Education B.S., 1997, Biology, San Diego State University Ph.D., 2003, Biology, California Institute of Technology (mentor SE Fraser) LARTA University, 2001 graduated from Entrepreneur Bootcamp
Employment UCSD La Jolla, California IRACDA fellow 2009 – present
• Studying single-cell markers, such as nitric oxide production, cellular morphology and intracellular Ca2++, in order to elucidate regulatory networks that control classical activation in macrophages
• Redesigned existing microfluidic platform in 3D CADD environment to improve usability and increase experimental throughput.
THE NATURAL SCIENTIST Torrance, California Director of Academics 2008 – 2009
• Led a team of science copywriters in creating class that introduced advanced topics, such as astrobiology and genetic engineering, to high-school students with no science background.
• Spearheaded marketing and business analytics. Defined market segments and released an RFP for in-depth market research by an outside firm. Collected quotes from local and international market research firms, then presented recommendations to the management team.
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS Valencia, California Adjunct Faculty 2008 – 2009
• Developed new statistics course to familiarize non-scientists with common statistical fallacies made by scientists and public officials.
KAPLAN TEST PREPARATION & ADMISSIONS Los Angeles, California Teacher trainer and full-time faculty 2006 – 2008
• Managed all logistical and academic aspects of a six-week training program for new faculty hires. Tracked teacher performance in 15 core competencies and terminated trainees failing in 3 or more competencies.
• Instructed students with new thinking methods. Rehearsed lectures and prepared questions prior to lectures.
LUZLAB Los Angeles, California Cofounder 2006-2008
• Led a team that captured 50% share of the addressable market in 2 years, and increasing annual revenues by 200% over the same period.
• Directed engineering efforts to create several platform technologies to minimize non-recurring engineering costs associated with one-off lighting projects.
EQUIGENE RESEARCH Los Angeles, California Cofounder 2003 – 2006
• Created business plan, including market segmentation studies as well as potential revenue models.
• Won several competitive grants and raised money from seed-stage investors to fund Equigene.
• Recruited personnel from three universities and 2 private companies to serve on Equigene’s advisory board.
Research Interests After receiving my PhD. in biology with a focus on enzyme-activatable MRI contrast agents, I choose to enter the entrepreneurial world and co-founded Equigene. Our goal was indentify commercially relevant genetic markers in thoroughbred racehorses. Ultimately, we hoped that any markers we identified would also be relevant to human cardiovascular, pulmonary and musculoskeletal health. Throughout my two years at Equigene, and the following two years at a consumer product startup, I was always drawn to the design, engineering and fabrication of hardware. I choose to return to an academic institution and develop my skills as a future scientist to complement my engineering talents. I joined the lab of Dr. Mel Simon in 2009 and began working on refining and redesigning an existing design for a microfluidic device. Despite suffering from several idiosyncrasies, the device was used to successfully conduct multiple experiments and demonstrated its potential value to the Simon lab and the science community in general. Unfortunately, the microfluidic device proved too cumbersome for most users to successfully operate. The idiosyncratic nature microfluidic device is product of the ad-hoc nature in which it was designed, fabricated and refined. Consequently, the different components of the microfluidic device are at different stages of completion and none feel as “finished” as a production laboratory instrument.
My future goals are to develop a useful microfluidic platform for biology, release the designs to the open source community, and establish my own lab at a research university. Participating in the IRACDA program allows me to develop the tools necessary to effectively communicate my research and reach out to new generation of students.
Publications Goard M., Aakalu G., Fedoryak O.D., Quiñónez C., St Julien J., Poteet S.J., Schuman E.M., Dore T.M. (2005) Light-mediated inhibition of protein synthesis. Chemical Biology 12:685-93.
Nordin S., Quiñónez C., Morgan C.D., Geisler M.W., Polich J., and Murphy C. (1999) Olfactory event-related potentials in young and elderly adults: Evaluation of tracking task versus eyes open/closed recording. Chemical Senses. 24:456-464
Caldwell C., Norman V., Urbiña N., Jarvis A., Quiñónez C., Stemm M., and Dahms A.S. (1997) Regulatory differences among avian ecto-ATPases. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 238:728-732.
Nordin S., Murphy C., Davidson T.M., Quiñónez C., and Jalowayski A.A., Ellison D.W. (1996) Prevalence and assessment of qualitative olfactory dysfunction in different age groups. Laryngoscope. 106:739-744.
Quiñónez C., Morgan C.D., Covington J.W., Ellison D., Wester D., Nordin S., Polich J.M., and Murphy C. Task and EEG alpha effects on olfactory event-related potentials. Chemical Senses. 20:234-234.
Murphy C., Quiñónez C., and Nordin S. (1995) Reliability and validity of electrogustometry and its application to young and elderly persons. Chemical Senses. 20:499-503.
Recent Teaching: San Diego State University, Bi100 – Introduction to Biology. Created and taught three lectures on the relevance and importance of chemical ecology.
California Institute of the Arts – Statistical Cynicism. Created and taught a semester-long course on the interpretation of statistics in popular media.
ArtCenter College of Design – Solid-state lighting in the automotive industry. Lectured on the current state and future directions of solid-state lighting in the automotive industry.
Kaplan Test Preparation and Admissions – Teacher trainer and full-time faculty. Trained and evaluated new faculty in various aspects of a small-classroom teaching methodology.
SAT Bank – Created a summer enrichment class for high school chemistry students.
Laboratory training – mentoring 1 undergraduates and 1 graduate student
Honors 1993 - 1997 MARC/MBRS Undergraduate Research Fellow 1996 & 1997 Fogarty International Research Fellow 1998 Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellow 2000 California Institute of Technology Business Plan Competition, winner 2002 Advanced E-Team grant recipient from National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance 2002 & 2003 California Institute of Technology Entrepreneurial Fellow 2006 & 2007 Invited speaker at the Intelligent Lighting for Automobile Design Symposium. 2009 IRACDA Research Fellow
Contact Information: Carlo Quiñónez UCSD Department of Pharmacology 9500 Gilman Drive, 3020 BSB La Jolla, CA92093-0636 cquinonez@ucsd.edu