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Megan Cleveland (Fed)
Research Biologist
Megan received a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Human Genetics from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where she studied pancreas development in mice. At NIST, Megan focuses on biomanufacturing and clinical diagnostics. She is particularly interested in digital PCR and next generation sequencing.
Megan is currently leading the release of NISTCHO as RM 8675. NISTCHO, previously released as RGTM 10197, is a mammalian cell line that produces a monoclonal antibody (cNISTmAb). NISTCHO is part of NIST's suite of biomanufacturing-related reference materials, along with NISTmAb (RM 8671). NISTCHO can be used to study processes that affect monoclonal antibody (mAb) production, as well as processes that improve mAb purification efficiency. NISTCHO is also used in educational settings to train the next generation of biomanufacturing professionals.
Megan is also the technical project lead (TPL) for several virus reference materials, which help to harmonize and standardize diagnostic tests. Most recently, Megan led the production and release of RGTM 10263 (H5N1 (Avian Influenza) Synthetic RNA Fragments). This material is intended to provide diagnostics manufacturers and researchers with a non-hazardous material for PCR-based assay design and testing.
Additionally, Megan is the TPL for NIST SRM 2365 (BK Virus DNA Quantitative Standard) and NIST SRM 2367 (JC Virus DNA Quantitative Standard).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Megan produced Research Grade Test Material (RGTM 10169) for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. She worked with the Public Affairs Office to make a video about the creation of this material. RGTM 10169 was distributed to over 170 labs in 25 countries.
Megan is also interested in using NGS to detect possible contaminants in biologically produced materials. She co-organized a NIST/FDA workshop in 2019 for Standards for NGS Detection of Viral Adventitious Agents in Biologics and Biomanufacturing. A summary of the workshop's output was published in 2020. She led Subgroup B (Standards and Reference Materials) for the Advanced Virus Detection Technologies Interest Group (AVDTIG) from 2021-2025. She has also worked with the Genome in a Bottle (GiaB) consortium to examine results from targeted sequencing panels on GiaB benchmark genomes. Targeted sequencing panels may offer a cost-effective way of characterizing many clinically critical genomic regions.
A complete list of Dr. Cleveland's publications can be found here.
Postdoctoral Research Opportunities
Megan is currently looking for applicants for the following opportunities:
Accurate Nucleic Acid Measurements for Molecular Diagnostics
Ensuring the Safety of Vaccines and Biologics
If you are interested in applying to either opportunity, please email Dr. Cleveland at megan.cleveland [at] nist.gov (megan[dot]cleveland[at]nist[dot]gov).
Awards
2025 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)
2021 Department of Commerce Gold Medal Award
2021 MML Accolade - Technical Excellence - Collaboration and Teamwork
2020 Department of Commerce Gold Medal Award
2020 MML Accolade - Technical Excellence - Collaboration and Teamwork