Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Canada) Inc Work Values

Daily Duties at Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Canada) Inc:

I was a bench scientist performing research into finding a cure for inflammatory bowel disease. I used my expertise in epithelial cell biology to lead a team of two other scientists (one of whom was a direct report) to design assays that mimic the intestines of IBD patients that can be used to identify disease targets (Target ID - looking for cell pathways, proteins, or enzymes that can be blocked/enhanced/reduced/increased in order to provide therapeutic benefit). Also, to develop screening assays - high throughput assays where automated machines can dispense large chemical compound libraries to find a selection of compounds with therapeutic potential to investigate in more detailed assays. As the epithelial biology group leader, I managed and trained 1 direct report and trained an additional junior colleague thus ensuring the same standard of technique across the group. In managing my direct report, I was responsible for ensuring time was being managed appropriately, so that deadlines/milestones were met as per the annual objectives. The annual objectives were set out by myself with input from my own supervisor at the beginning of each year. These included specific areas of research, an overview of the experiments needed to be completed in order to reach GO/NO GO milestones. I used my project management skills to give approximations of the percentage of time each team member would need to spend on each goal and at mid-year the objectives were reassessed and amended where needed. I was also required to put forward new target ideas each year and to design alliances with other scientists in order to build a team with all the required skill sets needed to perform the experiments. On a weekly basis, I meet with my direct report for progress updates, provided feedback and help where needed. I also gave weekly update meetings to my own line manager and monthly update meetings within the biology group and at full site meetings. I was also the epithelial cell biology expert on one core team (a core team is composed of individual scientists from each scientific discipline - biology, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and DMPK. The role of a core team member is to update the core team on the data coming out of experiments being performed on a particular project, how this relates to the work being done by the other disciplines, and is used as a basis to plan out the next month of research that is required to either kill a project or advance it). I was also the team leader for an idea that I pitched to upper management about a screening assay to look for a way to decrease the "leakiness" of IBD patients gastrointestinal tracts. My team included 2 other scientists and was the only project out of 15 submitted to be selected by management to go into the lab for testing. As epithelial cell biology expert I was also the in-house liaison for 2 external academic collaborations, this involved building a rapport with the academic lab scientists, providing scientific insight into data produced, attending and scheduling progress update meetings, and liaising with in-house counsel during the establishment of contracts between Vertex and the individual Universities. - manager (1 direct report) - coach (1 jumior colleague) - team leader (1 project) - biology liaison (2 academic collaborations) -lead sub group - set up platform to put forward screening ideas to identify drugable targets (specific proteins or pathways), detailed oriented

What they like about Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Canada) Inc:

The social vibrance of a hiring firm is very important to you. Your ability to make and maintain friendships there is a critical part of your decision. You would likely be dissatisfied with a workplace that is quiet, cold, or otherwise not particularly social. When you investigate a new hiring company, ask recruiters, managers, and potential co-workers about the social life and opportunities there. This is especially important when you are relocating; moving dramatically alters your social sphere both inside and outside the workplace.

Tags

knowledge dissemination, strategic allaince design, medical education, project management, drug discovery, pharmaceutical

Skills

drug discovery, platform development, strategic alliance design, knowledge dissemination, education/training, analytical, problem-solving

These are some of the questions we asked our climbers about their experiences with Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Canada) Inc: