Meet Henrique dos Santos Seckler, PhD, Scientist 1 at Alliance Pharma. Henrique is a CLP Predoctoral Training Program alum and a graduate of Northwestern’s Chemistry Program. His CLP Training Program preceptors were Neil Kelleher, John Wilkins, and Shad Thaxton.
What was the focus of your pre-doctoral research?
You know how there’s the good and the bad cholesterol? The good cholesterol is in HDL [high density lipoprotein] particles. Those are a lipid core surrounded by phospholipids and embedded proteins. I studied chemical modifications of those proteins in the HDL particle and how they related to cardio-metabolic phenotype in different individuals. The idea is you can use this as a diagnostic measure, or prognostic measure to look into cardiovascular disease risk of a person based on their molecular phenotype.
What drew you to your first job out of grad school and what are you doing now?
I do mostly method development for large molecule projects for Alliance Pharma, a contract research organization. I work with clients on their needs for molecular characterization and/or quantification of their protein or oligonucleotide targets. I use my accrued liquid-chromatography/mass-spectrometry experience to develop methods that suit their molecules and their needs in sensitivity/accuracy of quantitation. This line of work has educated me on the ways mass-spectrometry is used in an industrial setting.
How did CLP support your journey?
CLP enabled me to present my research many more times than I would have otherwise. Not only did it strengthen my communication skills, but it also enabled me to see how other people understand it and fine-tune it for when I actually need to go to a research conference.
What was a highlight of your time at Northwestern?
I learned how to code! It was through one of CLP’s required classes [Practical Training in Chemical Biology Methods & Experimental Design]. One of the guest speakers gave us a tiny bit of the code language R which is a statistical language that is amenable to biologists. I kind of ran with it from there and took some online courses. Now, I am very comfortable with it. That was cool.
by Lisa La Vallee