• Microbiology (Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholera, Shigella sonnei, Salmonella typhimurium, and Salmonella typhi)

• Lipoproteins and cholesterol metabolism

• Assay development for small molecule library screening, vaccine development, and evaluation of clinical samples (Western blots, ELISA, FACS, cell-based, bacteriocidal, activity, and in vivo assays)

• Project leadership, small group management, and mentoring of technical staff
•  

Hedy Adari, Ph.D.                    Page 2

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

AVANT IMMUNOTHERAPEUTICS, INC., Needham, MA (Formerly T Cell Sciences) 1992-2007       

Senior Scientist III (1999 - 2007)

Bacterial Vaccine Program – Traveler’s and Biodefense Vaccines

• Project leader, Shigella sonnei vaccine (prevention of bacillary dysentery) program.
• Responsible for the development of live-attenuated, bacteria-based (Vibrio cholerae and Salmonella typhi) vaccine candidates expressing heterologous antigens
• Directed work on recombinant vaccine strain construction and optimization, assay development, in vivo evaluation of gut colonization and immunogenicity, and production and evaluation of cell banks
• Successfully produced a Process Development – ready vaccine candidate within the cooperate timeline

• Development of vaccines against plague and anthrax. Program under contract with the Department of Defense (DoD) requiring continuous interaction with DoD representatives, oral presentations and written reports

Senior Scientist II (1993 - 1999)

Cardiovascular Program - CETP Inhibition

• Led development of the small molecule CETP (Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein; a pro-atherogenic plasma protein involved in cholesterol metabolism) inhibitors program:
• Developed internal R&D capabilities including lipoprotein purification and analysis, production of labeled lipid microemulsions, assay development and construction of CETP expressing CHO cell lines
• Managed the roller-bottle production and purification of CETP for Research and Development and for the support two clinical trials
• Screened (medium throughput) natural and chemical small molecule libraries

• CETP peptide vaccine development:

• Identified alternative CETP B-cell epitopes towards the construction of second-generation vaccines
• Evaluated second-generation peptide vaccine in pre-clinical studies
• Filed patent applications 

• Developed an animal model (hypertensive rat strains transgenic for human CETP) for testing the efficacy of anti-CETP therapeutics, a project supported by an NIH SBIR grant - in collaborated with scientists at Boston University

Senior Scientist I (1992 - 1993)

Complement Inhibitor Program - Inflammatory Diseases

• Managed the production of sLe^x-glycosylated sCR1 (soluble complement receptor type 1 - an investigational therapeutic protein for the treatment of inflammatory diseases) from a CHO cell line in roller bottles for pre-clinical studies

• Construction of bacterial & eukaryotic cell lines for the expression of sCR1 functional domain

Hedy Adari, Ph.D.                    Page 3

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Vaccine Program

Optimization of bacterial expression systems for the T cell receptor variable region V_b5.3; essential work for the successful completion of a major MS program in collaboration with AstraZeneca (Sweden)

IMMUNOGEN, INC., Cambridge, MA        1990 – 1992

Staff  Scientist

• Isolated and characterized neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) cDNA from small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) cells

POSTDOCTORAL TRAINING

TUFTS SCHOOL OF Medicine, Boston, MA               1989 - 1990

Department of Physiology; Dr. Lewis Cantley laboratory

Searched for a phospholipase C (PLC) specific to phosphatidyl inositol-3-phosphate (PI-3-P), a eukaryotic lipid signal transduction mediator. In vivo labeling of the cellular inositol phosphate pool in cultured mammalian cells, phospholipid separation and characterization by HPLC

      CETUS CORP, INC., Emeryville, CA     1987 - 1989

      Department of Molecular Biology; Dr. Frank McCormick laboratory

• Participated in the discovery of Ras-GAP – a signal transduction protein modulating Ras proto-oncogene activity in mammalian cells

• Elucidated the site of Ras/GAP interaction using site-directed mutagenesis and competition assays

EDUCATION

Ph.D. in Biology       YALE UNIVERSITY                          1987

Dissertation: Translational Control of T4 phage genes by RegA Protein

Dr. William Konigsberg laboratory