Max Harman

Research Associate @Bicycle Therapeutics

I have recently explored the role of project champion for hit to preclinical evaluation within the antiviral therapeutic area. This work included directing the project flow all the way through to in vivo efficacy models, ensuring high quality data integrity. I have developed many new skills from this in: 1. Project management 2. Modelling PK and functional PD data to predict PKPD relationships, particularly direct responses. Management of CROs to provide timely data. Early stage MedChem optimisation of lead molecules (non-natural residues, physical chemical considerations) Working as part of Molecular Pharmacology, I have gained skills in biochemical, biophysical and cell culture assays. Not exhaustively: 1. Fluorescence Polarisation (binding and competition) 2. AlphaScreen (binding, co-binding and competition) 3. SDS-PAGE (reducing/non-red, pulldowns) 4. Flow Cytometry (Attune NxT - surface expression, cell binding) 5. IncuCyte Live Cell Imaging (confluence, cytotoxicity) 6. Enzyme Kinetics (MM kinetics, inhibition assays) 7. Cytation C10 confocal microscopy (learning!) 8. Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR)(CM5(PA) coupling) I led the introduction, development and optimisation of equipment such as the IncuCyte Zoom and SX5. This includes the writing of Standard Operating Procedures and associated Risk Assessments for use alongside the Discovery platform. Furthermore, I have been involved in multiple projects across the platform, ranging from technology development to targets in multiple therapeutic classes. I have become diligent in keeping an Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) using the platform Dotmatics. This includes developing new protocols to handle different styles of data (working with Dotmatics experts) in order to help visualisation and data storage efficiency.