PhD Career Connections: Non-Academic Postdocs
PhD Career Connections welcomes back two alumni who completed non-academic postdocs. Learn about their path, experience, and transition into full-time work.
Kelly Basi, PhD and Nuruddeen Lewis, PhD
Friday, November 7
9:00-10:00am
Light Hall 214
Featuring
Kelly Basi, PhD
Dr. Kelly Basi attended Miami University of Ohio, earning a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry in 2005. Upon graduation, she entered the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where she joined the laboratory of Dr. Borden Lacy. Dr. Basi studied the Helicobacter pylori vacuolating toxin and successfully determined the x-ray crystal structure of the receptor binding domain. Upon successfully defending her thesis in August 2010, she was awarded a Ph.D in Microbiology and Immunology. Dr. Basi accepted a postdoctoral position in the laboratory of Dr. Gary Rockwood at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRCID) at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), MD. During her postdoctoral appointment, Dr. Basi was involved with improving countermeasures to treat cyanide poisoning. She successfully received funding from the NIH CounterACT program to understand the gene expression of cyanide alone and in combination with antidotes. She co-authored a book chapter titled “Chronic Cyanide Exposure” which will be published later this year. In October 2012, Dr. Basi accepted a microbiologist position in the Federal government with the 20th Support Command on APG. During her appointment, she was involved with developing methods to rapidly detect bacterial toxins in different environmental samples. In May 2013, she accepted her current position as a research molecular biologist at USAMRICD, where she is currently involved in developing an Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion Center. Her current duties involve developing methods to understand the metabolism of novel candidate countermeasures for chemical warfare agents. She has been awarded the Silver Award by the Federal Executive Board for excellence in federal service, and other awards for her contributions to the mission of USAMRICD.
Nuruddeen Lewis, PhD
Nuruddeen Lewis is a scientist in the Cellular and Translational Immunology group at EMD Serono in Billerica, Massachusetts. He received his B.S. degree from Alabama State University and his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University. After graduation, he performed his postdoctoral studies in the pharmaceutical industry at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals in Ridgefield, Connecticut. There, his work focused on autoimmune diseases and the identification and validation of potential drug targets. He now continues his work in drug discovery for autoimmune diseases at EMD Serono by using translational cell-based assays and bioinformatic analyses. Nuruddeen currently lives with his wife and three children in Andover, Massachusetts. You can reach him on LinkedIn.