Mark Spear

Background

About Mark Spear

Since obtaining my Ph.D. from George Mason University, I have worked at Caerus Discovery and Serpin Pharma as a senior scientist managing a small team, including graduate and undergraduate student researchers. As a senior researcher, I accumulated substantial experience in areas of leadership, mentorship, experimental design, and research team management, leading to the successful development of novel technologies. Beyond this, I also served as an author on manuscripts, grants, and provisional patents. One of the most notable attributes I brought to each of these endeavors was a strong drive for innovation and progress, leading to the development of novel technologies with clear translational potential. Among these were new chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) systems that employ Boolean logic to detect absent tumor suppressors or to target autoreactive T and B cells, biodegradable microparticles and 3D-printed scaffolds, novel small-molecule inhibitors and peptide therapeutics, new recombinant protein therapeutics, and unique nonviral expression vectors for peptides, small-molecule therapeutics, and a cell-based cancer vaccine. Additionally, I also demonstrated proficiency at applying these skills to solve technical challenges in our research, leading to new cell and protein-based assays for screening and QC. As a senior scientist at these two companies, I also worked closely with my colleagues as well as graduate and undergraduate student researchers at our facility, allowing me to become quite proficient at teaching and training new students and employees. I am also quite proud to have helped our workers and students find new jobs and further their education as they progressed in their respective careers.