MMS: Revolutionizing Structure Analysis for RNA and Proteins

Lucy L. Liu, PhD, is a principal scientist at Pfizer Inc. in the Heightened Characterization Group within Analytical R&D, BioTherapeutics Pharmaceutical Sciences. She is responsible for product and process characterization using a variety of biophysical and biochemical techniques. Prior to joining Pfizer, she was a post-doctoral fellow at Wyeth, where she focused on analytical research and biophysical analysis for biotherapeutics, particularly studying protein aggregation. Lucy holds a PhD in Chemistry and Pharmacological Science from Duke University and Duke Medical Center, with a specialization in the thermodynamics of protein stability, protein unfolding, protein interactions, and metal binding. Before pursuing her PhD and postgraduation from University of Science and Technology of China, she worked as a scientist for Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine.

With over a decade of hands-on experience in analytical development and chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) development spanning various drug modalities, Bingchuan have honed expansive expertise in the CMC/analytical development field. His research is centered on leveraging advanced analytical technologies in drug development, understanding the structural-functional relationship of therapeutics, and fostering entrepreneurial spirit in the biopharmaceutical industry. His academic contributions encapsulate over 30 peer-reviewed publications and patents, and more than 30 invited conference presentations. Bingchuan also plays a critical role in fortifying scientific communities through my involvement in scientific associations, conference organizations, and cross-industry collaborations. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Purdue University, an MBA from Penn State University, and a B.S. in Chemistry and Mathematics from Peking University.

James is a final year PhD candidate in Kevin Gardner’s lab at the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center in Manhattan. Using a multifaceted structural biology and biochemistry approach, he is working to better understand bacterial cell signaling and ways we can exploit these natural systems for artificial gene regulation.

Richard has expertise in protein and peptide chemistry and the biophysical characterization of biomolecules. He joined RedShiftBio as a field applications scientist in 2021 after he completed his PhD research at the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center. At RedShiftBio, Richard plays a critical role in supporting customers in both industry and academia to apply the MMS technology to their drug development or research. His passion for understanding the molecular mechanisms behind complex biological systems drives his commitment to helping researchers in biotechnology and pharmaceutical development. When not at work, Richard spends quality time with his 2-year-old son by teaching him general relativity.

Dr. Gorman earned his PhD in chemistry in 2020 at Penn State, researching structural transitions of allosteric proteins under Dr. David Boehr. He next focused on intrinsically disordered fusion oncoproteins during his postdoc at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. In 2022, he joined Arrakis Therapeutics in Waltham, MA, to quantify ligand binding of small molecule drug candidates by structured RNA regions. At Arrakis, he collaborated with RedShift BioAnalytics on studying conformational changes in small RNA riboswitches using MMS. In May 2024, he joined RedShift BioAnalytics to help further develop MMS as a tool for studying RNA structure.

Alison Varghese is a Principal Scientist at Pfizer, Inc in Groton, CT where she has spent over 25 years as a protein biochemist in early drug discovery focusing on structural biology and medicine design.  Alison is currently part of a team that enables structure-based drug design using CryoEM.  

Alison holds a B.A. in Biology from Rutgers University, an M.S in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Northeastern University and a Certificate in Project Management from Boston University.