Laura Chacón Machado

Affiliation:                                                        MSc Student, Life Sciences program, Skoltech

Research advisor:                                       Konstantin Severinov

Program entry year:                                   2017

Date and place of birth:                             21^th September, 1992, La Habana, Cuba

Languages:                                                      Spanish (native), English (IELTS valid until 2019, Good User)

Specialization:                                              Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Graduated from                                           Faculty of Biology, Havana University, Cuba in 2015

Research interests:                                    DNA repair mechanisms in prokaryotes, CRISPR-Cas9 interference

Employment history, Research Projects:

2018  MS Student,  Center for Data-Intensive Biomedicine and Biotechnology, Skoltech. “Study of NHEJ double-strand break repair effect on sgRNA/Cas9 targeting in Pseudomonas putida KT2440”. Supervisors: Konstantin Severinov, Ekaterina Savitskaya

2015-2017  Teacher Assistant, Artemisa University, Artemisa, Cuba. Biochemistry to agronomic engineering students

2014-2017  Assistant researcher, Center for Protein Studies, Faculty of Biology, Havana University, Havana, Cuba.    “Characterization of cell death mechanism induced by the pore-forming toxin Sticholysin II in tumor cells”. Supervisors: Carmen Soto Febles, MSc., Carlos Alvarez-Valcarcel, PhD.

2013-2014   Trainee, Center of Molecular Immunology, Havana Cuba. “Preformulation studies of the antiidiotipic vaccine Racotumomab” Supervisor: Julio Felipe Santo Tomas, MSc.

Education:

2010-2015  B.Sc. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Havana University, Havana, Cuba (Thesis: Characterization of cell death mechanism induced by the pore-forming toxin Sticholysin II on human lymphoma B cells)

Industry Immersion: July-Augost 2018
Company: Biocen, Cuba

Project: Purification and characterization of allergens from the House Dust Mites Dermatophagoides siboney (Ds), Blomia tropicalis (Bt) and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp).

Conference presentations:

• Knocking/activating NHEJ genes in Pseudomonas putida by ssDNA recombineering-Cas9/sgRNA counterselection. Laura Chacón Machado, Jany Quintana Cordero, Ekaterina Savitskaya, Konstantin Severinov. 3rd Annual Skoltech-MIT Conference “Colaborative solutions for next generation education, science and technology” Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, October 15-16, 2018