Harrison Marisiddaiah
Hello
My name is Harrison Marisiddaiah, and I am a second year student in the Master of Microbial Biotechnology program at NC State University. I've spent my life searching for how I can improve animal health and welfare, as well bettering the human condition. The MMB program has enabled me to reflect upon my scientific and industry background and counterbalance that with a new business-oriented perspective, through which I can bring my past, present, and future goals to fruition.
With a quickly rising population, I've found my current purpose is to prepare for this by furthering the world's food supply in an ethically viable manner. Upon completion of the MMB program, I will be continuing my education at NC State in the pursuit of an MBA. My anticipated completion date for this program is May 2026. With the knowledge gained from these programs, I direct and progress the development of novel concepts into tangible products and services across the agricultural biotechnology industry.
Education
Master of Microbial Biotechnology
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North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC
Fall 2023 - Present
B.S. Animal Science, Veterinary Bioscience Concentration​
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC
Fall 2018 - 2022
Master of Microbial Biotechnology
The MMB program at NCSU is a professional masters program that provides its students with sufficient scientific and business material to thrive within a number of biotechnology-related roles. There is a strong emphasis on gaining knowledge through experience by immersing the students in situations where they need to solve real-world problems. This is achieved by providing students with opportunities to expand their professional network, offering MBA courses within the MMB curriculum, engagement in practicum projects ranging from providing researchers with aid in their business-ventures in academia to helping well-established corporations prepare for future goals, as well as encouraging internships to directly facilitate the development of industry experiences.
Summer 2024 Internship
Corporate Strategy and Product Development Intern at TARGAN
Proposal Review
Reviewed prospective partnership proposals, financial statements, market analyses, and provided feedback to the V.P. of BioProcess Sciences
Project Management
Collaborated with the Senior Project Management Coordinator in addressing upcoming project challenges, budget development and review, timeline organization, and resource allocation through the creation of work breakdown structures and other PM tools
Product & Service Marketing
Worked together with V.P. of Sales, Marketing & Commercial Initiatives and the marketing team to enhance existing marketing strategies and develop new campaigns for technology in the pipeline
MBA Coursework
MBA 585: Current Topics in BioSciences Management
This course provided an outlook on the biosciences industry as a whole by enlisting a series of guest speakers who have proven themselves in their roles all across the industry. Within this class, I worked with a group to identify trends and opportunities within the medical device industry. In addition to the trends and opportunities, this project took it a step further by discussing the pathway to commercialization and challenges during this period. Recommendations for those who choose to pursue product development in this industry were also provided.
MBA 570: Opportunity Evaluation and Value Creation
The primary focus of this course is understanding how to manage innovations, both new and exiting, so that entrepreneurship is consistently facilitated.Outside of lectures on everything from value propositions to risk assessments, the course enabled the students to work alongside a company in an effort to develop a business plan for a new, innovative idea. My group collaborated with People1Tourism in the development of a business plan for a destination stewardship concept. This idea could make tourism easier to achieve for less popular destinations by working together with a network of local experts and government funding.
MBA 562: Research Methods in Marketing
This course provides an overview of how to systematically perform and utilize marketing research. It covers defining the research problem, developing an approach to the problem, formulating a research design, collecting data, data analysis and presentation. To create an in-depth understanding of these processes, the class was split into groups to collaborate with several companies or organizations. I worked with a non-profit thrift store called Guardian Angel Thrift in an effort to better understand how to increase foot traffic in its Apex, NC location.
BUS 554: Project Management
This course provided a hands-on experience in project management by teaching students how to use tools like Microsoft Projects and aligning students with local companies seeking a new path to success. My group was tasked with understanding how to increase foot traffic to the Apex location of Guardian Angel Thrift. Through the development of surveys and research of the competitive landscape, we managed to produce our client with substantial feedback and direction for maintaining and enhancing her customer-base.
Graduate Scientific Experience
BEC 515: Biopharmaceutical Product Characterization Techniques​
This course exposed me to various analytical methods used across the biotherapeutic industry to identify protein concentration, purity, identity, and activity. The class began by introducing the following methods: Bradford assay, BCA assay, gel electrophoresis, SDS-PAGE, reverse-phase high-liquid chromatography (HPLC), size-exclusion HPLC, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectroscopy, and electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectroscopy. Following individual introductions to each of these analytical methods, we collaborated in groups to incorporate some of these methods into an assay developed to analyze a protein sample and contaminants within it.
BIT 510: Core Technologies in Molecular and Cellular Biology
This course included a semester-long lab project, in which we inserted a fragment of CaMPARI into several vectors with the goal of expressing it as a protein. Upon expression in mammalian cells, we were later able to test whether the recombinant DNA could be effectively utilized for its calcium detection capabilities in pharmaceutical testing.
Industry Projects
Making a Difference
Fall 2023
Latham BioPharm Group
My group was tasked by LBG to research the quickly developing digital technology sector in an effort to find an area in which they could provide consulting services. Specifically, we looked into the the applications of artificial intelligence in the development of therapeutics, clinical trials, and diagnostic tools. Through in-depth research and interviews with key opinion leaders, we gained an understanding of the pain points within these industries and provided LBG with recommendations for how they can gain foothold in any one of them.
Spring 2024
Collaborations Pharmaceuticals, Inc
My group was tasked with researching rare diseases and companies with potential for collaborating in vaccine development, as CPI specializes in small molecule discovery. Additionally, market analyses were performed to enable CPI to leverage their drug candidates and determine the best path of entry into each market.
Fall 2024
Alura
My group was tasked with researching rare diseases and companies with potential for collaborating in vaccine development, as CPI specializes in small molecule discovery. Additionally, market analyses were performed to enable CPI to leverage their drug candidates and determine the best path of entry into each market.
Spring 2025
Capstone Project
Detickt
I worked closely with fellow MMB students to ideate a new product and formulate a business model that could bring it to fruition. We settled on an on-the-spot ELISA testing kit designed to detect the presence of Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever within ticks after an individual finds them attached to their body. Through rigorous research and outreach to both key opionion leaders and potential customers, our team managed to create a business model that we are confident could have strong market potential.
Teamwork and Communication
Artificial Intelligence in X-Ray Technology
I was assigned with performing a comprehensible literature review on a topic that branched off of an industry practicum project. I decided to perform an in-depth review of recently published literature on the development of artificial intelligence in x-ray technology and the opinions that those within the radiology field have towards it.
Inner Ear Drug Delivery and the Ex Vivo Porcine Model
The goal of this project was to understand if and how a novel inner ear drug delivery method was viable enough to bring to market. Our group collaborated in performing a market analysis, searching for potential partnerships and interviewing key opinion leaders to gain professional insights on the product. Upon completion of the research, we reported our findings and recommendations to our principal investigator through an executive brief and a presentation.
The Path to Sustainability: Seed Treatments
The goal of this assignment was to create a poster based on an industry practicum project performed by another group in a previous semester. This poster highlighted a novel concept produced by BASF, through which farming sustainability could be improved upon. The poster went on to be presented at the MMB's 20th Year Anniversary Symposium.
Navigating the Fungal Threat: Advancements and Challenges in Plant Disease Management
Performed an in-depth review of literature regarding recent advancements and challenges in plant disease management, with a focus on fungal diseases. This review dives into shared insights regarding revolutionary biotechnological strategies, such as biological control agents, gene silencing techniques, and elicitors.