Instructors

Emily Burke, Ph.D.

Dr. Burke is the Director of Curriculum and is charged with customizing training for clients as well as delivering training sessions. She received her B.S. in Biological Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University and her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of South Alabama. Prior to joining BioTech Primer, Dr. Burke conducted research on the molecular pathogenesis of respiratory syncytial virus and Lassa fever virus at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA. In addition to her years of research experience Dr. Burke has a strong background in scientific writing, having worked as a patent writer at Isis Pharmaceuticals in Carlsbad, CA. Dr. Burke has also taught biology and biotechnology classes at San Diego Miramar College.

Tim Fawcett, Ph.D.

Dr. Fawcett received his Ph.D. at Louisiana State University in Biochemistry. While a Senior Scientist at Life Technologies/Invitrogen Corp, Dr. Fawcett's primary responsibilities included writing, developing, implementing and teaching Training Center Workshops. These workshops were designed to teach medical doctors, principal investigators and technicians, biotechnology concepts and laboratory techniques. Dr. Fawcett's areas of expertise include, cell culture, protein expression, recombinant DNA and PCR techniques.

Amy Howes, Ph.D.

Dr. Howes has been teaching for BioTech Primer since 2006. She received her B.S. in Microbiology from UC Santa Barbara, and then her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from UC San Diego. She was awarded the American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship in 2001-2003 and currently completed her postdoctoral research at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in San Diego, CA, where she developed new therapies to treat cancer. Dr. Howes has won numerous awards for her research, including the Fishman Postdoctoral Award. Dr. Howes is able to use her broad science background and enthusiasm for biotech to easily explain complicated terms to the lay-person.

Collins Jones, Ph.D.

Dr. Jones received his Ph.D. from University of Maryland in Biochemistry. Dr. Jones has been a scientific advisor and lead instructor for BioTech Primer since 2001. Currently, he is the coordinator for the Biotechnology Program at Montgomery College. Working closely with a number of leading biotechnology companies, including BioReliance, Human Genome Sciences, Qiagen and EntreMed, Dr. Jones develops and implements curriculum that is current and industry relevant. Prior to his appointments, Dr. Jones spent ten years as a research scientist at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Karin Lucas, Ph.D.

Dr. Lucas is the Director, Training and Education for BioTech Primer Inc. Her duties include new product development, client training customization and instructor training for BioTech Primer. Dr. Lucas has been an invited speaker at many events including the annual BIO International Conventions, the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre in Malaysia, and the National Biotechnology Week in Canada. Prior to her engagement with BioTech Primer Dr. Lucas worked as a scientist at Biogen Idec where she developed protein pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancer and multiple sclerosis and as a scientist and project director at Cardinal Health where she worked on the development of over 25 products with multiple pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Ted McCluskey, MD, Ph.D.

Dr. McCluskey is a biotech executive with experience in diagnostics, drug development and medical devices. In his 16-year career in the biotech industry, he has overseen the clinical development of a novel cardiovascular risk assessment diagnostic test, the international clinical development of a marketed cardiovascular product and the clinical development of 4 currently marketed products.

Originally trained in cardiology (Cleveland Clinic), he was on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati for several years. His molecular biology and clinical cardiology training were at UCSF and his MD, PhD (Pharmacology) and medical residency were at Washington University in St. Louis. His undergraduate degree was in chemistry (with research honors) from Stanford.

Dr. McCluskey started in the biotech industry at Genentech for 8 years, overseeing clinical research on cardiovascular applications for TNKase, Bosentan, CathFlo Activase and for the anti-angiogenic ophthalmic agent Lucentis. He led the clinical development for the cardiovascular application of VEGF-165 (vascular endothelial growth factor) by direct intra-coronary injection and has had extensive experience in both in-licensing and out-licensing projects. While at Genentech, he received additional training in Finance, Marketing and Management (Berkeley) and in Leadership and Strategy at an executive program at Harvard Business School. Following Genentech, Dr. McCluskey oversaw cardiovascular clinical development at Scios (a Johnson&Johnson Company) where he was responsible for the international clinical development of their lead product (Natrecor) and for VEGF-121. Most recently, he was Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Clinical at a Stanford cardiovascular diagnostic startup – Aviir – where he oversaw the clinical development of the Aviir TruRisk™ Test

Currently Dr. McCluskey is the President of Sand Hill Angels and has been on their Board of Directors for the past 4 years. He is an advisor in the Stanford SPARK drug development program and in the Stanford medical device Program in Biodesign. In addition, he is a Clinical Consultant for Biotech, Diagnostic and Medical Device companies.

Kelly McDonald, Ph.D.

Dr. McDonald joined Biotech Primer as an instructor in early 2009. She obtained her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Florida in 1997. She joined the Biotechnology Industry in 2000, working first at Celera AgGen, then Applied Biosystems, as a Senior Scientist and Project Manager in the fields of DNA sequencing, genetic variation, gene expression, and RNA interference. Dr. McDonald's experience and passion for science, teaching and community outreach led her to join the North Valley Biotechnology Center at American River College as the Bioinformatics Coordinator, where she directed a National Science Foundation-funded professional development program for training high school and college faculty in the areas of Applied Biotechnology and Bioinformatics. She subsequently served as the Interim Director of the North Valley Biotechnology Center and Interim Dean of Biotechnology at American River College for one year before joining the Biology Department at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) in August 2009. Dr. McDonald is currently a full-time Assistant Professor of Biology at CSUS, conducting research and developing curriculum in the field of Science Education. Dr. McDonald has experience as a scientific writer and is a frequent guest speaker at schools, universities and national conferences.

Lisa A. Selbie, Ph.D.

Dr. Selbie received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Cell Biology at Northwestern University. Dr. Selbie lives in Sydney, Australia and teaches all Australian-based BioTech Primer classes. Dr. Selbie began her career in the biosciences as both a scientist and a project leader at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia. Dr. Selbie then moved to England where she worked at Queens Medical School as a Research Fellow for 4 years. She has since returned to Sydney, Australia and in addition to working with BioTech Primer, she works as a lecturer and project coordinator for the Johns Hopkins University's Australian Biotechnology Initiative and as a biotechnology consultant for a private company.

Simon J. Tulloch, MD

Dr. Tulloch has more than 25 years of pharmaceutical and biotech experience in clinical development, R&D management, and business roles, both in Europe and the USA. He consults to the industry on strategic R&D issues, clinical development and medical issues.

He has been the Chief Medical Officer at InfaCare Inc, a privately funded biotech company, and spent ten years at Shire Pharmaceuticals. He moved to the USA to establish Shires U.S. research and development organization. Dr. Tulloch built the organization in all areas of drug development, and successfully conducted the development and NDA approval of Adderall XR. During that time his organization also developed and got NDA approvals for Fosrenol (Shire's first global NCE) and Equetro, as well as providing CMC, preclinical, and marketing medical support to all of Shire's U.S. products. Latterly, he assumed the role of head of the global CNS Business Unit.

Prior to his time at Shire, Dr. Tulloch spent eight years with Johnson and Johnson companies, including five years as clinical research director for R.W. Johnson PRI's European R&D facility in Zurich, Switzerland, working on multiple projects in various therapeutic areas and stages of development.

He trained in medicine at Oxford University, has a degree in physiology and a diploma in pharmaceutical medicine, and worked for a number of years for the UK National Health Service in hospital posts.

Marian Downing, RBP, CBSP

Ms. Downing's career as a microbiologist and biosafety expert has spanned 30 years in academia and private industry. Ms. Downing served as the Biosafety Officer for Abbott Laboratories for 15 years, which encompassed the implementation of a biosafety program for all Lake County organizations of nearly 2,000 employees. She was also responsible for 9 international sites. In total, Ms. Downing was responsible for all training, database management, biosafety capital projects, surveillance programs and infectious agent inventory.

As a consultant for the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX, Ms. Downing devised and delivered training to students, staff and researchers for BSL2/3 operations, and infectious agents. Ms. Downing has also worked as a researcher at the Louisiana State University, School of Veterinary Medicine in Baton Rouge, LA and the Illinois Department of Public Health. Since joining Alliance Biosciences, Ms. Downing has been on-site at Albert Einstein College of Medicine providing outsourced biosafety program management to nearly 400 labs. Ms. Downing received her B.S. in bacteriology from Rutgers University, and is recognized by the American Biological Safety Association as both a Registered Biosafety Professional and a Certified Biological Safety Professional. In addition, Ms. Downing continues to train as an external consultant for Loyola University School of Nursing on an annual basis.

Patricia L. Larrabee, M.S.

Ms. Larrabee graduated with a M.S. in Biotechnology Management from University of Maryland University College and a graduate certificate in real estate from the University of Maryland, College Park. Currently Ms. Larrabee is working with BioTech Primer to develop and deliver a one to two day course on the Basics of Biotech Facilities. In 2004 she founded Facility Logix, which provides strategic real estate consulting services to the life sciences industries and real estate community serving those sectors. Ms. Larrabee's past positions include Executive Vice President at Scheer Partners, where she was responsible for the business side of the firms Biosciences Service Group; Managing Director for Capital Programs Management, which oversaw lab facility build-outs; and 13 years with Crop Genetics,a Maryland agbiotech firm.