3/10/2023 0 Comments Workdone company![]() Shortly after I started at my second industry job, the project leader told me that a critical goal for the project was to establish a PK/PD relationship. Jargon is rampant in the biotechnology industry, and it can be quite baffling during an interview and the first few months of a job. For example, you might ask one of your interviewers: “If you wanted to carry out a project that required help from the mouse group, synthetic chemistry, pharmacology, and structural biology, how would that work?” Pay attention to the length of time and number of acronyms required for the answer and watch closely for expressions of angst or joy. I have been fortunate in this regard overall, but it is something you may want to ask about during an interview. You will hear a lot about organizational structure, but what matters most is whether the teams are enabled to move projects forward collaboratively and efficiently. A company could have a matrix organization in which a functional group, such as biochemistry, contributes to all projects through various project leaders, or alternatively, a disease-focused organizational structure where each therapeutic area would have a dedicated group of biochemists. ![]() Teams can be organized in many different ways. Obviously, some teams function more smoothly than others, and the way in which different companies manage teams can have a profound influence on one's ability to be productive. For example, most chemists will want to learn more about the target biology, a biologist should learn about pharmacology, etc. Good team members will be interested in the various other aspects of the project. I love this aspect of industry, as I enjoy working with experts in other disciplines, projects move forward quickly, and you learn about other fields without having to be an expert. Nearly all industrial projects are carried out by multidisciplinary teams. In the remainder of the essay, I will highlight some of the major facets of a career in the biotechnology industry that may not be obvious from the outside. Although I wrote this introduction to provide context for my perspective, it already illustrates some of the realities of working in the biotechnology industry, such as the need to adapt and be open to new opportunities as they arise. Shortly thereafter, Genentech became a member of the larger Roche team. ![]() I was hired into the cell cycle group as employee number 10,000 (approximately) and after 2 years transitioned into a new department focused on the discovery of biomarkers to identify responsive patient populations. The opportunity arose when Genentech started building a cell cycle effort. ![]() At this time, it seemed prudent either to transition into clinical development or to seek new opportunities in drug discovery. After 5 years, we had sent three novel investigational drugs off into the choppy seas of clinical trials and wished them well. This turned out to be a fantastic opportunity to take my expertise in basic cytoskeletal biology and learn how to apply it to cancer research and drug discovery. I joined as employee number 90 in a rapidly growing company and quickly became the expert they needed. Having only worked with yeast and frogs, I was intimidated by the thought of accepting a position requiring expertise in human cancer, but decided it was too good an offer to turn down. I applied for the position in the antifungal group and was surprised to be offered a position as a cancer cell biologist. As it happened, a biotechnology company was looking for biologists with expertise in cytoskeletal biology. It was hard to get funding, and it became evident within a few months that I should consider other employment options. The year was 2000, and the political climate was conservative with respect to renewable energy. The lofty goal of this new venture was to directly convert “sludge,” a waste product from pulp mills, into fuel-grade ethanol with a one-step fermentation process. I took a blind leap into a tiny biotechnology company at which I was employee number four. After completing a typical PhD and postdoctoral training in basic cell biology using Xenopus laevis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae as model organisms, I decided I wanted to use my research skills in applied science. Because I work in biotechnology, I was asked to provide some perspective on careers within the biotechnology industry for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
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