Anna Jokiel Raskin
ajokiel@ucsd.edu
(858) 692-4100
(858) 964-2284
Objective:
To implement my knowledge of biology and engineering as a research engineer involved in the
development of cardiac therapies.
Education:
2003 – Present
University of California San Diego
PhD Student of Bioengineering: Cardiac Mechanics Research Group







San Diego, CA
GPA 4.0
Designed (Auto-CAD), developed, optimized, and validated mouse cardiac tissue culture chamber (612 hour culture) that facilitates uni-axial straining while simultaneously measuring muscle force and
strain.
System is capable of inducing hypertrophy at the level of molecular biology in intact isolated cardiac
tissue specimens obtained from genetically engineered mice used as models for human heart
disease.
System is used to understand how systolic and diastolic stress and strain patterns influence load
induced hypertrophic gene and protein expression (mechanisms of mechanotransduction), cardiac
remodeling, and development of heart failure.
Real time PCR techniques as well as two photon absorption techniques (confocal microscopy) used
to quantify changes in gene expression, cellular signaling, and to analyze load induced cytoarchitectural structural changes.
Fast Fourier analysis and cross correlation techniques implemented (Matlab based coding) to analyze
periodicity and deformation of structural proteins within cardiac tissue.
Managed two undergraduate students, who assisted with immunostaining and CAD design
Skills: Q-PCR, western blot, high resolution gel electrophoresis, silver staining of gels, Matlab, Visual
Basic (VB), AutoCad 2007, immunohistochemistry, confocal microscopy, student of national center of
microscopy and imaging resources, small animal microsurgery, mouse tissue culture, fluent in Polish
Graduate Student Instructor:
 Graduate Biomedical Imaging Course: signal processing, image processing, sampling theory, linear
systems theory, windowing, modulation, convolution, and FFT theory etc.
 Mass and Heat Transfer Course: Diffusion and Convection driven processes
 Bioengineering lab course: stress/strain analysis of living tissue, second order system analysis,
skeletal muscle mechanics and physiology, cardiac muscle mechanics and physiology, etc.
 Biomaterials Science Course: Properties of materials, polymers, hydrogels, bioresorbable and
bioerodible materials, composite mechanics, fabrication, etc.
2000 – 2003
University of California San Diego
B.S. in Bioengineering (ABET)



Experience:
GPA 3.82
Graduated Magna Cum Laude
Senior Project: Development of red blood cell velocity program (Matlab) based on the theory of times
series cross correlation (hemodynamics research group, UCSD)
Summer 2007






Abbot Vascular (CV Medical Device)
Santa Clara, California
Studied the effect of hydrophilic/ hydrophobic drug encapsulation on drug release mechanisms from
drug delivery vehicles used for the treatment and or diagnosis of vulnerable plaque
Experience with making nanoparticle drug delivery systems
Designed in vivo and in vitro experiments
Summarized, analyzed, and came up with conclusions from experiments. Results and future
direction of project presented to executive V.P. Abbott Vascular team.
Established collaborations between Abbott and UCSD Cardiology Lab
Utilized SEM (electron microscopy), DSC, GPC, DLS analysis to characterize drug vehicles
2001 – 2003



San Diego, CA
Isis Pharmaceuticals (Antisense Technology)
Carlsbad, California
Oligonucleotide synthesis optimization and drug purity analysis (HPLC experience included)
Analytical model derivations for the analysis of drug purity
Assisted liaison (Lilly/ Isis) with data analysis and company presentations


Developed Visual Basic program capable of attaining from Access and manipulating spread sheet
micro-array gene expression data in order to present data in heat map form for publications and
company presentations
Worked on BIRD knowledge base (implementing and organizing experimental data from notebooks)
Publications:




Sheikh F., Raskin A., Omens J., McCulloch A., Chen J.: A novel stretch effector within sarcomeric I
band is critical for the transition to the pathological cardiac hypertrophy, JCI (In review)
Wang J, Hoshijima M, Lam J, Zhou Z, Jokiel A, Dalton ND, Hultenby K, Ruiz-Lozano P, Ross J Jr,
Tryggvason K, Chien KR: Cardiomyopathy associated with microcirculation dysfunction in laminin
alpha4 chain-deficient mice, J Biological Chem 2006 Jan 6;281(1):213-20
Raskin A., Sheikh F., Lee L., Scott B., Belke D., A McCulloch, Chen J., Omens J.: Mechanical Role of
FHL1 in Modulating Titin Based Passive Myocardial Tension, (In Progress to Publication)
Raskin A., Swanson A., Graves A., Mrosco B., Hoshijima M., Omens J., McCulloch A.: In Vitro Mouse
Model of Load Induced Hypertrophy, (In Progress to Publication)
Abstracts and Conferences:





Jokiel A., Omens J., McCulloch A.: Chronic Function in excised Heart Muscle : Role of Laminin-α4 in
Cardiac Hypertrophy, Engineering Research Expo, University of California, San Diego, March 2004
Raskin A., Hoshijima M., McCulloch A., Omens J.: The cardiac tissue system: a novel technique
capable of inducing hypertrophy in excised heart muscle, Biophysics, Salt Lake City, Utah, March
2006
Raskin A., Sheikh F., Omens J., McCulloch A., Chen J.: Mechanisms of mechanotransduction in
FHL1 deficient cardiac muscle, Biophysics, Baltimore, Maryland, March 2007
Raskin A., Sheikh F, Hoshijima M., McCulloch A., Omens J.: Mechanical role of FHL1 in modulating
titin based passive tension, Biophysics, Long Beach, California, February 2008
Raskin A., Sheikh F., Omens J., McCulloch A.: Changes in diastolic stress, not systolic stress,
attenuate load induced hypertrophy in FHL1 null myocardium (Submitted, not yet accepted), FASEB,
San Diego, California, April 2008