 1998 - Jan 2003

  • Designed and evaluated novel active molecules for polymer therapeutics. I explored the synthesis of well-defined macromolecules for targeted drug delivery and carried out in vitro and in vivo studies of the effect of polymer architecture on biocompatibility and circulation time for polymer-drug conjugates in biological systems. This work, focused on cancer therapy, was done in collaboration with Prof. Frank C. Szoka, UCSF, School of Pharmacy and Prof. Ruth Duncan, Centre for Polymeric Therapeutics, U. of Wales, Cardiff, UK.• Mentored undergraduate student researchers Show less

  • Graduate Research Assistant

    Jan 1998 - Jan 2003

  • Graduate Student Instructor

    Jan 1998 - Jan 2001
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  GE Global Research

  Jan 2008 - Jan 2013

  2013 Assay development for pathology applications. 2010-2013 Project Leader – GE Healthcare Program• Development of consumable products for DMPK and Human Identification applications2012 Task Leader - DARPA (Government)-funded Program• Led proposal task writing and execution for awarded multimillion dollar government grant• Task: Development of new substrates chemistries for collection and stabilization of nucleic acids and proteins. Point-of-Care Diagnostics.2011 Development of new substrates for Diagnostic tools in Limited-Resources Setting.2009 • Assay development for high throughput evaluation of closed complexes via fluorescence microscopy.• Synthesis, characterization and application of antibody conjugates for affinity cell capture and release.2008 • Synthetic modification of coated magnetic beads for NA extraction applications.• Synthesis and characterization of SPIOs for MRI applications.2005-2007 Development of site-specific bioconjugation, purification, and characterization strategies to enable radiolabeling of protein-based imaging probes.2003-2005 Design, synthesis, characterization and evaluation of dual US-fluorescence imaging agent Show less

  • Founder and Program Leader of Inspire Program

    Jan 2009 - Jan 2013

  • Senior Scientist

    Jan 2003 - Jan 2013

  • Environmental Health & Safety Key Contact

    Jan 2008 - Jan 2009
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  College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering

  Mar 2014 - Aug 2014

  Community Outreach Coordinator for Children's Museum of Science and Technology

  • Developed curricula of GE-sponsored 20-week STEM Community Outreach Program for 5 educational institutions in Saratoga and Schenectady Counties. • Identified participating institutions and coordinated logistics of programing.• Developed and delivered 10-week STEM Community Outreach Programs to Albany Public Libraries.

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  The College of Saint Rose

  Aug 2014 - Jun 2018

  Adjunct Chemistry Professor

  • Led instruction of General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry laboratory sessions, and facilitated post-lecture discussions.

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  RISE HIGH Inc

  Jan 2017 - May 2022

  Founding Executive Director

  RISE HIGH's mission is to provide sustained exposure to diverse enrichment learning opportunities in STEM to under-resourced youth in our community via comprehensive approaches that address and overcome barriers to academic, personal, and wellness development.www.risehighstem.orgFB, IG, LinkedIn: @risehighinc• Designed and led the creation of new STEM education non-profit organization (501(c)3) from the ground up. Rise High Inc provided engaging high-quality multi-year programming in science for at-risk youth every Saturday. These were led by experts in the respective fields from local industry and academia. Students were supported by mentors, and common barriers to access were removed by providing food and transportation from 3 different locations in the city. • Led all efforts related to: partnership building with local academia, industry, and community organizations; student/family relationships; recruitment/training/management of volunteers; community outreach; program development/coordination; operations; internal and external communications; development of processes; training; marketing; grant-writing; and more.• Grew organization to 60 recurring students that were retained from 6th grade through 10th grade - including a 2-year period of no new student recruitment due to COVID pandemic.• Developed programming and platform to continue program delivery throughout the pandemic, and managed presential return, post-pandemic. Show less

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  Empire State Development

  Aug 2023 - Feb 2024

  Deputy Director, GO-SEMI Workforce Development
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  City Mission of Schenectady

  Apr 2024 - now

  Interim Director, Schenectady Works