Dr. Smith brings extensive experience in biochemistry and molecular virology to his role as Chief Scientist. He holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Ottawa, earned in collaboration with The Ottawa Hospital. His academic foundation also includes a Master of Science in Biology and a Bachelor of Science with Specialization in Biochemistry, both from the University of Ottawa.  

Prior to joining Altrugene, Dr. Smith was a Scientist II in R&D at Meissa Vaccines Inc., where he supported the development and characterization of live attenuated vaccine candidates for emerging and respiratory diseases. His work involved designing and developing efficient cell-based assays for pre-clinical studies and clinical support, contributing to regulatory documents, and coordinating CROs for in vivo experiments.  

Prior to Meissa Vaccines, Dr. Smith served as a Senior Scientist in Discovery Oncology at Merck & Co. from 2018 to 2021. In this role, he provided pre-clinical support for the clinical development of oncolytic virotherapy and developed cell-based assays for virotherapy programs. He partnered on CRISPR screening experiments to understand mechanisms of action and resistance in viral therapy and collaborated across various functional groups including Biologics, Manufacturing, and Animal Health. Dr. Smith also supported gene therapy efforts, designing and planning in vivo experiments and managing CROs for animal tumor model studies. His contributions extended to regulatory documents and serving as an EHS department representative, focusing on biosafety protocols for virus use.  

Dr. Smith's postdoctoral work at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, focused on vaccine development against emerging bunyaviruses and engineering poxviruses. During his Ph.D. at The Ottawa Hospital, he led projects on improving virotherapy and virus manufacturing, identified new immunotherapy combinations via high-throughput screening, and characterized virotherapy vector effects using various assays. He possesses significant experience in designing and executing cancer treatment efficacy studies in animal models and has supervised numerous students.  

His technical expertise spans molecular biology (including CRISPR Cas9 screening, cloning, PCR, flow cytometry, ELISA), molecular virology (handling BSL-2/3 agents, virus quantification, gene therapy vectors, reverse genetics), cell culture, and various animal models. Dr. Smith also has experience with bioinformatics tools and platforms.  

Dr. Smith is a published author with numerous peer-reviewed publications in prominent journals like Science Translation Medicine, Molecular Therapy, and PNAS, and holds patents related to enhancing oncolytic virus efficacy. He has presented his research at various international conferences. 

Nikolas Duenas is a skilled Research Technician who holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and has furthered his education in the Biotechnology Program at California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA). Nikolas is bilingual, fluent in both English and Spanish.  

Nikolas possesses a strong foundation in essential laboratory techniques, including HPLC (with Diode Array Detector), PCR, ddPCR, qPCR, gel electrophoresis, SDS-PAGE, Western Blot, DNA purification, media preparation, sterile filtration, and endotoxin testing. He is also experienced in immunohistochemistry, immunostaining, Zetasizer operation, lentiviral cloning, cell counting, and affinity chromatography. His technical proficiency extends to software such as Chromeleon, Prism, SnapGene, Microsoft Office Suite, ChemDraw, and Logger Pro.  

His practical experience includes working as a Research Technician at Molecular Express, where he contributed to the research and development of liposome formulations for vaccines. In this role, he analyzed component concentrations using HPLC, performed endotoxin and mycoplasma testing, prepared media and HPLC solvents, and authored Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).  

Previously, as a Research Associate at Immuno Vec, a startup at UCLA Magnify, Nikolas focused on researching and cloning lentiviral vectors for gene therapy targeting rare immunological diseases. His work involved isolating, purifying, and preparing vectors, along with analyzing vector copy numbers (VCN) from in vivo samples.  

During his time as a Research Scholar at CSULB, Nikolas gained experience performing tissue collections, immunohistochemistry staining, sectioning using a vibratome, PCR, genotyping, and mammalian cell culture, including cloning and protein expression analysis.