Back to Profiles

 

Job description:Throughout the summer I was mostly reading through the literature and summarizing content to write grants, Investigational Brochure (IB) summaries, research reports, a business plan draft, and any other information people needed to understand a concept. It was mostly computer work, and learning about new topics and diseases that I was initially unfamiliar with. The grant was for our company to apply for money from a large pharmaceutical company to start developing a new compound to treat a disease. I was writing the project proposal which included researching how to first find the compound computationally, synthesize it, test efficacy in treating the disease and safety, and ultimately design animal model experiments. Both IB summaries were summaries of diseases, including world incidence and prevalence rates, what the clinical presentation of the disease is, how it’s currently diagnosed and treated, etc. I had to write it from the perspective of a medical professional. Lastly, I had to search through the literature for answers to specific questions, such as why oral gavage was not working on dogs. I also summarized data and consolidated them into a report that could be sent to investors.

In addition, I also participated in several phone sessions and a clinical trial kickoff meeting to better understand how biotech works. I was able to ask questions of people in the company about what they do specifically and how they got to where they are in their career. I interacted with everyone in the company frequently, including the entire executive team. The kickoff meeting was with Contract Research Organizations who help coordinate with sites in the countries performing the clinical trials to ensure the doctors know how to administer the drug and any other necessary details.

See also her report "My Biotech Team: klein aber fein" in: Briefe aus Berlin 2018, pp. 14-16 in our download section.