Daniel Zigar

Daniel Zigar has a diverse work experience in various scientific roles. Daniel started their career as an Environmental Chemist/Analyst at Excel Chem Environmental Labs, where they were responsible for analyzing volatile organic compounds. Daniel then moved on to Myriad Genetics and Myrexis, Inc. as a Research Associate, focusing on synthetic organic chemistry and creating compounds for biological testing, particularly in the field of oncology.

At Tandem Labs, Zigar worked as a Research Associate, specializing in method development and validation of biological samples for pharmaceuticals. Daniel utilized Watson Lims software for bioanalytical testing.

Zigar then joined Great Basin Scientific as a Lead Formulation Chemist, where they contributed to clean lab setup and worked on manufacturing materials for molecular diagnostic devices. Daniel also gained experience in large-scale reagent handling and lyophilization.

Afterwards, Zigar worked at BioFire Diagnostics, Inc. as a Production Coordinator and Formulation Chemist, responsible for coordinating production schedules and maintaining inventory. Daniel was later promoted to the role of Production Manager, overseeing reagent production, formulation, and lyophilization. Under their leadership, production significantly increased, and they managed a team of over 20 employees.

At BioFire Defense, Zigar served as a Research Associate IV and Template Production specialist, contributing to the development and manufacturing of molecular diagnostics tools and systems. Daniel also took on the role of an Earned Value Management System Project Scheduling Analyst, responsible for generating and maintaining project schedules.

Zigar then joined Recursion as a Compound Management Scientist, focusing on the procurement, solubilization, quality control, and storage of chemical candidates. Daniel also participated in developing new functionality for screening processes.

Currently, Zigar is a Research Scientist I at Curza, where they specialize in designing, synthesizing, purifying, characterizing, and scaling up drug compounds and libraries for a new class of broad-spectrum antibiotics. Daniel is also involved in maintaining reagent inventory, waste management, and laboratory equipment. Additionally, they prepare SOPs/batch records for external contract research organizations.

Daniel Zigar completed their education with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, where they studied from 1997 to 2003. Daniel then pursued further studies and obtained a Masters Degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Utah. This program lasted from 2003 to 2005.