Alberto Daniel Guerra 901 Drake Street Apt 216 ! Madison, WI 53726 ! aguerra@wisc.edu ! 651-769-4550

Career Summary: I am a National Institutes of Health Biotechnology Program Trainee in the University of Wisconsin Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD program conducting three translational research projects utilizing poly(ethylene glycol) and gelatin-based hydrogels for the delivery of cells, peptides, and small molecules for tissue regeneration, the treatment of X-linked hypophosphatemia, and the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. I have developed mesenchymal stem cell and triple antibiotic-loaded hydrogels that prevent infection and accelerate healing in bacteria-inoculated cutaneous wounds via a minocycline-induced enhancement of the stem cell wound healing phenotype and I have directed the development of a Phase 1 clinical trial for antibiotic-loaded hydrogels for cutaneous wounds and burns at the Hong Kong University Clinical Trials Centre.

Education

2013-Present University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI PhD Pharmaceutical Sciences Minors in Clinical Investigation, Minor in Biotechnology GPA: 3.79/4.0 2011-2013 University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI B.S. Biochemistry GPA: 3.74/4.0 2009-2011 Gustavus Adolphus College St. Peter, MN GPA: 3.65/4.0

Research Experience

November 2013-Present University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. W. John Kao Lab Madison, WI NIH Biotechnology Training Program Trainee !Development of mesenchymal stem cell and antibiotic-loaded hydrogels which prevent infection and accelerate healing in bacteria-inoculated cutaneous wounds via a minocycline-induced enhancement of the stem cell wound healing phenotype, leading to a publication in the AAPS Journal and a manuscript under review in the Journal of Controlled Release !Subcutaneous administration of hexa-D-arginine-loaded hydrogels for the treatment of X-linked hypophosphatemia, which have shown to recover the biochemical disease phenotype in hyp-mice !Encapsulation of M1 macrophages into hydrogels for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma that have demonstrated attenuation of tumor growth via an interleukin-6-induced release of nitric oxide and tumor necrosis factor alpha from encapsulated macrophages !Research fully funded by the National Institutes of Health Biotechnology Training Program and the University of Wisconsin Science and Medicine Graduate Research Scholars fellowships January 2016-March 2016 The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong, SAR China Clinical Trials Centre Intern/Visiting Scientist !Directed the development of a Phase 1 clinical trial on antibiotic-loaded hydrogels for cutaneous wounds and burns by constructing the study team, writing the clinical trial protocol, writing the patient consent form, and writing the Department of Health and Institutional Review Board applications

 

 

!Instructed medical labs on the utilization and in vivo application of cell-loaded hydrogels for the delivery of mesenchymal stem cells to the liver for organ regeneration and the delivery of mesenchymal stem cells to the brain to recover dopamine production loss for the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease January 2012-August 2013 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Alan Attie Lab Madison, WI Undergraduate Research Fellow !Elucidation of Type II Diabetes therapeutic targets by silencing gene expression through microRNA transfection and analyzing the insulin secretion response !Research funded by the National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research and Mentoring Program June 2012-August 2012 R&D Systems, Inc. Minneapolis, MN Research Intern !Discovery of novel cell surface markers on T helper 17 cells using flow cytometry for the development of targeted therapeutics for autoimmune diseases affiliated with an excess proliferation of T helper 17 cells May 2011-December 2011 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. William Karasov Lab Madison, WI Undergraduate Research Fellow !Investigation of the molecular mechanism of paracellular absorption which was found to be controlled by changes in transport protein gene expression in mice in response to environmental stress, leading to a publication in the Journal of Experimental Biology !Research funded by the University of Wisconsin Summer Research Opportunities Program and the National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research and Mentoring Program

Publications

Alberto Daniel Guerra, Oscar Yuan, Weiyuan John Kao, Nancy Kwan Man. Hydrogels loaded with M1 macrophages inhibit hepatocellular carcinoma tumor growth through an interleukin-6 stimulated secretion of nitric oxide and tumor necrosis factor alpha. Manuscript in preparation. Alberto Daniel Guerra, Baozhi Yuan, Marc K Drezner, Weiyuan John Kao. Subcutaneous administration of hexa-D-arginine-loaded hydrogels recovers the biochemical phenotype of X-linked hypophosphatemia in the hyp-mouse. Manuscript in preparation. Alberto Daniel Guerra, Warren E. Rose, Peiman Hematti, Weiyuan John Kao. Minocycline enhances the mesenchymal stromal/stem cell pro-healing phenotype in triple antimicrobial-loaded hydrogels. Acta Biomaterialia (accepted for publication). 2017. Alberto Daniel Guerra, Heather Waldeck, Weiyuan John Kao. Extracellular Matrix: Inspired Biomaterials. Comprehensive Biomaterials 2nd Edition. 2016. Waltham, MA: Elsevier. Alberto Daniel Guerra, David Antonio Cantu, Joseph T. Vecchi, Peiman Hematti, Warren E. Rose and Weiyuan John Kao. Mesenchymal stromal/stem cell and minocycline loaded hydrogels inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus that evades immunomodulation of blood-derived leukocytes. The AAPS Journal. 2015; 17(3):620-630. Edwin R. Price, Lisa J. Ruff, Alberto Guerra and William H. Karasov. Cold exposure increases intestinal paracellular permeability to nutrients in the mouse. Journal of Experimental Biology. 2013; 216(21): 4065-4070.

 

 

Presentations

Human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells encapsulated in composite hydrogels for wound healing and as a cellular vaccine. The University of Hong Kong Faculty of Medicine Seminar, May 2015. Hexa-D-Arginine loaded hydrogels significantly increase mineralization and induces favorable gene expression in osteocytes. University of Wisconsin-Madison 2nd Annual Symposium on Therapeutics Discovery and Development, April 2015. Mesenchymal stromal/stem cell and minocycline-loaded hydrogels inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus that evades immunomodulation of blood-derived leukocytes. University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Surgery 6th Annual Research Summit, January 2015. Mesenchymal stem cell and minocycline-loaded hydrogels inhibit the bioburden of Staphylococcus aureus. University of Wisconsin-Madison Science and Medicine Graduate Research Scholars Annual Symposium, September 2014. Identification of cell surface markers on human Th17 cells. R&D Systems, Inc. Summer Intern Research Seminar, August 2012. Fatty-Acyl carnitine mediated insulin secretion. University of Wisconsin-Madison Undergraduate Research Symposium, April 2012. Mice increase reliance on paracellular intestinal absorption in response to increased energy demand. Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, January 2012 Gene expression changes as a result of changes in paracelullar absorption due to environmental changes in Mus musculus. University of Wisconsin-Madison Summer Research Opportunities Program Symposium, August 2011.

Academic Awards

!National Institutes of Health Biotechnology Training Program fellowship, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2013-present) !Science and Medicine Graduate Research Scholars Program fellowship, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2013-present) !Graduation distinction honors, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2013) !National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research and Mentoring Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2011-2013) !Dean’s List, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2011-2012) !Dean’s List, Gustavus Adolphus College (2010) !Dean’s Scholarship, Gustavus Adolphus College (2009-2011)

Clinical Experiences !Lab phlebotomist for human donor blood draws, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2013-present) !Clinical Trials Centre Intern, The University of Hong Kong (2016) !Endocrine surgery clinic observer, University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics (2014)

Affiliations

!Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2013-present) !Secretary and Historian for the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2014) !American Association for the Advancement of Science/Program for Excellence in Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2014) !Undergraduate Research and Mentoring Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2011-2013)

 

 

Leadership Experiences

!Reviewer for manuscript submission to Stem Cells (November 2016) !Reviewer for manuscript submission to Cytotherapy (September 2016) !Reviewer for manuscript submission to Stem Cells (February 2016) !Undergraduate Research Scholars program research mentor, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2016) !Research mentor to biomedical engineering undergraduate, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2014-2015) !Co-founder, treasurer and captain of the University of Wisconsin-Madison men’s club soccer team, national top ten finish in 2015, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2011-2015) !Emergency room volunteer at Meriter Hospital, Madison, WI (2014) !Contract formulation efficacy research for WakePharma USA Wound-Be-GoneTM (2013) !Gustavus Adolphus College NCAA Division III men’s soccer team varsity letter winner (2009-2010)

References

Dr. Weiyuan John Kao (PhD), Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, The University of Hong Kong: vpglobal@hku.hk; wjkao@wisc.edu; +852 639-66331 Dr. Peiman Hematti (MD), Professor of Medicine in Hematology and Oncology, University of Wisconsin-Madison: pxh@medicine.wisc.edu; +1 (608) 265-0106 Dr. Marc Drezner (MD), Senior Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research, Executive Director for the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Professor of Medicine in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, University of Wisconsin-Madison: mkd@medicine.wisc.edu; +1 (608) 265-5996 Dr. David Schneider (MD), Assistant Professor of Endocrine Surgery, University of Wisconsin-Madison: schneiderd@surgery.wisc.edu; +1 (608) 263-1387 Dr. Sookja Chung (PhD), Professor of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Hong Kong: skchung@hku.hk; +852 3917-9172 Dr. Kwan Man (PhD), Professor of Surgery, The University of Hong Kong: kwanman@hku.hk; +852 3917-9646 Dr. Christine Goetz (PhD), Scientist I, R&D Systems, Inc.: christinegt480@gmail.com; +1 (612) 379-2956