1. Ryan Spitler
rspitler@uci.edu
831-234-1496
EDUCATION
2010-Present University of California Irvine Irvine, CA
Ph.D. student, Cellular and Molecular Biosciences
2007 University of California Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA
Bachelor of Science, Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology
2005 Cabrillo College Aptos, CA
Associate of Arts, Chemistry
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
2010-Present University of California Irvine Irvine, CA
Ph.D. Student
• Development of a high-throughput automated imaging system to characterize therapeutics for
the purpose of enhancing wound healing and to mitigate toxicity from smoke induced
inhalation damage to the human lung epithelium.
• Development of novel representative cellular and tissue models to study smoke induced
inhalation damage.
2008-2010 Stanford University Stanford, CA
Life Science Research Assistant II
• In vivo molecular imaging of small animals using the following devices: IVIS, MRI, CRI
Maestro, Dual Axis Confocal (DAC) fluorescent microscope, Lucid Confocal, luminometer
and ex vivo imaging using a bioluminescent microscope.
• Use of an Nd:YAG laser for photocoagulation of mouse retina.
• Use of flow cytometry for FAQS analysis.
• Care and maintenance of laboratory mouse colonies.
• Manage APLAC (Administrative Panel on Laboratory Animals Care), IRB (Institutional
Review Board for human subject research compliance) and APB (Administrative Panel on
Biosafety) protocols.
• Manage one laboratory assistant for maintenance of lab stocks and miscellaneous lab upkeep.
• Perform several techniques on mice such as: intradermal, subcutaneous, intraperitoneal,
intravenous, retro-orbital injections, genotyping/screening, skin grafts and surgical removal of
organs.

2. • Use/engineer fluorescent and bioluminescent mouse reporter models to answer specific
biological questions.
• Conduct standard laboratory techniques such as: plasmid preps, DNA/RNA isolations, and
preparation of reagents.
• Hold close collaborations with several local companies including: TransDerm Inc.,
SomaGenics Inc., and The Molecular Medicine Research Institute.
• Completed several Stanford training courses and certifications related to animal and human
research subjects.
• Supervise and train new staff or students. This includes oversight and instruction on
techniques as well as consultation on project work; serve as technical resource for other
research staff; general lab maintenance: maintain lab stock, manage chemical inventory,
safety records and provide general lab support as needed; may assist with purchasing
laboratory equipment
• I had the privilege of mentoring multiple summer students.
2008-2009 TransDerm Inc. Santa Cruz, CA
Research Assistant
• Development of siRNA therapeutics for the treatment of skin diseases
• Application methods used: high-pressure intradermal injection, microneedle array injection,
iontophoresis, sonoporation and topical treatment.
• Use of mouse, pig, and human tissues to examine various application technologies.
• Evaluate functional efficacy of siRNA technologies primarily by RTqPCR of target genes and
quantification of a reduction in bioluminescence or fluorescence.
• Immuno-staining and fluorescent microscopy of sectioned tissue used to observe penetration
of siRNA and siRNA mimics.
• Growth and maintenance of primary keratinocytes for a human skin graft mouse model.
• Assist with the writing of grants and publications.
2005-2006 University of California Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA
Lab Assistant
• Conducted transformations using E.coli in order to obtain specific spliceosome associated
proteins.
• Screened Spliceosome associated proteins for solubility via western blot.
• Purified soluble proteins via HPLC for x-ray crystallographic analysis.

3. INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCE
2008 TestAmerica Morgan Hill, CA
Analyst I Microbiology
Conducted the following analysis techniques on water samples:
• MPN determination by multiple tube fermentation and chromogenic substrate method in
respect to Coliform.
• Heterotrophic Plate Count
• Presence/Absence for Coliform and E.coli.
• Free and total Residual Chlorine
• Dissolved Oxygen
• Biological Oxygen Demand
• Chemical Oxygen Demand
• Chlorophyll
• pH
• Conductivity
2007-2008 Santa Cruz Biotechnology Inc. Santa Cruz, CA
Research Assistant
• Aid in training of new employees.
• Propagation and maintenance of cancer cell lines as well as hybridomas.
• Prepare specialized media and culture cells following protocols designed to fulfill special
requests from customers or in-house users.
• Keep records of duties performed in laboratory notebooks and related computer databases.
• Performed routine laboratory material and facility maintenance.
• Used a flow cytometer for the determination of appropriate cell density for vialing of cell
lines.
• Transient transfections and inductions performed on cell lines.
2003-2007 Santa Cruz Biotechnology Inc. Santa Cruz, CA
Sr. Laboratory Assistant
• Supervised part time task distribution and accurate completion as well as trained all new part
time employees and several Research Assistants.
• Lead countless special projects to improve quality and productivity of the lab as a whole.

4. • Composed and refined experimental protocols.
• Most senior member of the lab group, primary troubleshooter involving lab techniques and
results.
• Isolated various monoclonal antibodies via affinity binding methods.
• Inoculated mice with specific antigens and conducted preliminary screens for immune
response via tail bleeds and ELISA.
• Characterized monoclonal antibodies via western blot and antibody isotyping.
• Expressed recombinant proteins using E. coli for antibody characterization via western blot.
PUBLICATIONS
Abstracts
2010 Gordon Conference, Drug Carriers in Medicine & Biology Waterville Valley, NH
(poster presentation)
Development of RNAi Therapeutics for the Treatment of Liver Disease
2010 Caliper Owners Meeting Group San Francisco, CA
(Invited Speaker)
The Development of RNAi Delivery Tools for Skin Diseases
2010 Center for Biomedica lmaging at Stanford Symposium Stanford, CA
(Invited Speaker)
Development of RNAi Therapeutics for the Treatment of Liver Diseases
2010 Pediatric Research Retreat Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, CA
(poster presentation)
Development of RNAi Therapeutics for the Treatment of Liver Disease
2009 BioX Interdisciplinary Poster Symposium Stanford, CA
(poster presentation)
Methods of RNAi Delivery for the Treatment of Liver Diseases
JOURNAL ARTICLES
1. Gunilla B Jacobson, Emilio Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Ryan Spitler, Rajesh Shinde, Devin Leake,
Roger L Kaspar, Christopher H Contag, Richard N Zare. Biodegradable Nanoparticles with
Sustained Release of Functional siRNA in Skin. Journal of Pharmeceutical Science 2010 Oct
(10):4261-6.
2. Emilio González-González, Hyejun Ra, Ryan Spitler, Robyn P. Hickerson, Christopher H.
Contag, and Roger L. Kaspar. Increased interstitial pressure improves nucleic acid delivery to
skin enabling a comparative analysis of constitutive promoters. Gene Therapy 2010 Oct
(10):1270-8.

5. 3. Emilio Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Tycho J. Speaker, Robyn P. Hickerson, Ryan Spitler, Manny Flores,
Devin Leake, Christopher H. Contag, and Roger L. Kaspar. Silencing of reporter gene
expression in skin using siRNAs delivered by a hollow soluble protrusion array device (PAD).
Journal of Molecular Therapy 2010 Sept 1667-1674. (work featured on the cover of the Sept
edition)
4. (Mark Mackanos*, Christopher Sramek*), Ryan Spitler, Loh-Shan Leung, Hiroyuki Nomoto,
Christopher H. Contag, Daniel Palanker. Non-damaging retinal phototherapy: dynamic range of
the heat shock protein expression. (*authors contributed equally) Investigative Ophthalmology &
Visual Science. 2010 Nov 18.
5. Ryan Spitler, Gunilla Jacobson, Heini Iives, Brian Johnston, Christopher H Contag. Nanoparticle
Delivery of functional shRNA for the Treatment of HCV.
(in preparation)
6. Emilio González-González, Yeu Chun Kim, Tycho J Speaker, Robyn P. Hickerson, Ryan Spitler,
James Birchall, Maria Fernanda Lara, Mark R. Prausnitz, Leonard Milstone, Christopher H.
Contag, and Roger L. Kaspar. New tools for testing delivery technologies of nucleic acids to
skin: soluble versus steel microneedle arrays.
(in preparation)
7. Sudipta Majumdar, Agnes Hajduczki, Rosemarie Vithayathil, Tivoli J. Olsen, Ryan M. Spitler,
Aaron S. Mendez, Travis D. Thompson, Gregory A. Weiss. In vitro Evolution of Ligands to the
Membrane Protein Caveolin. (Submitted Journal of the American Chemical Society, March
2011).
EVENTS ATTENDED
2010 Stanford Go Delivery Skin Symposium Stanford, CA
2009 Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Retreat Stanford, CA
2009 MIPS (Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford) Retreat Asilomar, CA
2009 Pachyonychia Congenita Patient Support Meeting Salt Lake City, Utah
ASSOCIATIONS
2010-Present Beckman Laser Institute & Medical Clinic
2008-2010 Member of the Pachyonychia Congenita Foundation
2008-2010 Network for Translational Research in Optical Imaging
2008-2010 Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford University

6. AWARDS
2010 Center for Biomedical Imaging at Stanford University Achievement Award