1. AARON M BENDER
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-bender-ph-d-412b2511
Address: 3486 East 143rd Avenue, Email: bender.aaron.m@gmail.com
Thornton CO 80602 Phone: (507)-993-2851
Summary
PhD-level Molecular Biologist with years of biomedically-relevant research experience.
Diverse scientific skill set including Chemical biology assay development, dissecting/confocal microscopy, genetic
screening, DNA/RNA manipulation techniques, molecular cloning, cell-culture techniques, Western blotting,
PCR/qRT-PCR, next generation sequencing and statistical genomic data analysis.
Core Competencies
-Forward and reverse genetic screening -Chemical biology assay development
-Next Generation sequencing (NGS) -Immunohistochemistry (IHC) techniques
-Genomic data analysis -Fluorescence microscopy
-Nucleic acid extraction, manipulation and cloning -Fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS)
-qRT-PCR and standard PCR -Tissue microdissection
-Model organism husbandry -IRB/IACUC protocol development
-Aseptic cell culture -Scientific writing
-Xenografting -Grant proposal preparation and review
Research Experience
*Group Lead, Applications and Content Development
April 2015 to June 2015
ArcherDX, Inc. - Boulder, CO
Assembled lists of putative Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) genomic targets for diagnostic assay development.
Became familiar with Illumina Next Generation Sequencing (MiSeq, NextSeq) as well as custom library prep and data
analysis
*Director, University of Kansas Molecular Probes Core laboratory
January 2012 to March 2015
University of Kansas - Lawrence,KS
Developed custom imaging assays for clients interested in studying the properties of fluorescently labeled drugs in vivo.
Became proficient at working with adult and embryonic zebrafish, evaluating fluorescent drug delivery using high-
resolution video microscopy, and Chemical biology assay development.
*Postdoctoral fellow
January 2010 to January 2012
University of Kansas - Lawrence,KS
Developed Chemical Biology assays for evaluating pH fluctuations in the C. elegans intestine using fluorescent small
molecule ion sensors.
Increased knowledge of C. elegans physiology and genetics, became interested in using C. elegans as a model for
developing Chemical biology and drug delivery assays. Published 1 first-author research article in the jhournal ACS
Chemical Biology.

2. *Neuro-Oncology fellow
August 2006 to December 2009
Mayo Clinic - Rochester, MN
Identified oncogenic transposon insertions in the brains of laboratory mice which led to the formation of high-grade brain
tumors. Cultured and transplanted cancer cell lines into the brains of mice.
Recipient: Mayo Clinic Neuro-Oncology fellowship training grant. Became fascinated with cancer genetics and learned a
great deal about tumor histology/biology. Became proficient at stem cell culture techniques, xenografting and extraction of
nucleic acids from formalin-fixed tissue samples. Using statistical software programs, became proficient at analyzing large
genomic data sets. Published a textbook chapter on cancer cytogenetics as well as a first-author research article in the
journal Cancer Research.
*Ph.D. Student
August 2001 to July 2006
University of Wyoming - Laramie,WY
Performed genetic screens for point mutations that modified the function of the lin-35/RB tumor suppressor in
C. elegans.
Graduate student class president from 2004-2005. Grade point average: 4.0. Phi Kappa Phi. Became familiar with
culturing wild-type and mutant strains of C. elegans. Mastered Mendelian genetics and became familiar with genetic
mapping techniques. Learned the value of studying molecular biology in simple model organisms. Published two first-
author research articles in the journal Developmental Biology and an online chapter on genetic mapping in C. elegans.
Presented work at multiple national and international conferences.
Selected Publications
Bender A, Woydziak Z, Fu L, Branden M, Zhou Z, Ackley B, Peterson B. Novel Acid-Activated Fluorophores Reveal a
Dynamic Wave of Protons in the Intestine of Caenorhabditis elegans. ACS Chem Biol. 2013 Mar 15;8(3):636-42
Bender AM, Collier LS, Rodriguez FJ, Tieu C, Larson JD, Halder C, Mahlum E, Kollmeyer TM, Akagi K, Sarkar G,
Largaespada DA, Jenkins RB. Sleeping Beauty-mediated somatic mutagenesis implicates Csf1 in the formation of high
grade astrocytomas. Cancer Res. 2010 May 1;70(9):3557-65.
Bender AM,Rodriguez FJ,Sarkar G,JenkinsRB (2009). Tumorsof the Nervous System in Cancer
Cytogenetics, 3rd ed., edited by S. Heim and F. Mitelman, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ,
Bender AM, Kirienko NV, Olson SK, Esko JD, Fay DS. lin-35/Rb and the CoREST ortholog spr-1 coordinately regulate
vulval morphogenesis and gonad development in C. elegans. Dev Biol. 2007 Feb 15;302(2): 448-62.
Bender AM, and Fay DS. (2006). Genetic mapping and Manipulation: (Chapter 4: SNPs: Introduction and
two-point mapping) WormBook.org.
Bender AM, Wells O, and Fay DS. lin-35/Rb and xnp-1/ATR-X function redundantly to control somatic gonad
development in C. elegans. Dev. Biol. 2004 Sep 15;273(2):335-49
Education
Ph.D. : Molecular Biology,2006
University of Wyoming - Laramie,WY
Biology/Botany,1999
University of Wyoming - Laramie,WY