Resume

• 1993

  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

  Microbiology and Immunology

  UTHSCSA

• 1984

  Bachelor's of Science

  Biology

  General

  Tulane University

• Vaccines

  Assay Development

  Science

  Virology

  Animal Model Development… Directed the development multiple animal models of in

  Cell

  Genomics

  ELISA

  1st Lieutenant

  US Army

  Signal Corps

  Germany

  GLP

  Molecular Biology

  Cell Culture

  FACS

  Cell Biology

  Research Project Leader… Principle Investigator for over $20 million worth of go

  Microbiology

  Immunology

  Immunoassays

  Infectious Diseases

  Vaccine/Therapeutic Testing…Primary responsibility from Oct 2003 to the present

  Stark GV

  Long JP

  Ortiz DI

  Gainey M

  Carper BA

  Feng J

  Miller SM

  Bigger JE

  Vela EM. Clinical profiles associated with influenza disease in the ferret model. PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e58337.

  Bigger

  I am a microbiologist/virologist/immunologist PhD level scientist with extensive project management experience and excellent leadership skills. I seek a team of researchers to join in the conduct high quality research and product development/licensing in infectious disease arena.

  John

  Bigger

  Southern Research Institute

  Georgia Gwinnett College

  Texas Biomedical Research Institute

  UTHSCSA

  Battelle

  MRI Global

  Contracted as Virology Study Director to direct virology studies

  conduct client interactions

  write protocols and report data. In 3 months I was the principle investigator to bring some $ 5 million in contracts

  wrote 10 protocols and Animal Use protocols and executed 3 in life studies on influenza

  to include developing an H7N9 model infection model.

  Contracted Virologist

  Kansas City

  Missouri Area

  MRI Global

  Birmingham

  Alabama Area

  Principle responsibilities include establishment of animal models of infectious disease for testing of vaccines and therapeutics

  collaboration with Southern Research business developers for client establishment and support

  Principle Investigator and Study Director on vaccine and therapeutic studies against influenza virus

  pox viruses

  Acinetobacter

  Neisseria

  and Escherichia bacterial species

  both commercial and governmental clients. GLP compliant and BSL3+ Tier1 Select Agents.

  Senior Program Manager/Senior Scientist

  Southern Research Institute

  04/01/199 to 09/15/2003--Postdoctoral Fellow

  Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research

  Dept. of Virology and Immunology

  San Antonio

  TX. Now Texas Biomedical Research Institute.\n\tMy postdoctoral training centered on immune evasion by herpesvirus papio-2

  a baboon herpes simplex virus. The work involved using molecular biology and immunology techniques to establish the baboon as a surrogate model for herpes simplex virus infection of humans. I routinely used cell culture ELISA

  FACS

  immunohistochemisty

  NK cell assays

  construction of numerous genomic libraries of viruses and construction of recombinant viruses to study immune evasion strategies. Additionally

  I worked in BSL3 and BSL4 containment facilities supporting the contract research team

  as needed.

  Texas Biomedical Research Institute

  Battelle

  Research Project Leader; Project Manager… Principle Investigator for over $30 million worth of government and commercial client contracts. I coordinated study design

  project execution

  budget

  and ensured staffing availability. I ensured timely product delivery and continuity of reports between projects. I was the primary scientific liaison responsible for identifying the client product needs

  then integrating those needs into our multi-disciplinary scientific staff and manage that collaboration for the proposal and execution of a world class study. \n\nVaccine/Therapeutic Testing…Study Director of 30+ GLP compliant vaccine and therapeutic testing studies. Directed studies in non-human primates

  rabbits

  mice

  and ferrets to test vaccines and therapeutics for anthrax

  Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE)

  smallpox (using monkeypox as a surrogate) and influenza (including pandemic and highly pathogenic avian influenza). Study director responsibilities included proposal preparation

  protocol and report writing for FDA submission

  IACUC interface

  budget management

  client relationship

  animal husbandry oversight

  assay oversight and refinement

  science oversight and safety. I am recognized internationally as a subject matter expert for both influenza and orthopoxvirus animal models. \n\nAssay development was crucial for the utilization of animal models and included the establishment/refinement virus specific assays (plaque assay

  TCID50

  ELISA

  qPCR

  HAI

  etc.) as well as assays to monitor the immune response to vaccination and/or to challenge following vaccination. Immune response assays developed utilized ELISA

  microneutralization

  qPCR (especially for cytokine expression) and flowcytometry. Assays were rigorously developed and utilized on GLP compliant studies. I have planned and reviewed assay validation protocols and reports and tech-transferred assays to other laboratories.

  Senior Research Scientist

  Columbus

  Ohio Area

  01/05/2001 to 4/30/2001--Instructor

  Advanced Immunology

  University of Texas at San Antonio \n\tI taught a one semester graduate level course outlining the state of the art in immunological questions and techniques.\n\n06/01/1993 to 3/30/1999--Graduate Student/Teaching Assistant

  Dept. of Microbiology

  UTHSC-SA

  San Antonio

  TX \n\tMy graduate work explored the immune response to virus infections in a mouse model of cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis. CMV is a common virus that most humans contract as a child

  but then maintain latently throughout their life. In AIDS patients

  the loss of T cell immunity allows CMV to re-activate from latency and cause retinitis. The studies I conducted in CMV-infected mouse eyes led to new understandings of the importance of NK cells and T cells in ocular infections

  and showed that adoptive transfer of immune cell could protect ocular tissue from CMV disease. Some of these studies required survival surgery (thymectomy) of mice and antibody-mediated immune cell depletion.

  UTHSCSA

  Georgia Gwinnett College

  Lawrenceville

  Georgia

  Instruct Biology classes as needed by the division. Currently teaching Introduction to Biology

  Temporary Instructor

  German

  Awards and Key Positions

  •\tBiosafety Committee 7 years (one year as vice chair)\n•\tInstitutional Biosafety Committee 4 years (recombinant DNA)\n•\tScientific representative to BSL-3 Design and Construction Team (56

  000 sq ft building w/ 13

  000 aBSL-3+).\n•\tTeam Lead (supervised 5 multidiscipline study directors). \n•\tWorked with health services to establish medical monitoring and response plan for HPAI program. \n\n10.01.04 to 09.30.06 $300

  000 Battelle Internal Research and Development Grant—“Development of an Animal Models for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Infections”.\n12.01.03-12.01.04 $25

  000\tSouthwest Foundation Forum Grant—“Genetics of Susceptibility to Herpes Simplex Virus Infection in Baboons. Grant proctored by David Martin

  Ph.D.\n12.01.02-12.31.03\t$25

  000\tSouthwest Foundation Forum Grant-- “Infected Cell Protein 47 and MHC Class 1 Modulation: Comparison of the ICP47 Homologs found in the Primate Herpes Simplex Viruses

  B Virus

  Herpesvirus Papio 2 and SA8”. \n2007 Invited speaker at ‘Anthrax: Bridging Correlates of Protection of Animals to Immunogenicity in Humans’ Gaithersburg

  MD – November 2007\n2006\t Invited keynote speaker at joint Battelle Korea/Korea University Dec. 8 symposia.\n1999\tAward for Excellence in Doctoral Studies (Department of Microbiology)\n1997\tJames W. McLaughlin Award for Oral Presentation

  Texas Regional Immunology Conference.\n1997\tAmbassador Scholar (Department of Microbiology)\n