GREENVILLE, NC, August 18, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Diane Gentile-Rufino, Esq., has been included in Marquis Who's Who in America. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Ms. Gentile-Rufino obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1982, after which she earned a Master of Science in Human Pathology, with honors, from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York in 1983. She expanded upon her education with coursework in microbiology, microbial biochemistry, virology, and epidemiology at Rutgers University in 1990. Additionally, she earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Seton Hall's School of Law in Newark, NJ, and a master's degree in Education from the University of Phoenix.
Ms. Gentile-Rufino initially gained laboratory and research experience during her college years, both as a research assistant at the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, where she was employed to help study Cystic Fibrosis, and as a summer intern for two years in pharmacology at the Roche Institute for Molecular Biology in Nutley, NJ, where she studied the neurological binding sites of the diazepam drugs, the most notable being Valium. Her research at the Children's Hospital resulted in a published paper and her research and skills at the Roche Institute caught the attention of noteworthy scientists who recommended her to Columbia University.
Ms. Gentile-Rufino decided to attend Columbia, as a graduate student in the Pathology Department after learning that one of her idols, Dr. Michael Baden, a famous forensic pathologist, was a teaching fellow at the school. Dr. Baden was involved in the reopening of the John F. Kennedy assassination case, a case she had intense interest in, and in fact, in the foyer of the Pathology building, there was a large display from Dr. Baden's work on the JFK Assassination inquisition, including autopsy photos and explanations. From the moment she saw that display, she knew Columbia was the school for her.
As a laboratory technician with the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University from 1985 to 1987, Ms. Gentile-Rufino researched the DNA helical structure of the promoter regions of oncogenes (cancer genes) to see if any structural anomalies account for an increase in their gene expression and consequently, for their oncogenicity. She then accepted a position at an Italian-based biotechnology company Enimont Americas where she helped train Italian scientists and where she also made an impact from by helping to develop transgenic crops that would be insect-resistant, disease-resistant and drought-resistant. Her work at Enimont (1987 to 1990) led to a position with the Agricultural Research division of American Cyanamid, in Princeton, NJ, where, from 1990 to 1997, she further flourished as a research molecular biologist. At Cyanamid, she isolated specific and critical plant genes, mutated them through specifically-designed schemes, and then engineered them to replace the original ones in the target plants. Additionally, she isolated specific and critical genes from other species and engineered them for introduction into the DNA of certain plants to create transgenic crops. The goal of her work was to confer herbicide and pesticide-resistance in crop plants. Ms. Gentile-Rufino received an Outstanding Scientist award at this time for her design of a novel cloning scheme, which she carried out successfully. Also, while working at Cyanamid, she conducted research whereby she engineered genes from viruses to introduce into plants as part of an initiative to confer passive immunity (by ingesting the transgenic plants) to humans and animals, as well as conducting independent research on cancer. In fact, she designed a novel cancer-screen for which Cyanamid was granted a patent.
While at Cyanamid, Ms. Gentile-Rufino got wind of its plans to sell off its plant technology and then, ultimately, to be sold off to another company. She then made the decision to get out of science, since her goal all along had been to be involved in cancer research and to hopefully help find a cure. In 1997, she began attending law school at Seton Hall, graduating in 2000. Her area of expertise was Intellectual Property. While still a law student, she worked the summer of 1999 as a patent agent with Ratner Prestia, a prominent intellectual property law and technology firm based in King of Prussia, PA.
In 2001, Ms. Gentile-Rufino moved from New Jersey to Greenville, NC. In 2002, she worked at the Kessler Law Firm, which specialized in personal injury law, medical malpractice law, and actions involving worker's compensation. Not enjoying practicing personal injury law and being frustrated with the firm's handling of medical malpractice cases, and not being able to practice in the field of intellectual property (nearest firm being at least 90-120 min away), she decided to go back to the field of science. From 2003 to early 2005, she worked as a chemist at DSM Pharmaceuticals in Greenville, NC, as a senior analytical development scientist. In this capacity, she developed and remediated analytical methods for the testing of various pharmaceutical drugs.
Ms. Gentile-Rufino bounced back to law in 2005-2006 when she went to work for the prestigious law firm of Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice PLC, in Raleigh, NC and then briefly in 2007 for a property law firm based in New Bern.
From 2007 to 2011, Ms. Gentile-Rufino found success as an associate in the Portfolio Management group at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, the generic subsidiary of Novartis, the multinational pharmaceutical company. In this role, she researched, assessed patent coverage, and made recommendations regarding products and "design-around" strategies for alternate versions of brand-name drugs. She made weekly presentations to the group and often to upper management as well regarding new products for selection to the company's generic product portfolio. Additionally, Ms. Gentile-Rufino monitored pharmaceutical news and did competitor analysis to aid in the company's analysis of recommended products.
In 2012, Ms. Gentile-Rufino decided to re-invent herself yet again and enrolled for a Masters in Education with the University of Phoenix. For four years, she has enjoyed success, as well as personal satisfaction, as an instructor and College Counselor with John Paul II Catholic High School in Greenville, where she has taught biology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology, government and politics, and mathematics to honors and college-bound students. In 2016, she was honored as the Outstanding Teacher from Pitt County. She was honored with an award and a segment on TV. The introduction included an acknowledgement that she received the most impressive letter (nominating her for the distinction) as well as holding the most impressive credentials of any teacher so recognized.
Though Ms. Gentile-Rufino is now retired from teaching, she still is considering tutoring students who have professional aspirations or who have the desire to get into well-accredited colleges and universities. And although she is now retired from working officially in the legal field, she continues to maintain her bar degree and bar status. She continues, though, to provide legal advice and legal assistance to family, friends, and neighbors. Since 2012, she has gained legal expertise in constitutional and uses that expertise in the many articles she writes. She has a blogsite titled: "Forloveofgodandcountry's Blog" – www.forloveofgodandcountry.com/, which she is very proud of.
In accounting for her standout achievements, Ms. Gentile-Rufino credits her success to hard work and a dedication to always giving 200% of herself. She has always been of the belief, which she credits to her mother and to her religion, that one should always take on a project, whether its education or a job, with the mindset of being the best and doing one's best.
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