Xiaofang Huang

Built and lead Gylden’s multi-omics integrated antigen-discovery platform supporting infectious disease and oncology pipelines. • Designed and implemented an end-to-end HLA ligandome discovery platform integrating immunopeptide enrichment, LC-MS/MS, bioinformatics, and deep learning–based epitope validation. • Led development of proprietary ligandome libraries forming the basis of Gylden’s gold nano particle-based multi-epitope vaccine candidates. • Supported Phase I clinical programs in Chikungunya and influenza, funded by competitive UK innovation grants. • Directed pre-clinical programs in COVID-19, dengue, yellow fever, pancreatic, colorectal, and breast cancer and facilitated the development of two phase I clinical trials (dengue and COVID vaccine). • Established translational biomarker and peptide-selection workflows to expand the understanding from canonical to non-canonical protein field. • Built and manage a cross-functional team of scientists spanning proteomics, immunology, and computational biology.

• Directed client programs identifying HLA class I–restricted tumor and viral epitopes from multiple models which include human cancer cell lines and xenograft tissues. • Developed bioassays to support the discovery and validation of immunogenic T-cell targets in breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and glioblastoma cancers. • Provided strategic consultation in preclinical development, biomarker discovery, and nano particle formulation screening for startup and expanding biotech partners.

• Screened, identified and characterized novel HLA class I epitopes as preventive/therapeutic vaccine candidates by utilizing in vitro cellular models for human infectious disease (i.e. HBV, HTLV, flu, etc.) or cancer (i.e. breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer etc.) by integrated multi-omics approaches. • Discovered and validated HLA-A2 or A24-specific peptide epitopes of dengue virus through ELISPOT and MAGPIX assays; those naturally presented epitopes were licensed out successfully as vaccine candidates and under development for vaccine products. • Supported antigen validation, in-vivo immunogenicity testing, and formulation development. • Contributed to SBIR (small business innovation research) grant proposal, submission preparation and progress reporting.

• Designed and performed experiments to profile global proteomic alterations in tamoxifen-resistant human breast cancer cells by employing quantitative proteomics approaches and study its mechanisms. • Developed plasma-based biomarker assays to identify signature peptide/protein panels which might be applied in the early diagnosis of breast cancer. • Contributed to the project “cyclin D1/cyclin-dependent kinase 4 interacts with filamin A and affects the migration and invasion potential of breast cancer cells” by establishing ER-defective MCF7/BUS cells whose estrogen receptors were knocked down and investigated the cell migration under various conditions with real time imaging system.

• Led demonstration of HPLC and LCMS systems compliant with GLP or cGMP for pharmaceutical clients. • Knowledgeable in ICH (International Council for Harmonisation) guidance for analytical devices and FDA 21CFR Part 11 for ER/ES (electronic signature/record). • Engaged with clients, distributors and local subsidiaries through phone consultations and presented technical content at scientific conferences. • Served as a principal regional trainer for customers and internal staff on company core products, including HPLC systems, Pump, detector, regulatory compliance & Empower software.

• Established a sensitive and selective micro-assay for detecting selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors(SSRIs) and their metabolites in human plasma and breast milk. • Studied pharmacokinetics of SSRIs in breast feeding mice and drug-drug interaction via equilibrium dialysis. • Created a mathematical model which predicted the potential risk to neonates when exposing to maternal antidepressant treatment

• Participated in bioavailability studies of isosorbide-5-mononitrate controlled-release tablets in human subjects; played an active role in recruiting healthy volunteers, collecting and analyzing blood samples, and preparing study documentation. • Designed and conducted bioequivalence studies of celiprolol and pantoprazole, supporting the evaluation of pharmacokinetic equivalence between test and reference formulations. • Provided contract bioequivalence services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, utilizing HPLC and capillary electrophoresis (CE) platforms for analytical testing and pharmacokinetic modeling analysis.

Thesis: "Functional study of Amylin and regulation of amylin receptor" - Investigated the novel effect of amylin on nociception via central and peripheral administration. - Revealed the distribution of amylin and amylin receptor in mouse brain. - Demonstrated that amylin suppressed spinal c-fos expression in mouse pain model. - Studied agonist induced internalization and regulation of amylin receptor (calcitonin receptor-receptor activity modifying protein complex).

Thesis: "Evaluation of factors affecting transfer of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) into human milk" - Developed a sensitive and selective micro-assay for determining SSRIs and its metabolites in human plasma and breast milk. - Studied drug-drug interaction and drug metabolism via equilibrium dialysis. - Created a mathematical model which predicted the potential risk to neonates when exposing to maternal antidepressant treatment.