William Katzka

About

With a robust background in psychology, psychiatry, the gut-microbiome, and pre-medical studies, I have honed my expertise in laboratory management and research across prestigious institutions. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Chicago and a post baccalaureate at UCLA. My professional journey includes a pivotal role as Laboratory Manager at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where I directed operations for the Biorepository and Dong Laboratory within Digestive Diseases. I played a crucial role in developing a probiotic drug development protocol and conducted an independent study on the microbiome's link to depression. My experience extends to roles as a Lab Assistant and Laboratory Technician at UCLA, UC San Diego, and the University of Chicago, where I supported research activities, maintained lab equipment, and ensured compliance with safety protocols. My contributions have been instrumental in advancing research and facilitating scientific discovery. Publications: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/William-Katzka

Experience

• Financial Investor and Options Trader · Self-Employed04-01-2023

  Options Thesis ● Created and executed short-term options trading strategy demonstrating an average ROI of 9% per trade, conducting fundamental and technical analyses to support buying and selling of positions ● Conducted analyses on publicly reported information from target company and competitors, including SEC filings and investor presentations, to inform perspective on future price movements of target company ● Developed a profitable options trading system by analyzing historical SPY ETF data (2018-2023) in Excel, utilizing statistical significance tests, correlation analysis, and regression modeling to identify a three-tier predictive price movement pattern across 5-minute, 1-minute, and 30-second time frames Select Case Work ● Yielded 31% ROI on Wave Life Sciences by anticipating stock surge in second quarter of 2024 following standout positive muscular dystrophy trial results ● Conducted competitive analysis of the RNA-based therapeutics market via two pillar assessment for financial and scientific integrity ● Utilized 10-K and 8-K filings to indicate cash position and cash burn rate to determine liquidity runway in funding development and execution of pipeline ● Researched data quality and design integrity of clinical trials to determine validity of Wave Life Sciences compared to competitors

• Laboratory Manager · University of California, Los Angeles09-01-2020 – 04-01-2023

  ● Directed operations of Tien S. Dong Laboratory, Biorepository, and Probiotic Core for the Division of Digestive Diseases at UCLA ● Led 7 university and government funded projects, delegated responsibilities across 2 project scientists, 3 medical fellows, and 6 research associates. Mentored students on managing both clinical and basic science projects end-to-end: from conceptualizing innovative solutions to scientific unknowns, through experimental execution, to effectively communicating findings to both scientific and non-scientific audiences ● Managed interviews for new candidates and played a key role in final hiring decisions, ensuring selection of top talent aligned with team needs ● Effectively deployed yearly $250,000 budget across projects, salaries, publication fees, laboratory and vivarium maintenance, etc. ● Ensured safety, ethical, and risk compliance of all employees and projects ● Created project specific trainings and protocols (experiments, LIMS usage, and biorepository maintenance) for employees based on the science and logic unique to each experiment ● Developed operations of The Probiotic Core; a service that provides the critical transition from bench research discoveries of probiotics to commercialization through controlled human trials ● Established The Biorepository; a biobank database of over 10,000 samples provided for the internal use of principal investigators within UCLA, as well as the trainings and logistics necessary to ensure future preservation by new hires ● Led recruitment and marketing efforts for clinical trials resulting in an increase of patient applicant pool by over 200%

• Research Associate and Core Technician · University of California, Los Angeles02-01-2018 – 08-01-2020

  ● Created pipeline to Analyze over 20,000 samples via benchwork and code driven sequencing results for publication, including co-authoring papers by explaining the results gathered via sequencing and how these data fit in the context of their study ● Cross-functional collaboration with principal investigators from multiple universities and disciplines ranging from zoological studies to rheumatological studies to determine how the services of The Microbiome Sequencing Core could most effectively serve their studies, which included drawing conclusions from data sets and assisting in the unique data visualization microbiome analysis requires for publication

• Laboratory Technician · University of California, San Diego and University of Chicago06-01-2014 – 08-01-2017

  ● Overhauled laboratory operations for new location at the University of California, San Diego by auditing existing operations for budget optimization and experimental capabilities

Education

• University of ChicagoBachelor of Arts - BA, Psychology
• University of California, Los AngelesPost Baccalaureate, Pre Medicine

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