John Beaber, Ph.D., PMP

Experience

• 

  Tufts University

  May 1999 - May 2004

  Graduate Student - Dr. Matthew Waldor's Lab

  - Sequenced 100 kb conjugative transposon that iswidespread in Asian Vibrio cholerae.- Utilized recombineering to perform functional genomic studies to identify genes required for regulation of its transfer, chromosomal integration and excision. - Characterized the regulatory network controlling conjugative transfor of the element and demonstrated that treatment with sublethal concentrations of Ciprofloxacin induced transfer greater than 1000-fold.

• 

  University of California, Berkeley

  Jul 2004 - Jul 2008

  Post-doctoral fellow

  - Engineered a bacterial-based anthrax vaccine strain incapable of replication capable of inducing protection in animal models.- Developed a transposon system to mutate Bacillus anthracis. - Screened transposon library for B. anthracis mutants no longer capable of secreting lethal toxin in macrophage killing assay.- Screened transposon library against typing phage to identify genes required for phage infection and replication.

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  XOMA

  Jul 2008 - Mar 2012

  Scientist

  - Produced novel helper phage to improve display levels and maximize library size in Fab and scFv phage display libraries.- Worked on a team to build two commercial scFv phage display libraries, one with a library size greater than 1011 molecules under strict deadlines.- Constructed, tested and validated vectors with improved protein display levels in scFv and Fab phage display libraries.- Developed a bacterial strain for expression of Fab and scFv molecules for large scale growth in fermentors improving consistency of growth and levels of production. Show less

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  Intrexon Corporation

  May 2012 - Jun 2017

  - Project manager and technical lead supervising all internal scientific activities with phage therapy partner, AmpliPhi, in genetically modifying bacterial hosts for production of therapeutic phage.- Led a team of scientists in construction of CAR-T viral expression vectors with RheoSwitch inducible technology.- Managed the activities of two teams including seven research associates and two Ph.D. level scientists.

  • Director, Advanced Platform Research

    Apr 2015 - Jun 2017

  • Associate Director, Advanced Platform Research

    May 2012 - Mar 2015
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  Amunix

  Jun 2017 - Jun 2019

  Associate Director, Protein Engineering

  - Project manager and technical lead for the development of two internal therapeutic programs and three in partnership with multiple top pharmaceutical companies.- Alliance Manager for three external partnerships, responsible for all communication between Amunix and partner.- Directed the discovery of new scFvs against cancer targets to develop Amunix’s pipeline utilizing CROs and partnerships.- Managed the molecular biology team of two scientists, implementing modern molecular biology procedures to generate hundreds of test constructs.- Developed and tested novel protein designs to improve the therapeutic index as well as protein stability and production for Amunix’s shielded BiTE lead molecules.- Led efforts to improve production through altering the physical properties of the antibodies to improve developability while retaining humanization. Show less

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  Augmenta Bioworks

  Aug 2019 - Aug 2020

  Associate Director, Protein Engineering

  - Engineering and construction of vectors and mutant libraries for a T-cell CAR discovery platform.- Cloned, expressed, purified and performed characterization of scFvs in Augmenta Bioworks first commercial program

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  BigHat Biosciences

  Nov 2020 - Mar 2021

  Protein Engineer

  - Developed SOPs for analyzing the melting and aggregation temperatures of antibody fragments.- Advised team on strategies for improving antibody developability.

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  Santen

  Apr 2021 - May 2022

  Research and Development Project Manager

  - Project manager for the development of four ophthalmology drug candidates in P1-P3 clinical trials - Led global team in a matrixed environment navigating trials in several countries- Managed CMC and Regulatory activities and ensured alignment with Clinical plans- Collaborated with regulatory team in the authorship of IND

• 

  Senti Biosciences

  May 2022 - Jan 2024

  Senior Project and Alliance Manager, Research and Development

  - Project manager coordinating the preclinical efforts for two novel NK-CAR cell therapy candidates- Alliance manager of two collaborations developing new expression technologies forhuman therapeutics with Spark Therapeutics and BlueRock Therapeutics

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  BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.

  Apr 2024 - now

  Senior Program Manager