Ana Karina Pitol García Grosswiesenstrasse 142/5 8051 Zürich +41774866131 anakarina.pitol@eawag.ch

PROFILE Master of Science degree from EPFL School of Life Sciences, Lausanne Bachelor of Science degree with Honors Multidisciplinary Scientific Background Outstanding reasoning, laboratory, problem solving, communication and team-work skills

EDUCATION Feb. 2015 – Present École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

Ph.D. Civil and Environmental Engineering Sep. 2011 – Oct. 2013 École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

Master of Bioengineering Aug. 2006 – May 2011 Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM)

B.S. Biotechnology Engineering with specialization in Bioprocess Graduated with honors for outstanding academic achievement

HONORS AND AWARDS • International Scholarship for Graduate Studies, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT), 2011. • Graduated with honors for outstanding academic achievement, ITESM, 2011. • Recognition for research and innovation, ITESM, 2011. • Student Leadership Award, ITESM, 2011. • Undergraduate Scholarship for Outstanding Academic Performance, ITESM, 2006.

RESEARCH PROJECTS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG). Dübendorf, Switzerland. Feb. 2015-Present Laboratory of Pathogens and Human Health

• Currently I am investigating the factors that influence virus transfer in the liquid/skin interface using two different and complementary systems: QCM-D and human arms.

Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM). Monterrey, México. Jan. 2014-Dec 2014 Research and Teaching Instructor, Department of Science

• I taught two courses, “Scientific and Technological Research”, where students learn how to set up a research project, and “Tissue Culture Laboratory” where, together with other instructors, I taught students the basic techniques of mammalian and plant tissue culture.

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Lausanne, Switzerland, Jan. 2012-Oct. 2013. Laboratory of Cellular Biotechnology

• Under the supervision of Professor Florian Wurm, I developed and optimized a transient transfection protocol for recombinant protein production in insect cells using molecular/cell biology techniques. After the successful establishment of the protocol, I collaborated in the generation of stable insect cell lines expressing GFP, TNFR-fc and IgG proteins.

ExcellGene S.A. Monthey, Switzerland, Jul. 2012-Oct. 2012. Research Internship  

• I established a transient transfection process for recombinant protein production in High Five cells. I tested different promoters, performed codon optimization and evaluated other parameters such as culture medium, transfection density, transfection reagent obtaining transfection efficiencies of 90% and secreted protein (TNFR-Fc) yields of over 100 mg/L in a 3 - 4 day batch process.

Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM). Monterrey, México, Jan.-May 2011. Instructor of Physics I & II Laboratories, Department of Physics.

• Collaborated with other physics instructors to teach and demonstrate fundamental concepts such as Newton’s laws and Thermodynamics to engineering students.

Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM). Monterrey, México. Aug. 2010-Aug. 2011. Research Assistant, Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering.

• Under the guidance of Dr. Silverio García-Lara, I determined the physical properties of six different maize genotypes. Then these kernels were lime-cooked and processed into masa for tortillas. Once processed, I analyzed the phytochemical composition of the kernels, masas and nejayote solids. The free and bound, phenolics, ferulic acid and antioxidant capacity (AOX) were measured and analyzed.

Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM). Monterrey, México, Aug. 2010-Jan. 2011. Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering

• In this project, under the supervision of Dr. Jorge Benavides, I collaborated in the development of a process for the in situ extraction and purification of crocins from saffron stigmas (Crocus sativus) using an aqueous two-phase system by characterizing the partition behavior of crocin in an ethanol-potassium phosphate system.

Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM). Monterrey, México, Jan. 2010-May 2010. Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering

• Under the supervision of Prof. Sergio Serna Saldivar, and MSc. Jonathan Dávila, I evaluated the use of coffee residue waste for bioethanol production. In order to do this, we tested the fermentation process using Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The carbohydrate content of the coffee waste was analyzed for fermentable sugars using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).

Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM). Monterrey, México, Jan. 2009-Jun. 2010. Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering

• In this project, working with Dr. Silverio García-Lara, I developed a protocol to improve the germination of Capsicum annum seeds using different pre-treatments such as scarification and pre-heat of the seeds before culture. With this protocol the latency period of the seeds was reduced and the percentage of germinated seeds increased with respect to the protocols previously used.

SKILLSLanguages • Native Language: Spanish • English: Advanced, C2 • French: Elementary, B1

Computer skills • Microsoft Office: Advanced • Adobe Photoshop: Basic • MATLAB: Basic

Technical skills • Virus detection techniques (e.g., PCR, cell culture) • Mammalian and insect cell culture • Transient transfection and stable cell line generation • Protein purification techniques

• Molecular biology techniques (Western Blot, ELISA, cloning)

• Post-purification analyses • Proteomics • Biomolecular Screening of bioactive compounds

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Poster presentation at the 23rd ESACT meeting in Lille, France, Rapid Generation of Recombinant Proteins by Transient Gene Expression in High FiveTM cells Ana Karina Pitol, Xiao Shen, Lucia Baldi, David L. Hacker, and Florian M. Wurm Laboratory of Cellular Biotechnology, EPFL, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.

• Co-organizer of the International Congress of Biotechnology Engineering of the ITESM (SIMBIOSIS), Monterrey, México 2010.

• Science Workshop for Young Scientist, Centro de Investigación en Matemáticas, A.C. (CIMAT), Guanajuato, 2005.