Cristina Sánchez de Diego

• Lead in vitro and in vivo studies for substantial pre-clinical data contribution.
• Experienced in donor screening of primary cells to establish gold-standard controls, benchmarking engineered cells against primary human cells.
• Led in vivo studies on various routes of administration for clinical asset, focusing on cell viability and long-term functionality.
• Contributed to preparation of regulatory documents for INTERACT meetings with FDA, including data generation and scientific writing.
• Presented data analysis to senior stakeholders, recommending strategies and guiding decision-making for project direction.

• Responsible for developing wide range of assays and phenotyping techniques to characterize lead clinical asset contributing to pre-clinical work packages.
• Established and managed CRO collaborations, gaining hands-on experience in outsourced research planning and execution.
• Led in vivo studies to establish proof of concept for clinical asset.
• Regulatory document preparation: contributed to preparation CTA submission to MHRA, including data generation and scientific writing.
• Identified inefficiencies in workflows and implemented new technologies, leading to improved data quality. Reduced processing time and cost savings exceeding £15,000. Increased assay throughput by over 70%.
• Enhanced project management skills by creating detailed timelines and FTE requirements.
• Trained new team members in laboratory techniques and project-specific protocols, providing comprehensive background information to ensure effective integration and skill development.

Project Co-Lead, Advancing Myocyte Maturity via Mechanotransduction:

• Managed external collaborations and brought new technologies in-house, enhancing research capabilities.
• Trained in advanced high-content imaging techniques.
• Involved in pipeline generation for imaging analysis.

Project Lead, Screening for Cortical Neurons (while colleague on paternity leave):

• Led a project focused on screening and characterizing cortical neurons, ensuring seamless project continuity.
• Developed and optimized RNA-seq protocols to enhance transcriptomic analysis and gene expression profiling.
• Applied advanced flow cytometry techniques for cellular characterization and marker identification.

• Supported identification of transcription factors for direct programming of iPSCs into functional hepatocytes-like cells.
• Set-up and performed functional assays to characterise hepatocyte-like cells, selecting methods based on field standards.
• Implemented innovative technologies, contributing to a patent.