I have both bachelors and masters degrees in cell and molecular biology and I have a passion for virology, immunology, infectious disease and forensics. I’ve been involved in business development for the past 10 years working in senior roles with Bio-Rad, Qiagen and currently, Thermo Fisher Scientific. Prior to leaving the lab, I served as senior molecular biologist for the US Department of Defense’s Global Influenza Surveillance Program from 2006 -2011.

Articles by Jason Garner

!BAM! !POW!: How to Become a Better Job Search Street fighter – Final Round

!BAM! !POW!: How to Become a Better Job Search Street fighter – Final Round

Up till now, we’ve discussed many different ways we can prepare and execute a new career search. In the last series, I discussed getting away from internet job boards and out into the real world. Now, I’m going to challenge you and push most of you way out of your comfort zone. So, there’s XYZ…

Kits And Reagents For Mammalian Cell Transfection

Kits And Reagents For Mammalian Cell Transfection

Transfection of animal cells has proven an invaluable tool in studies of gene expression, cell behavior, cell processes and molecular genetics. Essentially, transient pores are opened within the cell’s lipid bilayer, allowing insertion of nucleic acids (DNA, RNA, siRNA, RNAi), proteins, nanoparticles, and even antibodies into the cellular milieu. Transfection can be achieved using many…

The Advanced User’s Guide to Sequencing Alignment Software

The Advanced User’s Guide to Sequencing Alignment Software

Whether you’re employing sequencing gels, Sanger-based methods, or the latest in pyrosequencing or ion torrent technologies, obtaining, manipulating and analyzing your sequences has never been easier. Depending on what your goals are, you need to understand the pros and cons of the software. There is a lot of software out there, so do you your…

The Beginners Guide to DNA Sequence Alignment

The Beginners Guide to DNA Sequence Alignment

Fortunately, those of us who have learned how to sequence know that aligning sequences is a lot easier and less time consuming than creating them. Whether you’re employing sequencing gels, Sanger-based methods, or the latest in pyrosequencing or ion torrent technologies, obtaining, manipulating and analyzing your sequences has never been easier. We’re going to take…

!BAM! !POW!: How to Become a Better Job Search Street fighter – Round Two

!BAM! !POW!: How to Become a Better Job Search Street fighter – Round Two

Thomas Edison, when asked about his failures in creating the world’s first single carbon filament incandescent lightbulb, said (and I’m paraphrasing here): “I didn’t fail, I simply found 2000 ways how NOT to make a lightbulb – and only one way to make it work”. If only most job-seekers possessed this attitude. It’s amazing the…

!BAM! !POW!: How to Become a Better Job Search Street Fighter – Part One

!BAM! !POW!: How to Become a Better Job Search Street Fighter – Part One

Career searches and job hunts are painful: answering ads, resumé tweaking, phone calls, interviews, preparation, sweat, tears, fear of rejection, etc. But it’s funny, even after investing all of this effort, the same mistakes are often made by newbies and veterans alike. In this series of articles, we’ll be talking about a variety of ways…

Film vs. Digital: A Real Western (Blotting) Showdown

Film vs. Digital: A Real Western (Blotting) Showdown

You’ve masterfully run and transferred your gel, and now it’s time to probe and quantify your protein(s). You’ve got your antibodies and ECL ready to go. Substrate – check. Film cartridge – check. Darkroom – ah yes, that magical place where night vision goggles are required to navigate a veritable minefield of potential chaos. It…