Jeff Sharom

Current

• Occasional Guest Blogger at MaRS Blog
• Organizing Committee Member at Canadian Science Policy Conference
• Co-founder, administrator, and contributor at Science Canada Blog

• Senior Policy Editor at Hypothesis Journal
• Policy Advisor, Secretary, Chair of Research Committee, and member of Board of Directors at Canadian Secular Alliance
• Grant writer at Freethought Association of Canada
• Event Volunteer at Centre for Inquiry Ontario
• Ph.D. candidate at Centre for Systems Biology, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute

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Past

• Research Assistant at Merck Frosst Canada Ltd.
• Research Assistant at Merck Frosst Canada Ltd.
• Research Assistant at Health Canada

• Research Assistant at Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.
• Research Assistant at Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.

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2 more...

Education

• University of Toronto
• University of Guelph

Connections

52 connections

Industry

Biotechnology

Websites

• Hypothesis Journal
• Canadian Science Policy blog
• Cdn Science Policy Conference

Jeff Sharom’s Summary

• soon-to-be PhD-holder with strong expertise in research, analysis, and project management.

• strong written communication skills from experience preparing a variety of documents: policy statements, position papers, briefing notes, press releases, formal letters, meeting minutes, grant proposals, and scientific manuscripts.

• strong oral communication skills from experience serving on a variety of boards and committees, and from presenting PowerPoint decks on a variety of topics (scientific research, public policy) to a variety of audiences (scientific researchers, government decision-makers, university officials, and the general public).

Jeff Sharom’s Experience

• Occasional Guest Blogger

  MaRS Blog

  (Biotechnology industry)

  October 2008 — Present (1 year 2 months)

  • invited to write commentaries on science policy for MaRS – a non-profit organization focused on maximizing the economic and social impact of Canadian science and technology innovation, by fostering collaboration between academic science, business and capital
  
  • published online articles:
  
  Budget S&T draws mixed reviews
  http://blog.marsdd.com/2009/02/03/budget-st-draws-mixed-reviews/
  
  Are we producing too many scientists?
  http://blog.marsdd.com/2008/11/04/are-we-producing-too-many-scientists/
  
  The politicization of science in Canada
  http://blog.marsdd.com/2008/10/16/the-politicization-of-science-in-canada/

• Organizing Committee Member

  Canadian Science Policy Conference

  (Non-Profit; Public Policy industry)

  September 2008 — Present (1 year 3 months)

  • as part of an 18-member team of organizers, developed the aims and scope of Canada’s first in-depth, national-level, multi-sector, multi-disciplinary conference devoted to science policy (http://sciencepolicy.ca)
  • drafted the conference’s 30-page Strategic Plan, including an environmental scan to identify a network of ~130 Canadian science policy stakeholders from the government, academic, industry, and non-profit sectors
  • drafted a grant proposal to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) that was subsequently funded with the maximum award of $25,000
  • prepared and presented PowerPoint decks to: the Parliamentary Assistant to the Ontario Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities; the Vice-President, Research, of the University of Toronto; and 2 general meetings of conference volunteers
  • prepared formal correspondence for the Chair's signature (to CEOs, Presidents, Directors, etc)
  • drafted press releases and conference announcements
  • offered updates and input at 29 Organizing Committee meetings

• Co-founder, administrator, and contributor

  Science Canada Blog

  (Public Policy industry)

  September 2008 — Present (1 year 3 months)

  • with one co-founder, started a website tracking science policy in Canada’s political arena and media (http://sciencecanada.blogspot.com)
  • posted links to ~3,500 press articles and editorials dealing with Canadian public policy in the realms of scientific research and innovation, health, energy, and the environment

• Senior Policy Editor

  Hypothesis Journal

  (Publishing industry)

  June 2008 — Present (1 year 6 months)

  • as part of an 8-member team of Senior Editors, handled the operations of Hypothesis – a peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal run entirely by a volunteer editorial staff (http://www.hypothesisjournal.com)
  • wrote the journal’s editorial policies on: authorship, conflicts of interest, peer review, editorial decisions, redundant publication, media relations, confidentiality, response to allegations of scientific misconduct, corrections & retractions, correspondence, editorial independence, access to data & materials, advertising, and human & animal research
  • wrote the journal’s Copyright & License Agreement
  • wrote the journal’s Instructions for Authors
  • copy-edited 9 manuscripts
  • coordinated the peer review of 2 manuscripts
  • offered updates and input at 6 Editorial Board meetings

• Policy Advisor, Secretary, Chair of Research Committee, and member of Board of Directors

  Canadian Secular Alliance

  (Public Policy industry)

  May 2008 — Present (1 year 7 months)

  • as part of a 7-member senior executive, guided the research and publishing activities of the CSA – a public policy think-tank promoting church-state separation and the neutrality of government in matters of religion (http://www.secularalliance.ca)
  • wrote 6 briefing notes and 5 policy position papers on a variety of topics, including: constitutional law, human rights law, charity law, education policy, and philosophy of science
  • directed the activities of a 14-member ad-hoc committee of volunteer researchers
  • archived and posted links to ~3,100 press articles and editorials dealing with Canadian public policy in the realm of religious freedom
  • reviewed ~700 pages of secondary-school science education materials to evaluate their scientific rigour and consistency with Ontario Ministry of Education policy
  • recorded and prepared minutes for 21 Board of Directors meetings
  • prepared and presented a PowerPoint deck at the 2009 Centre for Inquiry Canada Annual General Meeting
  • handled ~75 information / membership inquiries from the public

• Grant writer

  Freethought Association of Canada

  (Public Policy industry)

  May 2008 — Present (1 year 7 months)

  • offered proposal-writing expertise to the FAC – a registered charitable organization promoting public education about critical thinking and scepticism (http://freethoughtassociation.ca)
  • wrote 2 grant proposals for submission to external funding agencies
  • offered updates and input at 17 Board of Directors meetings

• Event Volunteer

  Centre for Inquiry Ontario

  (Non-Profit; Think Tanks industry)

  May 2008 — Present (1 year 7 months)

  • volunteered to help run special events organized by the CFIO – a registered charitable organization promoting evidence-based inquiry into science, pseudoscience, medicine, and ethics (http://www.centerforinquiry.net/ontario)
  • assisted in the set-up and operation of 13 public lectures on topics at the interface of science and society; performed various duties, including: introducing speakers; moderating Q&A periods with the audience; handling sale of tickets, books, and magazines; representing the organization in interactions with the public

• Ph.D. candidate

  Centre for Systems Biology, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute

  (Biotechnology industry)

  September 2002 — Present (7 years 3 months)

  Mike Tyers' lab, Centre for Systems Biology, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital; and Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Canada (http://www.mshri.on.ca/tyers)
  
  • systematically mapped nutrient-sensing and growth-control pathways in the model organism S. cerevisiae by integrating genome-wide data on phenotypes, subcellular localization, transcript abundance, protein-protein interactions, DNA-protein interactions, and genetic interactions
  • constructed a system for small-molecule control of protein function based on fusion to ligand-binding domains

• Research Assistant

  Merck Frosst Canada Ltd.

  (Pharmaceuticals industry)

  January 2002 — May 2002 (5 months)

  Apoptosis Group, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Merck Frosst Centre for Therapeutic Research, Kirkland, QC
  
  • characterized the in-vitro protease activity of a newly-cloned caspase-12 homologue from rat against fluorogenic tetrapeptide and radiolabeled protein substrates
  • produced a variety of recombinant human caspases for small-molecule screening assays and polyclonal antibody generation, via their high-level expression and purification from E. coli

• Research Assistant

  Merck Frosst Canada Ltd.

  (Public Company; Pharmaceuticals industry)

  May 2001 — August 2001 (4 months)

  Apoptosis Group, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Merck Frosst Centre for Therapeutic Research, Kirkland, QC

• Research Assistant

  Health Canada

  (Government Agency; Government Administration industry)

  September 2000 — December 2000 (4 months)

  Human Parvovirus B19 Group, Division of Blood-borne Pathogens, Health Canada, Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health, Winnipeg, MB
  
  • assisted in a yeast two-hybrid screen of a human cDNA library to identify novel protein interaction partners for the viral non-structural protein (NS1)
  • studied the ability of transfected NS1 to induce apoptosis in human erythroid cell lines by assaying for DNA fragmentation and caspase activation

• Research Assistant

  Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.

  (Pharmaceuticals industry)

  January 2000 — April 2000 (4 months)

  Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd., Bio-Méga Research Division, Laval, QC
  
  • assisted in the bacterial expression and purification of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) for high-resolution X-ray crystallographic study, using FPLC and ion-exchange, gel filtration, and affinity chromatography
  • performed high-throughput in-vitro enzymatic assays to identify small-molecule inhibitors of HIV-1 RT using the Biomek automated robotic workstation and scintillation proximity assay (SPA) technology

• Research Assistant

  Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.

  (Pharmaceuticals industry)

  January 1999 — April 1999 (4 months)

  Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd., Bio-Méga Research Division, Laval, QC
  
  • assisted in the optimization of an in-vitro assay to identify small-molecule inhibitors of the E1 helicase of human papillomavirus
  • performed a variety of microplate-format ELISAs and protein-DNA binding assays to screen for inhibitors of other HPV enzymes

Jeff Sharom’s Education

• University of Toronto

  Ph.D. , Molecular Genetics , 2002 — 2010 (expected)

  • cumulative average: A+
  
  • Terry Fox Foundation Research Studentship [2006-2008]
  - one of 13 studentships of $47,000 awarded Canada-wide by the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) biomedical panel.
  
  • NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS-D) [2004-2006]
  - one of 148 scholarships of $70,000 awarded Canada-wide by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) for pursuit of doctoral studies.
  
  • NSERC Post-Graduate Scholarship A (PGS-A) [2002-2004]
  - one of 626 scholarships of $34,600 awarded Canada-wide by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) for pursuit of masters studies.

• University of Guelph

  B.Sc. , Specialized Honours Co-op Biochemistry , 1997 — 2001

  • cumulative average: 94.7%
  
  • Governor General’s Academic Silver Medal [2002]
  - awarded to the graduating student with the highest university-wide cumulative average of any student in any discipline.

Additional Information

Jeff Sharom’s Websites:

• Hypothesis Journal
• Canadian Science Policy blog
• Cdn Science Policy Conference

Jeff Sharom’s Groups:

•    University of Toronto Alumni (5,000+)
•    Toronto
•    University of Toronto
•    American Society for Public Administration
•    Biotech & Pharma Professionals Network
•    Online Publishers Network
•    Professionals in Pharmaceutical Industry and Biotech Industry
•    Healthcare & Science Journalist
•    eGov Community
•    Publishing and editing professionals
•    Science & Technology Media Professionals™
•    Science, Technology & Innovation Policy Professionals + Fellows
•    Merck and Co. Network
•    Government 2.0
•    Life Science Professionals
•    PhD Holders
•    Authors, Writers, Publishers, Editors, and other Professionals
•    University of Guelph Alumni
•    Merck Alumni
•    Science Writers
•    Publishing Professionals Network
•    Toronto Professionals
•    Non Profit Network - MojaLink
•    Public Policy Network - International
•    Boehringer Ingelheim Alumni
•    Writing and Editing Professionals
•    Systems Biology
•    The Science Advisory Board
•    Systems Biology for Medical Research
•    Merck Employee Network
•    Science 2.0
•    TorontoJobs.ca
•    Health Network - MojaLink
•    Merck
•    Canadian Science Policy Conference
•    Life Sciences Professional Network
•    Freethinkers
•    Signtific: Forecasting Future Disruptions in Science and Technology
•    Biomedical Sciences
•    Toronto Job Networking - Canada Jobs & Technology
•    Peer Review
•    PhD Careers Outside of Academia
•    Bioscience Job Network
•    Job Openings, Job Leads and Job Connections!
•    Torontonians Only
•    Peace & Human Rights - Non Profit Network
•    Science - Non Profit Network
•    Social & Human Services - Non Profit Network
•    People Living In Toronto
•    Canada Jobs
•    Torontonians Only Job Centre
•    Pharmaceutical Jobs, Biotech, Life Sciences & Medical Devices
•    Medical Writer & Editor Jobs
•    Life Science Professionals of Canada
•    Health Care, Bio, Pharma and Life Sciences

Jeff Sharom’s Honors:

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Sharom JR (2008). The scientific workforce policy debate: Do we produce too many biomedical trainees? Hypothesis. 6:17.

Bøe CA*, Garcia I*, Pai CC*, Sharom JR*, Skjølberg HC*, Boye E, Kearsey S, Macneill SA, Tyers MD, Grallert B (2008). Rapid regulation of protein activity in fission yeast. BMC Cell Biol. 9:23.
* contributed equally and share first authorship

Roy S*, Sharom JR*, Houde C, Loisel TP, Vaillancourt JP, Shao W, Saleh M, Nicholson DW (2008). Confinement of caspase-12 proteolytic activity to autoprocessing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 105:4133.
* contributed equally and share first authorship

Jorgensen P, Rupes I, Sharom JR, Schneper L, Broach JR, Tyers M (2004). A dynamic transcriptional network communicates growth potential to ribosome synthesis and critical cell size. Genes Dev. 18:2491.

Sharom JR, Bellows DS, Tyers M (2004). From large networks to small molecules. Curr Opin Chem Biol. 8:81.

Jeff Sharom’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• expertise requests
• reference requests
• getting back in touch