Joshua L. Mieher
Indianapolis,IN
Summary
Biomedical scientist with background in biochemistry, structural biology and microbiology. Proven track record in interdisciplinary collaborations, mentorship, and academic - industry partnerships. Specialized in protein-protein and protein-small molecule interaction characterization with surface plasmon resonance, and protein purification.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Advisor, Facilitator, Recruiter
Bloodhart Consulting
06.2013 - Current
- Sourcing candidates for Sales positions in Medical Device Industry.
- Advisor on assessments of culture, candidates, and employees increasing the efficiency by 25% for recruiting.
- Facilitator of CONTINUUM Assessment to empower teams to understand and better utilize their responses to changes in their work environment to maximize team adaptability and maintain momentum.
F-32 Post-doctoral Fellow
University of Alabama at Birmingham
08.2024 - 08.2025
- Award Project Title: Multifunctional Roles of AgI/II Family Proteins
- Managed research projects which resulted in two first author manuscripts. One is in revision; the other is published.
- Lead lab scientist in development of novel collagen project, with the intention of project developing into a future grant project.
- Participated in brainstorming and technical meetings for Dr. Deivanayagam’s successfully funded R01 project: “Structural and Functional Studies on the Glucosyltransferases of the Dental Caries Pathogen Streptococcus mutans” with total funding $3,665,091.
- Researched technology upgrades for equipment and software acquisitions.
- Supervised and trained graduate students and guided new team members in experimental design, lab techniques, and instrument troubleshooting. Thereby allowing them to build independence in resolving routine problems, increasing workflow capacity.
T-90 Post-doctoral Trainee
University of Alabama at Birmingham
08.2021 - 08.2023
- Advisor: Champion Deivanayagam, Ph.D.
- Transitioned prior work into a funded F32 NIH application by refining project scope and aims.
- Biophysics: Characterized binding interactions using BIAcore (SPR) and ITC; optimized assay protocols, communicated results and maintained biophysical instrumentation.
- Designed and implemented site-directed mutagenesis across bacterial proteins to identify critical residues in host-pathogen interactions.
PhD Graduate
University of Alabama at Birmingham
11.2014 - 08.2021
- Graduate Biomedical Sciences Program
- Advisor: Champion Deivanayagam, Ph.D.
- Obtained Ph.D. with three first author publications
- Dissertation Project: “Investigating the adherence mechanisms of the conserved V-region of streptococcal Antigen I/II surface proteins”
- Managed data for collaborative projects involving biofilm formation and statistical validation; produced publication-ready figures and data interpretations.
- Provided technical assistance on equipment in Deivanayagam Lab and X-ray Core Facility equipment, including maintenance and internal repair of instrumentation. Prevented numerous service calls ranging from $5-10K each. Extended operation of BIAcore 2000 instrument beyond serviceable lifetime, postponing purchasing of comparable equipment >$100k.
Undergraduate Researcher (Paid)
Purdue University - Food Science Department
06.2012 - 04.2013
- Worked in the lab of Bruce Applegate, Ph.D.
- Assisted graduate students with research and worked directly on industry-collaborative projects.
- Assessed microbial load and calculated death curves for a tomato product company in support of shelf-stability improvements. Identified a systematic error in their pasteurization process which was causing substantial product loss.
- Conducted microbial analyses for industry projects focused on thermal processing technologies. Determined CFU at multiple stages of pasteurization process to determine efficacy at eliminating Staphylococcus aureus from inoculated milk, proving the low-temperature short-time (LTST) technique was successful.
Chemistry Resource Room Staff
Purdue University - Department of Chemistry
01.2010 - 12.2011
- Tutored general and organic chemistry students and facilitated outreach events for prospective STEM students.
- Undergraduate Researcher
- Worked in the lab of Christine Hrycyna, Ph.D.
- Worked under the instruction of a graduate student, gaining experience with electrophoresis, PCR, and other biochemistry techniques as I worked on small projects for him relating to the analysis of several proteins, including RAS proteins, for cancer research.
- Private Tutor
- General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry
Education
PhD - Biochemistry and Structural Biology Theme
University of Alabama At Birmingham
Birmingham, ALBachelor of Science in Chemistry - Biology, Food Science
Purdue University
West Lafayette, INUndergraduate Exchange Student -
Victoria University of Wellington
Skills
- Biocharacterization Techniques: Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR)- on BIAcore systems and Nicoya Alto, Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC), Microscale Thermophoresis (MST) on Monolith, Plate-based protein interaction assays
- Protein purification: Fast Pressure Liquid Chromatography (FPLC), High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Protein Dialysis (bags and buttons), SDS gel electrophoresis
- Cell culture: Bacterial (protein production and biofilm assays), Insect (protein production in S2 line), Mammalian Cell Culture Assays
- Molecular biology techniques: Western Blot, Agarose gel electrophoresis, ELISA, primer design, PCR gene amplification/cloning
- Assay Instrumentation: Cytation C10 (Agilent), Synergy 2 (Biotek)
- Software: Microsoft Office, Graphpad Prism Statistical Software
- People Skills: Leadership, science communication, problem solving, conflict resolution, mentoring, lab management
Certification
- CONTINUUM Assessment Certified 07/2024
- Continuum Facilitator: Certified to purchase and conduct individual and group feedback sessions regarding how individuals and organizations perceive and react to change in the workplace.
- BIAcore Basics Training from GE Healthcare 09/2015
Timeline
F-32 Post-doctoral Fellow
University of Alabama at Birmingham
08.2024 - 08.2025
T-90 Post-doctoral Trainee
University of Alabama at Birmingham
08.2021 - 08.2023
PhD Graduate
University of Alabama at Birmingham
11.2014 - 08.2021
Advisor, Facilitator, Recruiter
Bloodhart Consulting
06.2013 - Current
Undergraduate Researcher (Paid)
Purdue University - Food Science Department
06.2012 - 04.2013
Chemistry Resource Room Staff
Purdue University - Department of Chemistry
01.2010 - 12.2011
PhD - Biochemistry and Structural Biology Theme
University of Alabama At Birmingham
Bachelor of Science in Chemistry - Biology, Food Science
Purdue University
Undergraduate Exchange Student -
Victoria University of Wellington
PUBLICATIONS
- Mieher, J. L., Larson, M. R., Schormann, N., Purushotham, S., Wu, R., Rajashankar, K. R., Wu, H., Deivanayagam, C. (2018). Glucan Binding Protein C of Streptococcus mutans Mediates both Sucrose-Independent and Sucrose-Dependent Adherence. Infection and Immunity, 86 (7) e00146-18; DOI: 10.1128/IAI.00146-18. PMCID: PMC6013656
- Mieher, J. L., Schormann, N., Patel, M., Wu, H., & Deivanayagam, C. (2019). Cloning, Expression, Purification, and Preliminary Characterization of Single-Crystal X-Ray Diffraction of Glucosyltransferase B of Streptococcus mutans. Natural Product Communications. DOI: 10.1177/1934578x19849339
- Mieher, J. L., Schormann, N., Wu, R., Patel, M., Purushotham, S., Wu, H., Scoffield, J., and Deivanayagam, C. (2021). Structure-Function Characterization of Streptococcus intermedius Surface Antigen Pas. Journal of Bacteriology. DOI: 10.1128/JB.00175-21
- Schormann, N., Purushotham, S., Mieher, J. L., Patel, M., Wu, H., and Deivanayagam, C. (2021). Structural and Functional Analysis of the C-terminal region of Streptococcus gordonii. Acta Crystallographica Section D: Biological Crystallography. DOI: 10.1107/S2059798321008135
- Osei, K. A., Mieher, J. L., Patel, M., Nichols, J. J., Deivanayagam, C. (2022). The Glycoprotein 340’s Scavenger Receptor Cysteine-rich Domain Promotes Adhesion of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to Contact Lens Polymers. DOI: 10.1128/IAI.00339-21
- Wang, H., Khattar, V., Hensel, J.A., Ashton, R., Lu, Y., Sorace, A.G., Wang, Y., Deshane, J.S., Mieher, J.L., Deivanayagam, C., Ponnazhagan, S. (2022). Systemic Checkpoint Blockade by PD-L1 Single-Chain Antibody Confers Potent Antitumor Immunity and Long-term Survival. DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-22-0010
- Schormann, N., Patel, M., Thannickal, L., Purushotham, S., Wu, R., Mieher, J. L., Wu, H., Deivanayagam, C. (2023). The catalytic domains of Streptococcus mutans glucosyltransferases: a structural analysis. Acta Crystallographica Section F Structural Biology Communications. 1;79(Pt 5):119-127. PMCID: PMC10167749.
- Mieher, J.L., Schormann, N., Wu, R., Patel, M., Purushotham, S., Lemos, J., Abranches, J., Wu, H., Deivanayagam, C. Streptococcus mutans Collagen-Binding Protein Cnm Is a Multifunctional Adhesin: A Structural Investigation. Mol Oral Microbiol. 2025 Aug 27:e70005. doi: 10.1111/omi.70005. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40862507.
- Mieher, J. L., Purushotham, S., Schormann, N., Wu, R., Patel, M., and Deivanayagam, C. “The structure of Streptococcus gordonii surface protein SspB in complex with the TEV peptide provides molecular clues of oral streptococcal adherence through the AgI/II family of proteins”. (to be communicated to PNAS).
- Garrett, O., Mieher, J. L., Schormann, N., Wu, R., Wu, H., Sadanandam, V., and Deivanayagam, C. “Design, synthesis and development of compounds that interfere with the Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans interactions through the V-region of Antigen I/II”. (to be communicated to Molecular microbiology).
- Lee, J., Schormann, N., Mieher, J. L., Patel, M., Purushotham, S., Yang, Z., Banerjee, S., Rajashankar, K., and Deivanayagam, C. “Novel Collagen Structure and Catalytic Mechanism of the Streptococcal Bacterophage Hyaluronidase HyIP”. (to be communicated to Journal of Biological Chemistry)
RECOGNITION
NIH/NIDCR F32 Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award “Multifunctional Roles of AgI/II Family Proteins”, Receiving a stipend of $59,592 in Year 1 and $66,492 in Year 2 for salary, laboratory supplies, and conference dues, Best Postdoc Presentation Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics Department Retreat 12/2023 Title: Multifunctional Roles of the Streptococcal AgI/II Family Proteins, Best Postdoc Presentation Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics Department Retreat 12/2022 Title: Identifying the Gp340 Adherence Motif on the AgI/II-family of Proteins, 2nd Place, Poster Presentation at UAB School of Dentistry Scholars Symposium 01/2019 UAB School of Dentistry Title: Structural and Functional Characterization of S. intermedius surface antigen Pas, 3rd Place, Poster Presentation at UAB-SERCAT Structural Biology Symposium 01/2019 UAB-SERCAT Title: Structural and Functional Characterization of S. intermedius surface antigen Pas