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Hire Shawna B.

United States

USD 28 /hr

Research Writer and Language Editor | Virtual Research Assistant | 10 years experience in molecular biology research

Profile Summary

Currently, I work as an industry research scientist with experience working in the fields of aging, autophagy and cancer biology. Over the years, I have studied tumor derived exosomes and their implications in the tumor microenvironment, the role of lysosomes in aging and healthspan, the role of autophagy during influenza infection, and the effects of certain natural products on cancer survival. However, I prefer to help sell the science. I love to write and I am adept at translating complicated scientific concepts into a form that is simple and straightforward. My services include research, writing and editing for: -manuscripts for journal submission -grant proposals -articles -CVs/resumes -cover letters I also provide language editing services to correct extensive grammatical errors in science writing. I am also open to working as a remote research assistant, acting as a consultant and aiding in web-based research, data analysis, and figure creation. I will work with you closely to provide accurate and high quality work. The satisfaction of my clients is of the upmost importance to me!

Subject Matter Expertise

• ★ Molecular Biology
• ★ Cell Aging
• ★ Manuscript & Journal Article Writing
• ☆ Cell Biology
• ☆ Microscopy
• ☆ Cancer Research
• ☆ Metabolism & Metabolic Disease
• ☆ Medical Writing
• ☆ Technical & Scientific Writing
• ☆ Grant Writing

Services

• Writing
• Research
• Data & AI

Writing Technical Writing, Newswriting

Research Gray Literature Search, Systematic Literature Review, Secondary Data Collection

Data & AI Statistical Analysis

Work Experience

Research Scientist

AMRI

February 2021 - Present

Research Technologist

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center

September 2019 - January 2021

Graduate Research Assistant

University of Virginia

July 2014 - August 2018

Lab Technician

Queens College, CUNY

May 2013 - May 2014

Research Assistant

Queens College, CUNY

June 2011 - May 2013

Summer Research Intern

University of California-Davis

July 2012 - August 2012

Research Assistant

Queensborough Community College, CUNY

January 2010 - May 2011

Education

MS Cell and Molecular Biology (Cell Biology)

University of Virginia

- August 2018

BA (Biology)

Queens College, CUNY

- May 2014

AS (Biology)

Queensborough Community College, CUNY

- May 2011

Certifications

• Certification details not provided.

Publications

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Ke, W., Saba, J.A., Yao, CH. et al. Dietary serine-microbiota interaction enhances chemotherapeutic toxicity without altering drug conversion. Nat Commun 11, 2587 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16220-w .

ShinLa Shu and Junko Matsuzaki and Muzamil Y. Want and Alexis Conway and Shawna Benjamin-Davalos and Cheryl L. Allen and Marina Koroleva and Sebastiano Battaglia and Adekunle Odunsi and Hans Minderman and Marc S. Ernstoff (2020). An Immunosuppressive Effect of Melanoma-derived Exosomes on NY-ESO-1 Antigen-specific Human CD8+ T Cells is Dependent on IL-10 and Independent of BRAFV600E Mutation in Melanoma Cell Lines . Immunological Investigations. 49. (7). p. 744-757. Taylor & Francis

Atorvastatin restricts the ability of influenza virus to generate lipid droplets and severely suppresses the replication of the virus @article{https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.201900428RR, author= {Episcopio, Donna and Aminov, Sarah and Benjamin, Shawna and Germain, Gabrielle and Datan, Emmanuel and Landazuri, Joselyn and Lockshin, Richard A. and Zakeri, Zahra}, title= {Atorvastatin restricts the ability of influenza virus to generate lipid droplets and severely suppresses the replication of the virus}, journal= {The FASEB Journal}, volume= {33}, number= {8}, pages= {9516-9525}, keywords= {autophagy, ER stress, cholesterol, statin, viral infection}, doi= {https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.201900428RR}, url= {https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1096/fj.201900428RR}, eprint= {https://faseb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1096/fj.201900428RR}, abstract= {ABSTRACT Influenza virus causes infected cells to generate large numbers of lipid droplets. Because the virus envelope contains substantial cholesterol, we applied atorvastatin (ATV) to Madin-Darby Canine Kidney cells before infecting them. Five micromolars ATV, within physiologic range, strongly (>95\%) inhibits reproduction of influenza A as measured by PCR of viral RNA, plaque assay for viable virus, and production of virus nucleoprotein (NP). Inhibition of any of the following can suppress formation of lipid droplets (>−50\%) but does not interfere with the production of NP: endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy, or production of reactive oxygen substances (ROS). We conclude that, regardless of whether this widely used statin, which is generally considered to be safe, can prevent infection or minimize its severity, inhibition of the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase pathway to protect against infection by influenza virus or to mitigate its severity warrants further exploration.—Episcopio, D., Aminov, S., Benjamin, S., Germain, G., Datan, E., Landazuri, J., Lockshin, R. A., Zakeri, Z. Atorvastatin restricts the ability of influenza virus to generate lipid droplets and severely suppresses the replication of the virus. FASEB J. 33, 9516–9525 (2019). www.fasebj.org}, year= {2019}} . The FASEB Journal.

Vinod K. Mony and Shawna Benjamin and Eyleen J. O'Rourke(2016). A lysosome-centered view of nutrient homeostasis . Autophagy. 12. (4). p. 619-631. Taylor & Francis

Emmanuel Datan and Alireza Shirazian and Shawna Benjamin and Demetrius Matassov and Antonella Tinari and Walter Malorni and Richard A. Lockshin and Adolfo Garcia-Sastre and Zahra Zakeri(2014). mTOR/p70S6K signaling distinguishes routine, maintenance-level autophagy from autophagic cell death during influenza A infection . Virology. 452-453. p. 175 - 190.