SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS:

• MS in neuroscience; BS/BA in biology and chemistry.
• 10+ years research experiences in wide range of disciplines including biochemistry, pharmacology, electrophysiology, immunohistochemistry and behavioral testing, as well as clinical studies. See list of expertise.
• Proficient in computer applications and statistics. Also trained in organic and physical chemistry.
• I am a quick learner and conscientious worker, and enjoy a multi-disciplinary collaborative environment.

EDUCATION:

• Masters of Science, in Neuroscience/Physiology (December 1994) State University of New York Health Science Center, Syracuse NY
• Bachelor of Arts, in Biology (May 1990) Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma WA
• Bachelor of Science, in Chemistry (May 1990) Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma WA

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE:

• (February 2002 - present) Investigator, Research Pharmacology, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc, Cambridge, MA
  • Implement primary cortical and hippocampal cultures for in vitro screening of drug compounds
  • Design and validate primary glial culture for CNS inflammation studies
  • Investigate biomarkers for various neurological diseases with Western blots and immunohistochemistry
  • Coordinate and evaluate CRO studies
• (September 1997 - February 2002) Associate Research Scientist, Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Wallingford CT
  • Animal pharmacology research for Alzheimer's Disease
• (January 1995 - September 1997) Research Support Specialist, Dept. Medicine, SUNY Health Science Center, Syracuse NY
  • Role of protein kinase C in acid secretion in parietal cells
  • Effects of various nutrient supplements on experimental ulcerative gastritis and enterocolitis in rats and mice
  • Correlation of several clinical indices in chronic hepatitis C
• (September 1990 - December 1994) Graduate Student, Program in Neuroscience, SUNY Health Science Center, Syracuse NY
  • Electrophysiology and anatomy of the aging rat olfactory mucosa [Master dissertation]
  • Olfactory detection threshold of rats: a behavioral study
  • Medical neuroanatomy [Teaching assistant]
  • Classical conditioning of the cat spinal reflex: an electrophysiological study
  • Visual learning and memory in monkey: a behavioral and anatomical study
• (September 1989 - May 1990) Research assistant, Dept. Biology, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma WA
  • Photosynthesis and water relations of Plantego major and Plantego lanceolata
• (September 1989 -May 1990) Senior undergraduate thesis, Dept. Chemistry, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma WA
  • Electron paramagnetic resonance study of bis(ethylammonium)-dibromodichloro-cuprate(II)

EXPERTISE:

• Primary hippocampal and cortical neuronal and glial culture, retroviral infection, in vitro study design and drug screening.
• Surgery on mice, rats, rabbits, cats & monkeys, including sterile stereotaxic surgery and microinjection in rodents.
• Drug dosing in rodents, including p.o., i.v., i.p. and s.c. routes; cardiac perfusion, cerebrospinal fluid collection and tissue harvest.
• Cell extraction; enzyme activity assay; protein purification & assay; immuno-precipitation; gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE & isoelectric-focusing gel); Western blot; autoradiography, ELISA.
• Maintain patient records & handling of diseased human blood samples, certified by Roche Biomedical Labs to run diagnostic PCR (polymerase chain reaction).
• Electrophysiological recording with electrodes & voltage-sensitive dyes. Exposure to MRI & video imaging.
• Perfusion & immunohistochemistry; paraffin & cryosectioning; light microscopy; photography & image analysis.
• Behavioral training of mice, rat & monkey; designing & trouble-shooting training & testing apparatus.
• Identification & growing of plants; extraction & preparation of sample; column dialysis; agarose gel electrophoresis; histological staining; spectrophotometry; densitometry.
• Synthesis of organic compounds; electron spin resonance spectrometry; structure determination; exposure to NMR & IR spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy.
• Presentation of lecture & private tutor to medical & graduate students; supervise research of medical fellows.
• Data analysis & statistics.

• Loo,A., S.Youngentob, P.Kent & J.Schwob (1996) The aging olfactory epithelium: neurogenesis, response to damage, and odorant-induced activity. Int. J. Dev. Neurosci. 14(7/8):881-900. Abstract 1
• Reedy, D.W., J.Nandi, A.Loo, H.Mahoney & R.A.Levine (1996) Parallelism of serum HCV-RNA and ALT levels during breakthrough and/re relapse in patients treated with alpha-interferon for chronic hepatitis C. Hepatology 24(4)Pt 2:565A. Abstract 2
• Sukumar,P., A.Loo, E.Magur, J.Nandi, A.Oler & R.A.Levine (1997) Dietary supplementation of nucleotides and arginine promotes healing of small bowel ulcers in experimental enterocolitis. Dig. Dis. Sci. 42:1530-1536. Abstract 3
• Nandi,J., A.Loo & R.A.Levine (1997) An endogenous activator protein of H+,K+-ATPase regulates acid secretion in isolated rabbit gastric glands. Gastroenterology 112(4):A231. Abstract 4
• Reedy,D.W., A.Loo & R.A.Levine (1998) AST/ALT ratio >=1 is not diagnostic of cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Dig. Dis. Sci. 43(9):2156-2159. Abstract 5
• Nandi,J., A.Loo, S.Kim & R.A.Levine (1999) Expression and characterization of protein kinase C in isolated rabbit parietal cells. Int. J. Molecular Medicine 3(5):521-526. Abstract 6
• Sukumar,P., A.Loo, R.Aldophe, J.Nandi, A.Oler & R.A.Levine (1999) Dietary nucleotides augment dextran sulfate sodium-induced distal colitis in rats. J. Nutrition. 129:1377-1381. Abstract 7

PRESENTATIONS:

• Nandi,J., A.Loo, S.Kim & R.A.Levine (May 1996) Protein kinase C expression and translocation in isolated rabbit parietal cells. 96th Annual meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association, San Francisco, CA.
• Sukumar,P., E.Magur, A.Loo, A.Oler, J.Nandi & R.A.Levine (May 1996) Enteral feeding of nucleotides promotes healing of small bowel ulcers in a rat model of ulcerative ileitis. 96th Annual meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association, San Francisco, CA.
• Reedy, D.W., A.T.Loo & R.A.Levine (November 1996) Serum HCV-RNA, ALT levels and AST/ALT ratio do not predict severity of liver disease in chronic hepatitis C virus infection. 47th Annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, Chicago, IL.
• Reedy, D.W., J.Nandi, A.T.Loo, H.Mahoney & R.A.Levine (November 1996) Parallelism of serum HCV-RNA and ALT levels during breakthrough and/or relapse in patients treated with alpha- interferon for chronic hepatitis C. 47th Annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, Chicago, IL.
• Nandi,J., A.Loo & R.A.Levine (May 1997) An endogenous activator protein of H+,K+-ATPase regulates acid secretion in isolated rabbit gastric glands. 97th Annual meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association, Washington, DC.
• Sukumar,P., A.T.Loo, R.Adolphe, J.Nandi, A.Oler & R.A.Levine (May 1997) Effect of enteral feeding of nucleotides and arginine in dextran sulfate sodium-induced ulcerative colitis in rats. 97th Annual meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association, Washington, DC.
• Loo,A., J.Corsa & D.Barten (May 1998) Determination of dosing regimen for drug testing in mice - specificity and correlation of various assays. Ninth annual Wallingford scientific symposium, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Wallingford, CT.
• Loo,A., V.Guss, J.Corsa & D.Barten (May 1999) Quantitation of beta-amyloid protein in mouse cerebrospinal fluid. Tenth annual Wallingford scientific symposium, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Wallingford, CT.
• Thakur,A., D.Barten, A.Loo, M.Zheng & K.Raghavan (May 2000) Formulation of BMS-299897 for chronic subcutaneous dosing in transgenic mice using osmotic minipump. Eleventh annual Wallingford scientific symposium, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Wallingford, CT.

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