Careers in Discovery

Kristen Albright, Prokarium

Kristen Albright, Vice President of Business Development & Translational Research at vaccines and immunotherapy company Prokarium, has had a varied career, spanning big Pharma, Biotech, Venture Capital, and working with startups in developing countries.

She spoke with us recently about:

🗣 Knowing when it's time to leave and do something new

🗣 The rise of social responsibility in Pharma and Biotech

🗣 Taking risks and volunteering for things

🗣 The reality of life in venture capital

Check out the episode to hear her thoughts on these topics and more.

Dave Leese, Concept Life Sciences

"With the right attitude, there's no reason you can't adapt and become an expert in anything."

Dave Leese, VP of Chemistry at Concept Life Sciences joined us on the latest episode of Careers in Discovery, in which we discuss:

🔬 how an early interest in the books of PD James sparked a life-long interest in science, and ultimately a career at the cutting edge of drug discovery chemistry

🔬 the relationship between skills learned as a scientist and broader business skills

🔬 the importance of continuous personal and professional development

🔬 being proactive about the direction your career takes

Along with his work at Concept Life Sciences, Dave is heavily involved with SCI, an organisation which promotes links between science and industry for the benefit of society, giving him a unique view on the transition between academia and the commercial world.

Enjoy the show!

Grahame McKenzie, PhoreMost

Grahame McKenzie is the Chief Scientific Officer of PhoreMost, an innovative Cambridge biotech with a mission to "drug the undruggable" using their proprietary protein interference platform.

Grahame joined us to talk about his work and career, including:

✴ Breaking out of the existing druggable space and explore new frontiers

✴ Creating a drug discovery "playbook" for future generations

✴ The importance of developing breadth as well as depth in your skillset

In his own words, Grahame has a deep love of science but his real passion is using it to develop drugs that have a direct impact on patients. Find out more in this week's episode.

Jon Green, AstraZeneca

Jon Green left school with no qualifications and little idea of what his future held - now, he's the VP & Site General Manager of AstraZeneca's Granta Park site and Chairman of the biotech networking body One Nucleus.

Looking back on an illustrious career in drug discovery, he shares with us what he's learnt from his unconventional path, including the key role that passion for what you do plays, the real life impact of working in drug discovery and development and why "walking the floor" is his modus operandi.

Hear Jon's fascinating story on this episode of Careers in Discovery.

Benedict Cross, Horizon Discovery

Benedict Cross, Head of Functional Genomic Screening at Horizon Discovery, joins us this time.

Join us as we discuss, among many other things:

❇ Functional Genomics and the impact of CRISPR on drug discovery

❇ Why knowing what NOT to do can be the most important thing you learn

❇ How the outcry over GMO kick-started Benedict's career in science

❇ Using your network

Prof. Tom Moody, Almac Group

Professor Tom Moody, VP of Technology Development & Commercialisation at Almac Group joins us this week, and provides a fascinating insight into a career at the cutting edge of chemistry.

We discussed:

Doing the impossible as part of your job

How technology is changing the role of the scientist

The importance of continued learning

The differences between academia and industry, and what you need to make the transition

Matt Higgins, Blue Ridge Bioinformatics

This week we're joined by Matt Higgins, CEO of Blue Ridge Bioinformatics, a specialist bioinformatics service provider to Pharma & Biotech companies.

We covered a lot of ground, including:

💡 The impact of bioinformatics in drug discovery

💡 Catching the entrepreneurship bug

💡 Stepping out of your comfort zone

💡 The challenges of proving your credibility as a young founder

"Things that excite me a lot and scare me a little are definitely worth doing."

Zuzanna Brzosko, Sixfold Bioscience

We're joined in this episode by Zuzanna Brzosko, CEO of Sixfold Bioscience, an exciting early stage company developing novel drug delivery technologies for Cell & Gene Therapy.

Zuzanna shares with us what she's learned in her first year as a CEO, the importance of diversity of background but convergence in direction when building a team, and how crucial it is to take action.