Ben Tillotson

Ph.D. 2013ben

Previous Education

B.S. Chemical Engineering, Minor Mathematics 2002
University of Washington

Hometown

P-town (aka Poulsbo, WA)

Research Project

 Lead Optimization of Antibodies Against Membrane Proteins: Targeting the Transferrin Receptor

Previous Experience

Engineer I at Amgen – 2004 - 2007 – Purification Process Development, Membrane Filtration Technology
Research Associate at Amgen / Immunex – 2003 – 2004 – Cell Science and Fermentation Technology
Mfg. / QA Associate at VICI Metronics / G-Cal - 2002 - 2003
Engineering Intern at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (Batelle) – Summer 2000

Publications

Tillotson BJ, de Larrinoa IF, Skinner CA, Klavas DM, Shusta EV. Antibody affinity maturation using yeast display with detergent-solubilized membrane proteins as antigen sources. . Protein Engineering, Design and Selection. 2013 Feb;26(2):101-12. [Abstract] 

Tillotson, B., Cho, Y.K., and Shusta, E.V., Cells and Cell Lysates: A direct approach for engineering antibodies against membrane proteins using yeast surface display. Methods., 2011 (accepted)

Allen, M. J., Boyce, J. P., Trentalange, M. T., Treiber, D. L., Rasmussen, B., Tillotson, B., Davis, R. and Reddy, P., Identification of novel small molecule enhancers of protein production by cultured mammalian cells. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 2008.

Why did you chose UW Madison?

The outstanding quality of the research facilities, and Midwest charm

Housing Ideas

  • Live close to the bike bath and/or a bus-line
  • Make sure heat is included in your rent
  • If you have roommates, make sure at least one is NOT a chemical engineer – you will need this person to remind you of life outside the department
  • Make friends with someone who lives near the capitol square and designate their couch your home-away-from-home

Advice for first year graduate students

Welcome to Madison. You are now in a strange new town. Use this to your advantage. Be the person you’ve always wanted to be. Now is the time to do exciting, meaningful things that don’t involve engineering, because come next August, graduate school will have squeezed your existence into a narrowly defined space delineated by difficult coursework and long hours in the lab. Also, avoid Subway and Chinese takeout.

Coffee, Tea, Milk, Juice, and Soda are provided

Chocolate Milk please? Else, coffee.

Theater, Symphony, Museum, Concert, Movies, Gallery, or None of the above

Concert