MAJID MASSO

CURRICULUM VITAE

 

8068 Stonewall Brigade Ct. #201
Manassas, VA  20109

(703) 257-5756

mmasso@gmu.edu

Education:

2006

PhD Bioinformatics, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

Dissertation Title: Applications of Statistical Geometry to the Functional Analysis of Protein Mutants

2001 

Professional Certificate in Bioinformatics, University of California at Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA

1993

ABD Mathematics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE

1990

MS Mathematics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE

1985

BS Mathematics, Physics Minor, University of Delaware, Newark, DE

Publications:

·          Masso M., Hijazi K., Parvez N., and Vaisman I. Computational Mutagenesis of Lac Repressor: Insights Into Structure-Function Correlations and Accurate Inferential Models of Mutant Activity, submitted.

·          Masso M. and Vaisman I. Accurate Prediction of Enzyme Mutant Activity Based on a Multibody Statistical Potential, submitted.

·          Ravich V., Masso M., and Vaisman I. Accurate Prediction of Drug Resistance Mutations in HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase Based on a Novel Computational Mutagenesis Methodology, submitted.

·          Masso M. and Vaisman I. A Novel Sequence-Structure Approach for Accurate Prediction of Resistance to HIV-1 Protease Inhibitors, submitted.

·          Masso M., Lu Z., and Vaisman I. Computational Mutagenesis Studies of Protein Structure-Function Correlations, Proteins 64 (2006) 234-245.

·          Jagota A. and Masso M. Computational Methods in Phylogenetic Analysis. Sunnyvale: Bioinformatics By the Bay Press, 2005. ISBN: 0970029764 (Textbook).

·          Masso M. DC-SIGN Points the Way to a Novel Mechanism for HIV-1 Transmission, Medscape General Medicine 5 (2), May 23, 2003.

·          Masso M. and Vaisman I. Comprehensive Mutagenesis of HIV-1 Protease: A Computational Geometry Approach, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 305 (2003) 322-326.

·          Masso M. Differential Equations Computer Lab Manual, Brookdale Community College, 1994 (Textbook).

Selected Scientific Presentations:

Lectures

·          A Novel Approach for Accurate Prediction of HIV-1 Drug Resistance Mutations, Joint SIAM-SMB Conference on the Life Sciences, Raleigh, NC, July 31-Aug. 4, 2006.

·          Analysis of Proteins Using Statistical Geometry, Annual Summer Meeting of the Mathematical Association of America (MathFest 2004), Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, RI, Aug. 12-14, 2004.

·          Functional Analysis of HIV-1 Protease Using a Four-Body Statistical Potential, Annual Meeting of the Society for Mathematical Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, July 25-28, 2004.

·          Protein Mutational Analysis Using Statistical Geometry Methods, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, Invited Lecture, Nov. 21, 2003.

·          Protein Mutational Analysis Using Statistical Geometry Methods, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, St. Mary’s City, MD, Invited Lecture, Nov. 19, 2003.

·          A Statistical Geometry Approach to the Study of Protein Structure, Annual Summer Meeting of the Mathematical Association of America (MathFest 2003), University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, July 29-Aug. 2, 2003.

·          Insights into Differential Equations via Derive, The Seventh Annual International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics (ICTCM), Walt Disney World Dolphin, Orlando, FL, Fall 1994.

·          Differential Equations Meets Derive, MAA/MATYCNJ Joint Meeting, Union County College, Union, NJ, Fall 1994.

Posters

·          Masso M. and Vaisman I. Modeling Functional Consequences of Amino Acid Replacements in Proteins, DIMACS Workshop on Computational Approaches to Protein Defects in Human Disease, Rutgers University, April 20, 2006.

·          Masso M. and Vaisman I. Functional Prediction of Protein Mutants Using a Four-Body Potential, Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB 2005), Detroit, MI, June 25-29, 2005.

·          Masso M. and Vaisman I. Automated Functional Inference of Enzyme Mutants Utilizing a Four-Body Statistical Potential, The Ninth Annual International Conference on Research in Computational Molecular Biology (RECOMB 2005), Cambridge, MA, May 14-18, 2005.

·          Masso M. and Vaisman I. Functional Prediction of Protein Mutants Using a Four-Body Potential, Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS 2005), Washington, DC, Feb. 17-21, 2005.

·          Masso M. and Vaisman I. Comprehensive Mutagenesis of HIV-1 Protease: A Statistical Geometry Approach, European Conference on Computational Biology (ECCB 2003), Paris, France, Sept. 27-30, 2003.

·          Masso M. and Vaisman I. Analyzing Protein Structure-Function Correlations Using Statistical Geometry, Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology (ISMB 2003), Brisbane, Australia, June 29-July 3, 2003.

·          Masso M. and Vaisman I. Computational Mutagenesis Analysis of HIV-1 Protease: A Statistical Geometry Approach, Discreet Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS) Workshop on Protein Domains: Identification, Classification and Evolution, Rutgers University, Feb. 27-28, 2003.

·          Jagota A., Masso M., and van Osdol W.W. Quantifying the Discrimination Power of Various Conditions in the Yeast Data Set, Critical Assessment of Microarray Data Analysis (CAMDA ’00), Duke Univ., Dec. 18-19, 2000.

Teaching Experience: 

2006 – Present

Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, George Mason University

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Student Internship Supervisor

·          Conduct research in computational mutagenesis and machine learning.

·          Mentor for senior bioinformatics students with their internship projects.

·          Guest instructor for a graduate Introduction to Bioinformatics course.

Fairfax, VA

2004 – 2006

Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, George Mason University

Instructor, Graduate Teaching Assistant

·          Instructor and assistant for a graduate Introduction to Bioinformatics course.

·          Informal mentor for Ph.D. students working on dissertation projects that incorporate computational mutagenesis and machine learning.

Fairfax, VA

Summer 2005

Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, George Mason University

Student Internship Supervisor

·          Mentored junior bioinformatics students with internship projects.

Fairfax, VA

1993 – 1995 

Mathematics Department, Brookdale Community College
Tenure-Track Faculty Instructor

·          Taught a full load of courses, ranging from remedial arithmetic to calculus and differential equations, incorporating computer software at all levels.

·          Awarded a course development grant to prepare a computer lab component for the differential equations course.

·          Gave presentations at local and national conferences.

·          Participated in numerous departmental and college-wide committees.

Lincroft, NJ

Summer 1993 

Delaware Technical and Community College
Adjunct Faculty Instructor

·          Algebra and precalculus instructor for the Upward Bound Math/Science Initiative summer program.

·          Provided academic guidance and moral support to minority high school students with an interest in math and science.

Wilmington, DE

1988 – 1993 

Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Delaware
Instructor, Graduate Teaching Assistant

·          Taught six courses in subjects covering college algebra, statistics, precalculus, and computer aided calculus I and II courses for matriculating students.

·          Recruited to teach five special sections of the above courses for the Division of Continuing Education, RISE program (minority engineers), and Academic Advancement program (pre-freshman minority students).

·          Ran problem sessions for business calculus courses and computer lab sessions for differential equations courses.

Newark, DE

Fall 1992 

Widener University, University College
Adjunct Faculty Instructor

·          Taught calculus I, with an emphasis on business and economics applications; students were adults working on conferring business degrees part-time.

Wilmington, DE

Selected Honors, Scholarships, and Awards:

·          Landahl Student Travel Awards, Society for Mathematical Biology (SMB), 2004 and 2006.

·          Workshop Travel Awards, DIMACS, 2003 and 2006.

·          Graduate Teaching Assistant, George Mason University, School of Computational Sciences, 2004-2006.

·          Navachat Tongvichit Memorial Fellowship for Excellence in Bioinformatics, George Mason University, 2005.

·          ECCB, ISMB, and RECOMB Travel Awards, International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB), 2003 and 2005.

·          Graduate Research Assistant, George Mason University, School of Computational Sciences, 2002-2004.

·          Graduate Student Travel Fund Scholarships for MAA MathFest, George Mason University, 2003 and 2004.

·          Fellow, Biostatistics Department, UCLA, Eugene Cota Robles Award, 1998-1999.

·          Math/Science Division Differential Equations Course Development Grant, Brookdale Community College, 1994.

·          Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Delaware, Department of Mathematical Sciences, 1988-1993.

·          Fellow, University of Delaware, Department of Mathematical Sciences, 1992.

·          Baxter-Sloyer Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Delaware, 1991.

·          University of Delaware Departmental Teaching Awards, Department of Mathematical Sciences, 1990 and 1991.

Professional Development:

·          Invited reviewer for papers submitted to the 2007 ACM Symposium on Applied Computing, Bioinformatics Track.

·          Research project advisor for graduate and undergraduate students in the fields of computational mutagenesis and machine learning, George Mason University, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, 2005-Present.

·          Scientific Grant Proposal Reviewer, Aids Fonds Netherlands, Keizersgracht 390, 1016 GB Amsterdam, 2004 - Present.

·          Mammalian Bioinformatics Teaching and Learning Workshop, BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium, BEDROCK Project, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, Nov. 3-6, 2004.

Affiliations:

·          Biophysical Society

·          American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

·          Society for Mathematical Biology (SMB)

·          American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

·          International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB)

·          Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

·          International AIDS Society-USA (IAS-USA)

·          American Mathematical Society (AMS)

·          Mathematical Association of America (MAA)

References: 

·          Thomas Angell, Professor, University of Delaware, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Newark, DE  19716.

Email: angell@math.udel.edu. Phone: (302) 831-2250.

·          Jitendra Ganju, Principal, BiostatWorks, 45 Cleary Ct. #7, San Francisco, CA  94109.

Email: jganju@biostatworks.com. Phone: (415) 885-7942.

·          John Grefenstette, Professor, George Mason University, College of Science, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, 10900 University Blvd., MSN 5B3, Manassas, VA  20110.

Email: jgrefens@gmu.edu. Phone: (703) 993-8400.

·          Georgia Pyrros, Instructor, University of Delaware, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Newark, DE  19716.

Email: pyrros@math.udel.edu. Phone: (302) 831-1007.

·          Paulette Royt, Associate Professor, George Mason University, Department of Molecular and Microbiology, David King Hall, MSN 3E1, Fairfax, VA  22030.

Email: proyt@gmu.edu. Phone: (703) 993-1058.

·          Iosif Vaisman, Associate Professor, George Mason University, College of Science, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, 10900 University Blvd., MSN 5B3, Manassas, VA  20110.

Email: ivaisman@gmu.edu. Phone: (703) 993-8431.