Meet the Scientists

Caroline Hall, PhD

Flow Cytometry Technical Product Specialist

Caroline began her research career at the University of Hawaii at Hilo where she gained her Bachelor of Science in Cell and Molecular Biology. While attending university she worked as a research assistant studying tropical infectious avian diseases. She later received her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas where her research focused on characterizing the effects of age on T cell function in non-human primate models. Caroline went on to accept a post-doctoral fellowship with the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research located at the San Antonio Military Medical Center, where she investigated the role of antifibrotic agents on tissue remodeling in hypertrophic scarring following traumatic injury. She brings over 10 years of experience in the fields of immunology and cell biology to her role at Thermo Fisher Scientific, first as a Field Application Scientist specializing in flow cytometry, and currently as a Technical Product Specialist. Caroline lives in Colorado with her husband and two dogs where she enjoys hiking and camping with her family. She is passionate about traveling and is working on her goal to visit all 50 states.

Nicholas Radio, PhD

Product Manager

Nicholas (Nick) Radio is the Global Product Manager for High-Content Screening (HCS) at Thermo Fisher Scientific.  Nick holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology-Toxicology and an MBA with focus in Strategic Management.  He has authored over 25 publications, including two invited book chapters on utilizing HCS for neurotoxicity.  Nick has over 15 years of industry experience in HCS across roles in research and development, field applications, and technical product specialties.

Alexandra Burian, MSc

R&D Scientist

Alexandra Burian is an R&D scientist at the Thermo Fisher Scientific Center of Excellence for Immunoassays in Vienna. She is responsible for the development of immunoassays including Invitrogen ELISA, ProcartaPlex, and ProQuantum Immunoassays. Previously, Alexandra worked at the Institute of Medical Genetics focusing on the crosstalk between tumor cells and cancer associated fibroblasts. She graduated from the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien with a Master’s degree in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine.

Castle J. Funatake, PhD

R&D Manager

Castle is a Senior Manager in R&D at Thermo Fisher Scientific. She leads a diverse team of scientists responsible for the development of novel products for use in flow cytometry, a technology that empowers personalized medicine and is widely used in the fields of immunology, oncology, and cell biology. She has a PhD in Environmental and Molecular Toxicology from Oregon State University and a BA in Biology from Whitman College.

Natalie Oxford

R&D Manager

Natalie Oxford is an R&D manager, leading scientists that focus on protein and cell analysis at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Her focus is flow cytometry and is currently working on projects to enable greater multiplexing. Prior, she spent several years developing new antibodies for flow cytometry, particularly against cytokines, chemokines, and phosphorylated signaling proteins in addition to developing immunoassays and functional antibodies.

Nicole Wilkinson, PhD

R&D Scientist

Nicole is a R&D scientist focused on antibody and dye development for flow cytometry. She attended University of New Hampshire and received a BS in Nutritional Sciences. She continued and completed her graduate work from McGill University Montreal Canada and received a PhD in Experimental medicine. From there she did a post-doctoral study at the Lady Davis Institute Montreal Canada.

Shreyasi Das, PhD

Global Market Development–Flow Cytometry

Shreyasi Das received her PhD in cancer biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She joined Thermo Fisher Scientific after completing her postdoctoral work at Sanford Burnham Prebys Discovery Institute. She studied transforming growth factor-beta for many years in multiple different systems including stem cell differentiation, epithelial-to-mesenchymal differentiation, fibrosis, and Epstein Barr virus activation in B and T cells.

Shilpi Giri, PhD

R&D Scientist

Shilpi finished her PhD in Immunology understanding the role of unique innate-adaptive γδ T cells in allograft tolerance. She is interested in understanding the complex interactions between immune cells and exploring different ways to target them for the treatment of cancer and autoimmunity. At Thermo Fisher Scientific, Shilpi is working towards generation of recombinant antibodies against critical immunological molecules. Apart from science, Shilpi enjoys soccer, badminton, and pottery as hobbies.

Swathi SundarRaj, PhD

R&D Scientist

Swathi SundarRaj studied classical immunology and spent years in graduate school killing millions of T cells to understand how they die. From there, Swathi continued to study immune evasion and tolerance mechanisms and application to translational medicine, before jumping into development of tools with which to study the immune system. Swathi is constantly amazed that a system so mind-bogglingly complex has evolved purely by chance! At Thermo Fisher Scientific, Swathi is working towards generating recombinant antibodies against critical immunological molecules.

Sonja Zahner, PhD

R&D Manager

After obtaining a Master’s degree in Biology in Germany, Sonja pursued her PhD at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, where she studied the role of beta-catenin and E-cadherin in dendritic cell biology. Following her passion for Immunology, she accepted a postdoctoral position at the La Jolla institute for Allergy and Immunology, working on dissecting the contribution of members of the TNF super family to Crohn’s disease pathology with a focus on neutrophils. As a manager in R&D at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Sonja is working with a dedicated team of scientists aiming to provide the research community with tools for advanced flow cytometry.

Sean K. Maynard, MSc

Field Application Scientist

Erin Kitten, MSc

Field Application Scientist

Erin Kitten is a Field Application Scientist for Thermo Fisher Scientific and is based in Denver, CO, supporting customers with the Attune NxT flow cytometer. After managing a flow cytometry shared resource at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Erin has continued her focus in providing education and developing standardization and techniques across the field of Flow Cytometry. Her prior research experience includes working on telomeres and telomerase, natural killer cell migration and lytic synapse formation, and differentiation of iPSCs. Erin received a Master’s degree from Texas Tech University and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Dallas.

Haripriya Sridharan, PhD

R&D Scientist

Haripriya Sridharan has a background in viral infectious diseases, focusing on viral molecular biology and host pathogen interactions in influenza and herpesviral infections. She has a PhD in Microbiology and post-doctoral experience from University of Texas at Austin. At Thermo Fisher Scientific, she is working towards the generation of new antibodies. She is also passionate about telling compelling stories to customers about these products. When she is not working, she likes spending time with her family, baking, and hiking.