Paul Andrew Bromann, Ph.D.
Kaivotie 2, 00280 Veikkola, Finland
Puh. +358 400 407348, paul.bromann@vtt.fi
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Goal oriented scientist experienced in project management and various aspects of research and development
related to the field of Drug Development, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Enzymology, Metagenomics,
Biofuels, Protein Engineering, and Biotechnology
Qualification Summary:
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Project leadership in academic, public, and industrial settings
Initiated successful collaborations with academic and industrial labs
Expertise in molecular oncology and cancer cell signaling
Experience in drug efficacy and toxicity animal studies
Expertise in applied metagenomics and development of industrial enzymes
Experience in high throughput screening of enzyme activity
Protein engineering numerous enzymes including kinases, protease inhibitors, phospholipases, and cellulases
Native English speaker with excellent presentation and technical writing skills
Skills:
Recombinant DNA
techniques
•DNA & RNA
purification
• hybridization
•cDNA cloning
•site-directed
mutagenesis
•subcloning
•PCR, RT-PCR
•ISH
Assay
Cell biology
Technical writing
•Q-PCR
•ribonuclease
protection assay
•RNAi
•western blot
•enzyme kinetics
•immunoprecipitation
•ligand binding assays
•phage display
•epifluorescence & confocal
microscopy
•immunohistochemistry
•Cellular microinjection
•FPLC
•transfection
•electroporation
•recombinant retrovirus
production
•NIH R01
•NIMH F31 (Pre-doctoral
Fellowship)
•NIH F32 (Post-doctoral
fellowship)
•EU-FP7
•Project reports
•Patent reports
•Invention notice
Professional Experience:
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo, Finland
January 2009 – present
Research Scientist and Project Manager, Industrial Enzymes
Led a multidisciplinary team in the development of novel industrial enzymes related to the production of
lignocellulosic biofuels. Managed and supervised EU program project to develop novel laccase and peroxidases
enzymes using state-of-the-art metagenomics and bioinformatics techniques. Discovered numerous novel
thermostable cellulase and hemicellulase enzymes and evaluated their activities and efficacy in various industrial
biofuel processes. Core member of team interacting with engineers, chemists, and biologists.
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Enzyme discovery and development
 VTT project manager for EU-METAEXPLORE
 Discovered numerous novel cellulase, xylanase, and laccase genes/enzymes
 Led the research efforts to enzymatically characterize the novel recombinant enzymes and
tested compatibility with biofuels industrial processes
o Identified highly thermostable enzymes
 Initiated and led the effort to patent novel enzymes
 Designed and managed the implementation of bacterial cellulase and xylanase production
processes using fermentation of bacteria.
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Metagenomics
 Developed metagenomics techniques to identify and develop novel industrial enzymes
o Cellulases, xylanses, laccases, peroxidases, and lipoxygenases
 Created numerous expression libraries from environmental DNA
 Led high-throughput enzyme activity screening of metagenomic libraries
 Expertise in next-generation sequencing technology and bioinformatics tools
 Identified numerous novel genes by using sequence-based metagenomics
Biomedicum Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
April 2008 – January 2009
Senior Scientist, Molecular Cancer Biology Laboratory
Investigated novel mechanisms of angiogenic signaling in Kari Alitalo’s group.
 Scientific writing/editing of manuscripts, technical documents, press releases, and grants.
 Designed and executed project to characterize Tie2 tyrosine kinase receptor signaling
pathways in endothelial cells to indentify new targets for antiangiogenic drug development.
 Designed and executed project to study roles of angiopoietin2 in regulating cell biology.
 Evaluated role of phosphatases in endothelial cell biology and their potential as drug targets.
NexBio Inc., San Diego, CA
January 2007 – April 2008
Senior Scientist, Protein Engineering
July 2007 – April 2008
Research Scientist II, Protein Engineering
January 2007 – July 2007
Led and managed project team in the preclinical research and development of NexBio’s second pipeline drug: a
recombinant protein antiviral therapeutic, Sepcidin™. Led Sepcidin™ protein engineering efforts to improve
target selectivity. Evaluated Sepcidin™ efficacy and safety in various cell culture systems as well as in animal
model systems. Core member of group interacting with multidisciplinary groups and contract research
organizations.
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Sepcidin™ development
 Led the in vitro research efforts to identify novel antiviral drug target
 Managed protein engineering methods to improve protein substrate selectivity
o structure-based mutagenesis and phage display
 Led high-throughput enzyme activity screening of Sepcidin™ drug candidates
 Designed and managed the implementation of Sepcidin™ production processes using
fermentation of bacteria and yeast.
 Developed purification protocol for protein production
 Developed enzyme activity assays to qualify production lots
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In vivo rodent studies
 Designed and managed toxicology studies with contract research organizations
o analysis of clinical parameters (blood/serum chemistry, body weights, tissue
pathology, blood coagulation)
 Managed animal efficacy studies
o influenza lethal challenge model
o blood coagulation disorders
 Designed and executed PK studies
Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI
July 2004 – July 2005
Adjunct Professor, Biology
 Designed course curriculum for General Biology I
 Prepared and delivered all course lectures
 Organized and led student discussion groups (up to 40 students)
 Timely setup of exams and grading papers
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Academic Research Experience:
The Burnham Institute for Medical Research, La Jolla, CA
July 2005 – December 2006
Merck Scholar
The Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, MI
October 2002 – June 2005
Postdoctoral Fellow
Led project to investigate the roles of Src family kinases (SFK) in growth factor signaling. Managed program to
study the role of SFKs and a novel SFK substrate, Tks4, in regulating cell motility, cancer cell metastasis/invasion
and development. Collaborated with a colleague to author a comprehensive Oncogene review regarding regulation
of Src by receptor tyrosine kinases.
 Role of SFKs in growth factor signaling
 Developed assays using pharmacological kinase inhibitors to characterize SFK signaling
 Designed and executed Affymetrix Genechip analyses
 Developed RT-PCR and RNAse protection assays to validate gene expression data
o Identified discrete sets of genes that are expressed in response to PDGF specifically
through Src, MEK or PI3-K
o Discovered a role for SFKs in regulating PDGF-induced RNA stability through p53
 Identification of Tks4, a Novel Tks5-related Protein Involved in Podosome Assembly and
Function
 Cloned and characterized a novel SFK substrate called Tks4
 Characterized tissue distribution and cellular localization of endogenous Tks4
 Developed a novel podosome formation assay using nuclear microinjection of cancer cells
o Discovered role for Tks4 in regulating formation of podosomes, structures thought to
promote the invasive properties of cells
 Led effort to analyze zebrafish genome data to identify Tks4 and Tks5 genes
 Developed Tks4 and Tks5 knockdown zebrafish strains using morpholinos
Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, MO
September 1999 – September 2002
Research Associate
Managed project to identify muscle specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) kinase-dependent and –independent signaling
mechanisms regulating acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clustering in myotubes and development of the mammalian
neuromuscular junction (NMJ).
 Developed T7 phage display assay to identify novel MuSK-interacting proteins
 Cloned and characterized novel MuSK-interacting protein, PAUL
o Validated PAUL-MuSK interaction in vitro, in cells, and in vivo
 Led efforts to identify novel MuSK signaling mechanism for clustering NMJ
proteins
o Identified and characterized MuSK kinase-independent AChR clustering
Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL
August 1993 – August 1999
Graduate Research Assistant
Investigated the role of the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain and the C2 domain of phospholipase C (PLC) delta-1 in
regulating enzyme activity in vitro and in cells. Involved in collaborative efforts to study role of PLC delta-1 in
regulating cardiac and kidney development. Designed and executed experiments to identify causative mutations in
PLC delta-1 for human essential hypertension.
 Developed phospholipid/PLC delta-1 PH domain binding assay
 Developed cellular PLC delta-1 activity assay
 Engineered GFP-tagged PLC delta-1 PH and C2 domains to assay cellular localization
 Developed SSCP analysis of human PLC delta-1 genes from hypertensive patients
o Identified numerous mutations
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Education:
Ph.D. in Neuroscience, Molecular/Cell Biology focus, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, June 1999
Dissertation: "The pleckstrin homology domain and the C2 domain of phospholipase C delta-1 regulate
enzymatic activity and membrane association"
B.A. (honors) in Chemistry and in Psychology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, May 1993
Honors Thesis: "Hemispheric processing of spatial phase-variant visual vernier stimuli"
Double major with Biology minor
Honors:
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Merck Scholar (2005 – 2007)
National Institute of Mental Health National Research Service Award Fellow (1996 – 1999)
Northwestern University Graduate Scholar (1996 – 1999)
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Graduate Travel Award (1999)
Chicago Signal Transduction Symposium Poster Award (1999)
Robert Lurie Cancer Center Gramm Travel Award Fellow (1997)
Indiana University Department of Psychology Outstanding Research Award (1993)
William J. Cook Scholar (1988 – 1992)
Invited talk:
 The 12th Meeting on Protein Phosphorylation and Cell Signaling at the Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA,
August 2006
“The Identification of Tks4, a Novel Tks5-related Protein Involved in Podosome Assembly and Function”
Journal Publications:
1. Murphy, D.A., Diaz, B., Bromann, P.A., Tsa, J.H., Kawakami, Y., Maurer, J., Stewart, R.A., IzpisùaBelmonte, J.C., Courtneidge, S.A. 2011 “A Src-Tks5 pathway is required for neural crest cell
migration during embryonic development” PLoS ONE, 6(7): e22499.
2. Buschman, M.D., Bromann, P.A., Cejudo-Martin, P. Wen, F., Pass, I., Courtneidge, S.A., 2009. “The
novel adaptor protein Tks4 (SH3PXD2B) is required for functional podosome formation” Molecular
Biology of the Cell, 20(5), 1302 – 1311.
3. Bromann, P.A., Korkaya, H., Webb, C.P., Miller, J., Calvin, T.L., Courtneidge, S.A., 2005. “Plateletderived growth factor stimulates Src-dependent mRNA stabilization of specific early genes in
fibroblasts” Journal of Biological Chemistry, 280, 10253 – 10263.
4. Bromann, P.A., Korkaya, H., Courtneidge, S.A., 2004. “The interplay between Src family kinases and
receptor tyrosine kinases” Oncogene, 23, 7957 – 7968.
5. Bromann, P.A., Zhou, H., Sanes, J.R., 2004. “Kinase- and rapsyn-independent activities of the musclespecific kinase (MuSK)” Neuroscience, 125, 417 – 26.
6. Bromann, P.A., Weiner, J.A., Apel, E.A., Lewis, R.M., Sanes, J.R., 2004. “A putative Ariadne-like E3
ubiquitin ligase (PAUL) that interacts with the muscle-specific kinase (MuSK)” Gene Expression
Patterns, 4, 77 – 84.
7. Bromann, P.A., Boetticher, E.E., Lomasney, J.W., 1997. “A single amino acid substitution in the
pleckstrin homology domain of phospholipase C delta-1 enhances the rate of substrate hydrolysis”
Journal of Biological Chemistry, 272, 16240 – 16246.
Conference Presentations with Published Abstracts:
8. Bromann, P.A., Nyyssönen, M., Koivula, A., Itävaara, M., Kruus, K. “Discovery of novel cellulases by
construction and functional screening of plasmid-based metagenomic libraries” Joint Genome Institute
Microbial Genomics and Metagenomics Workshop, DOE Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA,
USA (September 2009)
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9. Bromann, P.A., Korkaya, H., Webb, C.P., Miller, J., Calvin, T.L., Courtneidge, S.A., “Platelet-derived
growth factor stimulates Src-dependent mRNA stabilization of specific early genes in fibroblasts”
Keystone symposium: Molecular Targets for Cancer Therapy in Santa Fe, NM, USA (January 2005)
10. Bromann, P.A., Korkaya, H., Courtneidge, S.A., “The role of Src in growth factor stimulation of myc
RNA” 12th International Conference on Second Messengers and Phosphoproteins in Montreal, QC,
Canada (August 2004)
11. Bromann, P.A., Boetticher, E.E., Kanwar, Y.S.Lomasney, J.W., “The pleckstrin homology domain
regulates phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C delta-1 activity in cells” American Society for
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Conference in San Francisco, CA, USA (May 1999)
12. Bromann, P.A., Boetticher, E.E., Lomasney, J.W., “Kinetics of activated phospholipase C delta-1”
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Conference in New Orleans, LA, USA
(April 1997)
13. Bromann, P.A., Boetticher, E.E., Lomasney, J.W., “A single amino acid substitution in the PH domain
of PLC delta-1 (E54K) leads to enhanced rate of enzyme catalysis” International Symposium on the
Role of Phosphoinositides in Cell Signaling in Madison, WI, USA (June 1996)
Patents:
1. Bromann, P.A., Nyyssönen, M., Kruus, K., Itävaara, M., Koivula, A. “Discovery of novel thermostable
and low-pH stable cellulases by construction and functional screening of metagenomic libraries” in
preparation (Notice of Invention filed).
References:
1. Dr. Michael Malakhov, Director, Purification
Catalyst Biosciences, 260 Littlefield Avenue, South San Francisco, CA 94080
+1 650 871 0761, 2007bestever@gmail.com
2. Dr. Sara A. Courtneidge, Tumor Microenvironment co-Director, Professor
Burnham Institute for Medical Research, 10901 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037
+1 858 646-3128, courtneidge@burnham.org
3. Dr. Kari Alitalo, Academy Professor
Molecular Cancer Biology Program, Biomedicum Helsinki
PO Box 63 (Haartmaninkatu 8), FI-00014 University of Helsinki
+358 9 191 25511, kari.alitalo@helsinki.fi
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