W.L. Gore & Associates, Medical Products Division, Technology Development Group Work Values

Daily Duties at W.L. Gore & Associates, Medical Products Division, Technology Development Group :

Quickly familiarized myself with a new area of medicine for me. Familiarized self with new lab. Observed exsting prototype for measuring permeability across the walls of vascular grafts (artificial arteries). Brainstormed ways to improve the process. Analyzed options and decided upon one technique to use and designed an assay. 5) Evaluated problem, brainstormed possible solutions, selected best measurement modality, designed and manufactured plastic testing apparatus, innovated a self sealing port out of silicone, interfaced a pulsatile pump, tubing, and multichannel pipette, tested 100 samples with variable features, wrote computer program to “work-up” data, analyzed results, optimized novel graft constructs, presented to colleagues, videotaped and documented the protocol thoroughly so that my work could be continued after summer’s end when I returned to graduate school. Manufactured plastic parts in the machine shop. Assembled device. Performed my own trouble shooting and process improvement. Validated assay. Tested ~100 samples. Used automatic multi-well plate reader and spectrophotometry to measure concentrations over time. Plotted data on graphs. Fit curves to data and obtained permeability values for each vascular graft sample tested. Automated and streamlined process so that I could generate an answer in just under 3 hours impressing supervisors. Wrote internal proprietary manuscript. Recommended novel graft designs. Presented to colleagues. Developed a novel assay to measure protein transport across the walls of ePTFE (GoreTex) vascular grafts (artificial arteries). Reported directly to senior research staff. Situation: Company wanted a way to measure the permeability of vascular grafts to a certain substance. Action:I created an assay that tested six samples at a time. I ensured validity, repeatability, precision, accuracy. I designed macros in Micosoft Excel to work-up the raw spectroscopic data to extract permeability results for a new vascular graft sample in just under three hours from start to finish. Result: I ran over 100 samples and reported the results, recommended novel designs to optimize the design to get results they were trying to achieve, I gave them predictive curves for all graft types, I signed confidentiality and non-compete agreements no longer in force. I gave them the physical assay that I had developed for them, a video of how to use it along with the results of the samples I had tested, the optimization and suggestions for novel grafts designs to fit their desired goals, and generated an internal proprietary report/manuscript.

What they like about W.L. Gore & Associates, Medical Products Division, Technology Development Group :

Working in an organization that is technologically advanced, creative, and innovative is critical in your assessment of hiring companies. Less important to you are stability of the organization, the length of time an organization has been in business, and the business' plans for the future. You prefer a fast-moving company that will take risks to achieve its goals and objectives. The length of time the company has been in business is irrelevant. Maintaining status quo is unnecessary. You thrive on change, uncertainty and the upside of potential business risks, especially those associated with innovation. Stability for the long haul is not nearly as important as is working in an atmosphere that is charged with a sense of urgency and constant change.

Tags

Lecturer, Professor, Mentor, Creative, Enthusiastic, Resourceful, Passionate, Inspiring, ICH/GCP and GLP, Scientist, Biophysicist, Bioengineer, Biomedical engineer, Clinical trials, Product developemnt, NIH, LLNL, Veteran Administration Hospital (VA) trained, Research and Development, Analytical, Broad knowledge, Academic teaching, Biotechnology, Healthcare regulation, Quantitative, Data driven, Evidenced based, Quality Assurance, Quality Improvement, Meaningful use, Pharmaceutical trials

Skills

Research, Clinical Research, Lecturing, Teaching, Patient Care, Patient Management, Advising, Engineering, Bioengineering, Computer Programming, Public speaking, Medical product development, Optimization, Idea generation, Broad knowledge of engineering principles, science, biology, and medicine, Data analysis, Surgical procedures, Advanced laboratory skills, Team player

These are some of the questions we asked our climbers about their experiences with W.L. Gore & Associates, Medical Products Division, Technology Development Group :