Patrick Fleming, B.S.

As a Research Assistant in the Robson lab at JAXGM I play a role in a variety of projects that leverage stem cell biology and genomic technologies to uncover the genetic nature of phenomena like development and disease. Notably, the Research Assistants in the Robson lab play important roles in large research initiatives like the Molecular Phenotypes of Null Alleles in Cells (MorPhiC) and the Cellular Senescence Network (SenNet). Responsibilities include hiPSC culture and differentiation in gene knockout cell lines, 3D brain organoid derivation, RNA extraction from tissue and cells, ChIP and qPCR, and human/mouse tissue dissociation for sample preparation, among other protocols.

I have a background in immune mast cell signaling pathways with a focus on tyrosine phosphorylation of kinase enzymes and phospholipid interactions at the plasma membrane. For two years I researched the toxic irony of a particular antimicrobial chemical (Cetylpyridinium chloride, CPC) that is FDA-approved and exposed to humans at alarming concentrations. This chemical kills bacteria and can fend off virus, but the fact that it ravages the eukaryotic immune system is overlooked. I probed the biochemical action of this chemical using enzyme linked immunosorbent assays and molecular dynamics simulations. I performed this research as part of the Gosse lab at the University of Maine. I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry, and a second degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Microbiology from the University of Maine Honors College, defending my thesis with highest honors. I joined the Robson lab shortly after graduation.

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Patrick Fleming on Orcid