Matthew Hassett Ph D

• Developing innovative medical treatments which will improve upon traditional vaccine and targeted antibody therapies around the globe • Examining cytokine delivery for cancer therapy via a saRNA replicon particle delivery system • Lead scientist on the SARS-CoV-2 program. Managed a team of scientists to execute multiple projects • Development of next generation SARS-CoV-2 vaccines to offer cross-protection against new variants • Generation of RNA (saRNA and mRNA) and RNA formulation to increase immunogenicity and reduce reactogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines

• Sponsored by the U.S. Pharmacopeial Quality Institute to continue to monitor the impact substandard/falsified medicine has on the spread on antimicrobial resistance • Testing various combinations of drug concentrations and adherence schedules to mimic possible substandard therapies and examining the impact of these therapies on the spread of resistance. These analyses are the first of its type in the field • Examining what impact different drug resistance-conferring mutations have on parasite fitness and how these could relate to the spread of resistance • Developing a model that can help to predict the impact of poorly understood mechanisms of resistance (parasite dormancy) in P. falciparum (malaria)

• Named one of the inaugural Fellows in Quality of Medical Products sponsored by the U.S. Pharmacopeial Quality Institute. • Seeking to answer key questions in the field regarding the impact of low quality artemisinin drugs on the emergence and spread of antimalarial drug resistance. The goal in answering these questions is to help ignite change in policy that can circumnavigate the pitfalls associated with counterfeit artemisinins, and provide more reliable standards for treatment that can restore trust in the healthcare systems in the areas that are most burdened by malaria. • Unique combination of benchtop experience and medicine quality/public policy that results in a multifaceted interdisciplinary skillset. • Developed a tissue culture-based approach for testing possible connections between substandard drug use and the selection vs spread of resistance. This growth competition was monitored over various drug concentrations and adherence schedules to best model possible environments that favor the proliferation of sensitive or resistant parasites. Included cell based assays and isolation of nucleic acids to examine key genes for mutations/changes in expression levels for insights into cellular growth and fitness • The goal of this research was to heighten public education on this topic that can lead to proper use of medicines and policy change. This could restore faith in healthcare delivery in these parts of the world.

• Managed recombinant protein division of laboratory. Designed, planned, and executed multiple projects investigating drug resistance mechanisms in P. falciparum (malaria) • Supervised and designated tasks to research team of graduate students • Elucidated drug transport mediated by a disputed source of drug resistance in P. vivax • Bioinformatics experience identifying and classifying malarial proteins

• Designed and had synthesized different codon optimized malarial proteins/enzymes for heterologous expression, some for the first time in the field. This work included the use of multiple vectors and a high proficiency in molecular cloning techniques • Used multiple cellular assays that tested function and drug transport/interaction • Purified kinase and membrane proteins to homogeneity using various chromatography techniques • Designed and optimized an ELISA for measuring the activity and drug inhibition of a novel kinase, which aided in exploiting a new and unique drug target for future drug discovery • Worked in collaboration with National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) on an antimalarial drug discovery screen

• Instructing courses in General Chemistry I and II, Advanced Biochemistry, and Experimental Methods in Biochemistry