AssarH RESUME_06-16doc
- 1. Homa Assar Homa Assar 9205 Topeka Street, Bethesda, MD 20817 · Email: assarhom@gmail.com Phone: 301-571-0562 Citizenship: U.S. PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY Accomplished TECHNICAL WRITER & EDITOR (MEDICAL SCIENCES) with a strong record of scientific/medical writing, scientific research and data management for NIH and NCI (National Cancer Institute), employed by Nova Research Company. Used expertise gained while achieving highest quality of work and meeting all deadlines. More than 15 years of experience in science writing and scientific research. Experience in NCI/NIH clinical trials, including the informed consent forms for human subject research. Knowledge of FDA regulations regarding new therapeutics and clinical trials. Noted for strong work ethics and efficiency. Talented, knowledgeable, and motivated, strong background in molecular biology, virology, immunology, and cellular biology. Quick-learner, detail-oriented, eager to learn new skills, team-player, highly adaptable, and efficient. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Between May 2015 and present time: • Attended Montgomery County WorkSource workshops • Translated medical documents (patient reports, clinical trials documents, etc.) and scientific articles from Italian, French, and Persian into English • Translated a book in French into Persian and published it. • Translated a book from French into English. Medical Writer / National Cancer Institute, Clinical Trials December 2014 to May 2015 Technical Resources International (TRI), 6500 Rock Spring Drive, Suite 650, Bethesda, MD 20187 Maintained NCI/CTEP (Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program)’s database regarding Exceptions to Rapid Reporting of Adverse Events in clinical trials with anti-cancer agents. Maintained an Excel spreadsheet of information regarding the drugs and their adverse events and other relevant information. Tracked investigator-generated reports regarding the drug adverse events. Conducted literature reviews. Participated in conference calls with NIAID staff and prepared summary minutes within short deadlines. Successfully completed the task at TRI within the contract time period. Made a smooth transition possible when a crisis occurred at the company and took over the tasks left behind when a team member had to take an emergency leave of absence. 1
- 2. HOMA ASSAR Science Writer and Task Force Leader / October 2001 to November 2013 Nova Research Company, 4600 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814 Worked for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and NIH Worked as a Science writer and Data Management support for the National Cancer Institute’s Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD)’s Developmental Therapeutics Program (DTP) contract. Responsibilities included attending committee meetings, recording the proceedings, taking detailed notes, preparing or editing transcripts, generating action items, writing summary minutes, editing and proofreading documents for grammar and punctuation, sending email notifications to DTP staff and academicians of various universities and cancer centers, preparing spreadsheets of listings and meeting agendas, and distributing the scientific documents to the staff and external researchers. Performed: editing of complex scientific and technical material; writing printed or spoken media for a general scientific audience or informed laymen; and insured that editing and writing conforms to all applicable requirements, shifting of sentences within paragraphs; corrections of sentences for faulty syntax or poor choice of words; conformance to GPO required style, grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Maintained databases (Oracle-based), created and maintained spreadsheets, created compound summaries in databases and sent to researchers from universities and cancer centers around the US. Uploaded documents on shared folders for access by NCI staff. Provided contract support to several drug discovery and development initiatives sponsored by the DTP, including the NExT program. Attended the committee meetings and prepared the minutes for each of these programs. Summarized highly technical data derived from studies related to the chemical synthesis, biochemistry, molecular target activity, biological activity, pharmacokinetics, toxicity, and pharmaceutical properties of the compounds under development by the DTP. Responsible for archiving and maintaining documentation related to the DTP project. All work was delivered with best quality and at or usually prior to the deadline. Received many praises from NCI staff and authorities, as well as NOVA Research Company during the years of service. Took over responsibility for the entire contract after the supervisor and all the rest of the team members suddenly left. Single-handedly, made a smooth transition possible when crises occurred at all three companies where I worked. Medical and Scientific Translation November 2002 to present Free-lance translator Translated many peer-reviewed scientific articles, medical reports, medical test results, clinical trial consent forms, Ethics Committees documents, etc. RELATED EXPERIENCE Research Associate — BioServe Biotechnologies, Laurel, Maryland March 2001 to October 2001 Lead the Oligonucleotide Synthesis Department
- 3. Homa Assar Research Associate — McGill University, Montreal, Canada August 1990 to October 1996 and the Canadian National Research Council Biotechnology Institute Fields of research: gene therapy, endocrinology and osteoporosis Applying advanced molecular biology techniques such as DNA & RNA purification, DNA & RNA blots, hybridization, Cloning, PCR, differential display PCR, DNA sequencing, Gel electrophoresis, cell culture, etc. Teaching assistant — Université de Montréal Translation of scientific material — Université de Montréal Coordinator and translator — IBC, an international March 1997 to September 2000 Industrial consulting company in Iran with offices in Tehran and Western Europe PUBLICATIONS K A McCuaig, H S Lee, J C Clarke, H Assar, J Horsford, and J H White. Parathyroid hormone/parathyroid hormone related peptide receptor gene transcripts are expressed from tissue-specific and ubiquitous promoters. Nucl. Acids Res. (1995) 23 (11): 1948-1955. Mona Greenbaum, Sylvain Létourneau, Homa Assar, Robyn L. Schecter, Gerald Batist, and Denis Cournoyer. 1994. Retrovirus-mediated Gene Transfer of Rat Glutathione S-Transferase Yc Confers Alkylating Drug Resistance in NIH 3T3 Mouse Fibroblasts. Cancer Res 54: 4442-4447. EDUCATION • Master of Science in BIOLOGY (Concentration in Ecology and Toxicology), University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 90 avenue Vincent-d’Indy, Montréal, QC H2V 2S9, 6/1989, 3.8/4.0 GPA, • Bachelor of Science in BIOLOGY (Concentration in cell biology and zoology), Tehran University, Tehran, Iran, 1/1980 3.7/4.0 GPA • Credits in biology and other areas from Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky, and Marshall University, Huntington West Virginia. • Extra credits post-bachelor’s degree in immunology, virology, ecology, and languages from Concordia and McGill universities in Montreal, Canada LANGUAGES Highly proficient (professional translator) in English, Persian, French, Italian, and German 3
- 4. HOMA ASSAR COMPUTER SKILLS Highly proficient in Microsoft Office, Acrobat, Oracle-based Databases Proficient in PowerPoint, Access, FileMaker Pro, Reference Manager ADDITIONAL INFORMATION • Member, American Translators Association, 2008-present