Markus Tiitto

I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA, where my parents moved from Finland shortly before I was born. I also had the opportunity to live in the British Virgin Islands for two years and in Finland for six months before moving back to Pittsburgh to complete high school. I went to....

I have had an opportunity to work in several different research labs throughout my time pursuing a B.S. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Penn State University and a PharmD at Palm Beach Atlantic University. In my first co-op rotation at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, I participated in the production and purification of malarial protein antigens with a bench-top affinity chromatography method as well as the analysis of the domain specificity of anti-malarial antibodies in the serum of human subjects with the use of ELISA. In my second co-op rotation, I assisted with the modification and testing of a similar malarial protein production and purification procedure for manufacturing under cGMP conditions. Before entering pharmacy school, I also helped develop a quantitative assay to measure the concentrations of arsenic in each of its oxidation states at Duquesne University. This assay was to be used within the lab to test the potential of the bacterial MLHE-1 enzyme to detoxify environmental arsenic through its oxidation to the less toxic As(V) state. Later, I participated in several research projects with the Gregory School of Pharmacy at Palm Beach Atlantic University. One of these projects involved the development of a small molecule analytical method to quantify the levels of caffeine and its metabolites with HPLC. This method would be used to evaluate the concentrations of these molecules in human saliva to determine CYP1A2 phenotype, which would then be compared to the CYP1A2 genotype identified with RT-PCR. I also assisted with cell culturing and cytotoxicity experiments in Caco-2 cells to test the potential of microemulsion formulations of vinorelbine and paclitaxel for oral administration as part of another project in this lab. Then, during my fourth year experiential rotations, I designed and tested a protocol to test the effects of these microemulsions on CYP3A4 activity and wrote a manuscript for publication based on the experimental results. Finally, I was trained in performing rat brain dissections and a radiolabeled dopamine uptake procedure to determine the inhibition of the dopamine transporter by novel compounds as a laboratory technician with the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Kentucky.