Yash Gada

About Yash Gada

I am an Analytical Development Co-op at Moderna on the Potency Assurance and CQA…

Experience

1. Analytical Development Co-op

   Moderna

   Jan 2026 — Present · Norwood, MA, US

   As part of the Potency Assurance and CQA Determination (PACD) team, I design and execute cell-based translation and ELISA potency assays to evaluate mRNA therapeutic performance across dose and stability conditions, performing 8+ assay runs per month to support analytical development and potency assessment. My work includes evaluating heat-degraded mRNA samples to characterize impacts on translation efficiency and protein expression, applying qPCR-based methods to quantify ribosomal engagement and correlate results with potency metrics including EC50, Emax, and relative potency, and analyzing dose-response relationships using nonlinear regression (4PL) to differentiate translation-driven versus downstream biological effects. I also perform cell-free translation (CFT) assays including mRNA extraction from nanoparticle formulations and fluorescence-based protein detection to assess intrinsic mRNA translation efficiency independent of cellular context. I maintain and expand mammalian cell culture systems including adherent A549 cells and suspension immune cell lines (Jurkat T cells and human B-cell models), managing 15+ flasks per week with routine passaging, viability assessment, and cell density optimization. Assay performance metrics including R²,%CV, and signal-to-background ratios are tracked and trended to identify out-of-trend results and ensure data integrity. All experimental records are documented in Benchling ELN under GxP-aligned practices, and I regularly prepare data summaries and presentations to support internal analytical development discussions.