Research Biologist

Samuel C.
Fehling, PhD

Research Biologist.

Designed over 30 precise direct sample addition polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products at BioGX, contributed to the advancement of pharmaceutical research at BioCryst.

Driven & Passionate.

Creating novel, versatile & reliable strategies for diagnosing & treating rare diseases, with a dedicated focus on advancing disease diagnostic & therapeutic approaches

Experienced.

Extensive 10-year background in academic & industry labs encompassing molecular dynamic simulations, in vitro & in vivo drug efficacy testing, murine & patient-derived xenograft models, cultivation of primary cell culture lines & expertise in PCR.

Education

University of Wisconsin
– Eau Claire

Bachelor of Science: Biochemistry / Molecular Biology

University of Alabama
at Birmingham

Doctor of Philosophy: Biomedical Sciences / Cancer Biology

Employment at BioCryst

December 2022 to Present

In Vitro Pharmaceutical Research

Design, validate & conduct in vitro biological and immunological assays for the pharmacological characterization of new small molecule drug candidates

In Vivo Pharmaceutical Research

Design & conduct in vivo studies for evaluating new drug candidates and current investigational drugs for efficacy in disease models & pharmacokinetics in rodents

Employment at BioGX

February 2020 to December 2022

Research

Developing molecular diagnostic assays for custom order as well as FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) approved products

Innovation

Investigating novel approaches to direct sample addition PCR for diagnostic purposes, eliminating the need for sample extractions to save time & money

Quality Control

Inspecting, testing, measuring & validating the quality of outgoing materials / products

Quantitative Risk Assessment

Using data obtained by Quality Control to determine any potential risk or hazards in releasing the product to customers

Data Analysis

Modeling data to obtain an accurate & statistically relevant understanding during assay development to make data driven decisions

Training

Guiding new BioGX personnel on assay design & development, instrument use & data analysis so they can hit the ground running

Professional Skills

Constantly Learning. Passionate.

Murine Mouse Models

Experienced with athymic nude & C57BL/6 mice, oral gavage, Intraperitoneal (IP) injection & patient derived xenograft (PDX) models.

In Vitro / Primary Cell Culture

Utilizing commercially available cell culture lines & developing novel primary cell culture lines from patient tumors.

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

Qualified in PCR platforms including BD MAX, Thermo Fisher QuantStudio, Bio-Rad CFX, ABI 7500, SmartCycler & BioGX Pixl.

Publications

11 Peer-Reviewed Articles. 340+ Citations.

“BET Inhibition Decreases HMGCS2 and Sensitizes Resistant Pancreatic Tumors to Gemcitabine”

HMG-CoA synthase 2 (HMGCS2) is overexpressed in gemcitabine-resistant pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and contributes to drug resistance and metastasis. Inhibiting HMGCS2 with JQ1 sensitizes PDAC cells to gemcitabine and causes tumor regression, highlighting it as a promising therapeutic target.

“The Combination of BET and PARP Inhibitors is Synergistic in Models of Cholangiocarcinoma”

BET inhibitor JQ1 enhances the sensitivity of tumor cells to PARP inhibitors, which are selectively toxic to cells harboring relatively high levels of DNA damage

“FTY720 Enhances the Anti-Tumor Activity of Carboplatin and Tamoxifen in a Patient-Derived Xenograft Model of Ovarian Cancer”

FTY720 in combination with carboplatin or tamoxifen induced ovarian tumor regressions & was concomitant with increases in intracellular proapoptotic lipid ceramide. These combinations may be effective in treating ovarian tumors

“A Comparative Study of All-atom Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Coarse-grained Normal Mode Analysis in Identifying Pre-existing Residue Interaction Networks that Promote Coupled-Domain Dynamics in Escherichia coli Methionyl-tRNA Synthetase”

Dynamic information obtained from the coarse-grained normal mode analysis is comparable to the atomistic molecular dynamics simulations in predicting the interaction networks that are essential for promoting coupled-domain dynamics in E. coli MetRS

“Comparison of Intrinsic Dynamics of Cytochrome p450 Proteins Using Normal Mode Analysis”

Normal mode analysis characterized the intrinsic dynamics of five classes of cytochrome P450 proteins & identified that cytochrome P450 enzymes share a strong dynamic similarity despite the low sequence identity (< 25%)

“The BET Inhibitor JQ1 Augments the Antitumor Efficacy of Gemcitabine in Preclinical Models of Pancreatic Cancer”

BET inhibitor JQ1 with gemcitabine demonstrates synergistic efficacy in pancreatic cancer by selectively inhibiting proteins related to cholesterol biosynthesis & lipid metabolism, supporting the potential for further investigation in treatment

“The BET Inhibitor JQ1 Attenuates Double Strand Break Repair and Sensitizes Models of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma to PARP Inhibitors”

DNA repair deficiency accumulates DNA damage and sensitizes pancreatic tumor cells to PARP inhibitors

“MicroRNA-31 is Required for Astrocyte Specification”

microRNA-31 promotes astrocyte development by reducing the levels of Lin28, a stem cell factor implicated in NPC renewal. Deletions of miR-31 may disrupt astrocyte development and/or homeostasis

“Loss of SOCS3 in Myeloid Cells Prolongs Survival in a Syngeneic Model of Glioma”

SOCS3-deficient bone marrow-derived macrophages display enhanced & prolonged expression of pro-inflammatory M1 cytokines when exposed to glioma tumor cell conditioned medium in vitro. We identified that deletion of SOCS3 in the myeloid cell population delays intracranial tumor growth and increases survival of mice bearing orthotopic glioma tumors in vivo

“Loss of Tumor Suppressive microRNA-31 Enhances TRADD/NF-κB Signaling in Glioblastoma”

We have determined that miR-31 expression is compromised in >72% of all glioblastomas, and for patients, this predicts significantly shortened survival times. microRNA-31 inhibits NF-κB and, upon reintroduction, microRNA-31 significantly reduces tumor burden and lengthens survival times in animal models

“Probing the Global and Local Dynamics of Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases using All–Atom and Coarse-Grained Simulations”

Coarse-grained normal mode analysis of all-atom & coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations for three aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases capture the functionally relevant substrate-induced dynamical changes in prolyl-tRNA synthetase and highlight the positive & negatives of each computational approach

Self Taught Skills

Cross-Disciplinary Studies.

Computers & Technology

Proficient in computer building, advanced network design (pfSense, Ubiquiti, NTP, DNS, VLANs, HAProxy, IDS/IDP & VPN), Home Assistant automation, command-line interfaces, Linux, Docker, Stable Diffusion & Raspberry Pi. This website is self-hosted on my personal Raspberry Pi 4.

DJI & First-Person View (FPV) Drones

Pilot skilled in operating DJI drones for photography / videography & FPV drones for acrobatics / stunts. Competent in ad-hoc electronic repairs such as wiring & soldering.

Photography & Photo Editing

Accomplished photographer with expertise in Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom, adept in mirrorless, smartphone, and drone photography. Achieved sales of 95+ stock photos on Shutterstock & Getty

Travel & Culture

Exploring The World. Expanding My Horizons.