Joanna G.

Scientist II @ WuXi AppTec

About

I am a passionate cell biologist with 14+ years' experience in cell biology, oncology, cancer therapeutics, drug discovery and development (including small molecule drug, ADC, SMDC, antibody, etc.), and pre-clinical translational science. I am proficient in mammalian cell culture, stable cell line generation, biochemistry (western blot, protein purification, immunoprecipitation etc.), fluorescence microscopy (confocal, high content imaging etc.), flow cytometry, molecular biology (PCR, siRNA, CRISPR, lentivirus etc.), pre-clinical drug evaluation (target characterization, drug screening, lead optimization etc.), and translational research (biomarker identification, drug combination, patient sample analysis etc.). I own authorship of drug target characterization, pre-clinical summaries, patents and 10+ peer reviewed papers. I have demonstrated abilities in project management, collaboration across various functional teams and CROs, communication, multi-tasking, critical thinking, and problem-solving.

Country

United States

City

San Diego

Industry

Biotechnology

Skill

Synergy, Drug combination, Cell Cycle, JESS, IncuCyte, Small Molecules, CRO Management, Research Management, Pre-clinical Studies, Cancer Biology, Cell Therapy, Antibody Oligo Conjugate (AOC), Small Molecule Drug Conjugate (SMDC), Targeted Protein Degredation, Lead Optimisation, Hit Identification, Assay Development, Target Validation, Kinetics, Ligand Binding

Experience

Scientist II

WuXi AppTec

2026-2 - Present · 8 mos

San Diego, CA

Assay Development & HTS

Consultant

2025-5 - 2026-2 · 10 mos

Senior Scientist

Zentalis Pharmaceuticals

2023-7 - 2025-5 · 1 yr 11 mos

San Diego, California, United States

I started a new career as a senior translational biologist at Zentalis. My work contributes to the biomarker identification and combination treatement strategies for the clinical development of best-in-class Wee1 inhibitor Azenosertib.

Scientist II

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.

2021-12 - 2023-7 · 1 yr 8 mos

San Diego, California, United States

I joined Sorrento Therapeutics, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company as the biology lead to drive the pre-clinical evaluation of Small Molecule Drug Conjugates (SMDCs). As a key member in Chemical Immunotherapy Group, I also contribute in the preclinical translational studies of Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugate (AOC), intracellular antibody (iTab), PROTAC and GDT cell therapy in the group.

Postdoctoral Scholar

UCLA

2017-8 - 2021-12 · 4 yrs 5 mos

Los Angeles, California

I joined Dr. Jorge Torres' lab at UCLA after I graduated from Peking University in July, 2017. My research focused on the study of cell cycle regulation in the context of cancer cell proliferation.

Graduate Researcher in Cell Biology

Peking University

2011-9 - 2017-7 · 5 yrs 11 mos

Beijing, China

In 2011, I joined Dr. Chuanmao Zhang's lab in Peking University to pursue my graduate study. My research work and thesis were focused on studying the mechanisms by which kinases (e.g. Plk1 kinase) contributes to cell cycle regulation, as well as screening and developing small molecular inhibitors targeting Plk1 kinase as potential novel therapeutic treatment for cancers.

Teaching Assistant

Peking University

2013-3 - 2013-7 · 5 mos

Peking University

During my graduate study, I took the following responsibilities as a Teaching Assistant: - Contacted the professors and assisted them with Advanced Molecular Biology Lectures - Scheduled and graded students’ exams.