Profile Details

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Hire Dr. Kayla M.

United States

USD 50 /hr

Market Research & Technical Writing | PhD MBA PMP

Profile Summary

I received my PhD from MIT in Microbiology in 2013. I have worked as a research professor (5 years), project manager in biothreat reduction (3.5 years), and as a scientist at a biotechnology start-up (1 year). I have been doing freelance management and technical consulting while working on my MBA (completed May 2025). I love the variety, challenge, and impact of freelance consulting!

Subject Matter Expertise

• ☆ Microbiology
• ☆ Parasitology
• ☆ Microbiological Assays
• ☆ Bacteriology
• ☆ Gram-Positive Bacteria
• ☆ Molecular Biology
• ☆ Genetics
• ☆ Microarrays
• ☆ PCR
• ☆ Molecular Cloning
• ☆ Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)
• ☆ DNA Sequencing
• ☆ Genome Sequencing
• ☆ Recombinant DNA
• ☆ RNA Synthesis
• ☆ RNA Sequencing
• ☆ Cell Biology
• ☆ Cell-Based Assays
• ☆ Microscopy
• ☆ Light Microscopy
• ☆ Fluorescence Microscopy
• ☆ Primary Cells
• ☆ Blotting
• ☆ Business Strategy
• ☆ Business Statistics
• ☆ Data-Driven Decision Making
• ☆ Market Research
• ☆ Quantitative Market Research
• ☆ Project Management
• ☆ Management Consulting

Services

• Writing
• Research
• Consulting

Writing Technical Writing

Research Market Research

Consulting Business Strategy Consulting, Go-to-Market Strategy Consulting, Scientific and Technical Consulting

Work Experience

Management Consultant

Freelancer

February 2025 - Present

Scientist

Nature's Toolbox

April 2022 - February 2023

Staff Scientist / Research Assistant Professor

University of New Mexico

January 2017 - March 2022

Postdoctoral Appointee

Sandia National Laboratories

January 2013 - January 2017

Education

MBA

University of New Mexico

August 2023 - May 2025

Ph.D in Microbiology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

September 2008 - June 2013

B.S. in microbiology

University of Wisconsin - Madison

September 2004 - May 2008

Certifications

• Project Management Professional (PMP)

  Project Management Institute

  January 2024 - Present

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Menard KL, Bu L, Denkers EY. Transcriptomics analysis of Toxoplasma gondii-infected mouse macrophages reveals coding and noncoding signatures in the presence and absence of MyD88. BMC Genomics. 2021 Feb 23;22(1):130. doi: 10.1186/s12864-021-07437-0. PMID: 33622246; PMCID: PMC7903719 .

Menard KL, Haskins BE, Denkers EY. Impact of Toxoplasma gondii Infection on Host Non-coding RNA Responses. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2019 May 14;9:132. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00132. PMID: 31157172; PMCID: PMC6530353 .

Menard KL, Haskins BE, Colombo AP, Denkers EY. Toxoplasma gondii Manipulates Expression of Host Long Noncoding RNA during Intracellular Infection. Sci Rep. 2018 Oct 9;8(1):15017. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-33274-5. PMID: 30301916; PMCID: PMC6177471 .

Menard K and Grossman A (2013) Selective Pressures to Maintain Attachment Site Specificity of Integrative and Conjugative Elements. PLOS Genetics. (Open access journal article) http://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1003623 .