Natures Blueprints Advancing Drug Development with Biomimetic Culture

Carolina Sierra is a scientist in the Cell Biology R&D department at Merck in Southern California. Her current role includes the evaluation and development of advanced cell culture products with emphasis on patient derived 3D organoid cultures. She obtained her B Sc. degree in Bacteriology from Javeriana University in Bogota, Colombia. Carolina also received a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from University of Texas Medical Branch studying Type III Secretion System bacterial effectors. After graduation she joined the Gastroenterology Division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center initially as a Postdoctoral Fellow and then became faculty. At Vanderbilt her research was focused on H. pylori induced inflammation and gastric carcinogenesis, as well as the use of patient derived organoids as models to study host-pathogen interactions and novel chemopreventive strategies for gastric adenocarcinoma.

Dr. Samantha Nicholson completed her PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Cape Town in 2012 and went on to complete two postdoctoral fellowships centred around the application of genome engineering technologies (CRISPR/ZFN and TALEN) to treat infectious diseases such as HIV and HBV. These experiences provided Dr. Nicholson with just over a decade of expertise in both cell and molecular biology, whereafter she joined Merck as a technical specialist for Africa and the Middle East. In this role she focused on advanced genomics, molecular biology, and cell culture, and helped clients develop novel protocols and assays, while supporting the technical adoption of several cutting-edge technologies including CRISPR-Cas9 and siRNA. Following the success if these projects Dr. Nicholson was promoted to the position of Global Technical Application and Process Improvement Specialist for genome engineering, where she continued to drive the adoption of CRISPR technologies and advanced modelling at a global scale. Dr. Nicholson has since transitioned into her current role as Global Technical Marketing Manager for Cell Culture Workflows, where she focuses on supporting the growth and adoption of advanced modelling and cell culture techniques to create better disease models, advance drug discovery, and develop more precise and effective cell-based therapies.