Industry Insights: Environmental Health and Safety (EHS): my scientific adventurous route. By Denise Aronson, President, Safety Partners, Inc.

This blog is part of our Industry Insights series. These blogs are written for Propel Careers by industry experts to provide information about career paths and the various options which exist in the life sciences industry.

Why would someone, especially a chemist or biologist, want to get into the EHS field? Believe it or not, there are bench scientists who may really enjoy EHS work.

I am currently the President of Safety Partners, Inc. Let me tell you about the adventurous route I took to get here.

I'm a biochemist, BS biochemistry from University of New Hampshire. Like many college grads from UNH, I landed my first job in Boston, and like many science majors, I ended up in an academic lab working at the bench.

After a brief year in a research lab at Tufts Medical School, I found myself in an academic research lab in the Pathology department at Beth Israel Hospital (BIH). My time there was spent doing lots of assays, purifications, kinetic studies, a bit of animal work, some cell culture and microscopy, etc. I did this for 9 years. It was cool, especially for those first few years knee-deep in biochemistry, mucking around with fibronectin receptors and trying things out on various cell lines, and then seeing what happens in a rabbit or nude mouse, or trying to catch a color pattern using fluorescence. I enjoyed the lab, the people, reviewing data and trying to move our research project forward.

It was a very good job, so why did I leave? Well, I was afraid I'd turn grey while working for a Principal Investigator, and I hated the idea that maybe I had become stuck (many folks had come and gone through the labs).

The biggest challenge to moving on was figuring out how to write a resume that said anything but, THIS WOMAN ONLY KNOWS HOW TO DO BENCH SCIENCE, DO NOT HIRE HER FOR ANYTHING ELSE.

When you work in the lab for years, sharing equipment, storing your most precious materials in a safe place, listening to each other in journal club -- many things subtly rub off on you. You become a collaborator, you may mentor or be mentored, collegial discussions happen, you learn to dig-in and think and articulate. And for fun you sometimes even do bizarre things like get on your bicycle and ride from BIH to MIT (and back) to pick up some special peptide for some critical experiment!

I was creative, I sent out a 100 resumes, for anything that seemed science-y but slightly different. That didn't work. I settled for a job as a lab manager for a small clinical lab, and I lasted one year. I think they were going to fire me if I didn't decide to resign, but that is a different story for another blog.

Now I really had to get creative and I had to muster all my guts to get back on my feet. I took my resume and I turned it upside down and inside out. I wrote things like: provided infection control instructions to post docs when working with primary cells, wrote procedures for working with Cyanogen Bromide, became the guru for iodinating proteins, unwillingly (but did a great job) as the Hot Room Queen, adept at using the microtone, organizing a system to reduce allergens in the animal surgery room, set-up a better labeling system for lab group combined waste, liaison with hospital management for customized training for NMR work.

You get it. Through the years in the lab, I was integrated into the world of environmental, occupational, health and safety. Environmental compliance -- what goes down the drain, what goes in which waste container, hmmm those grounding and bonding cables in the basement solvent waste barrels, isn't static charge and flash fires interesting! Health -- how to protect myself from powders, dander, vapors, mutagens, teratogens; why is my boss sooooo careful when asking me to work with phorbal-esters? Spills – during a summer college internship, I spilled a bottle of Temed. I stunk up the lab so bad everyone had to evacuate.

All these experiences gave me courage to found and run a company of EHS professionals. Today, we are 25 people with the bulk of us out at our client sites developing and implementing biosafety, chemical safety, radiation safety, NMR safety, laser safety, animal care facility safety, machine shop safety.

Now I ask YOU, do you know what should not go down the drain? Are your protecting yourself from those biohazards and chemicals? Probably you know more about EHS than you think. If you are smart, flexible, adaptable, creative, fun, interesting people, keep in mind that we are always recruiting. We can definitively teach you the rest. We are a vibrant and growing company solving problems for our clients. We are one of the many contributing elements to the success of the dynamic life science eco-system here in the Greater Cambridge-Boston Area. Our favorite recruits are scientists.

Safety Partners provides great employment for folks who want fulfilling part-time or full-time careers. We are absolutely mom-friendly, dad-friendly, family-friendly. We work really, really hard at a fast pace, and we hold ourselves to high standards .... with a genuine smile.

Denise will be a panelist at the upcoming Futures in Life Science Event on November 15th 2011 in Cambridge MA. She will join the other members of the panel including Daniel W. Young, Ph.D., Patent Agent Wolf Greenfield; Kevin Bitterman, Principal, Polaris Venture Partners; Irena Melnikova, Director, Prospective and Strategic Initiatives at sanofi-aventis; Sandra Glucksmann, Sr. VP Research & Business Operation at Cerulean Pharmaceuticals; Marc Recht, Partner, Cooley LLP. Details for the event can be found at http://futuresinlifesciences7.eventbrite.com/

Lauren Celano recently moderated a panel for the Mass General Hospital (MGH) postdoctoral association in Boston MA about The Business Side of Science. This panel discussed how scientists make the transition into the life sciences industry and more specifically into the business side of the industry. The panel even touched on how scientists can start or lead their own companies. This event is part of a series of events that the MGH postdoctoral association holds to provide career development to the members of the association.

An expert and distinguished panel was assembled including: Abbie Celniker, CEO of Taligen Therapeutics, Alain Stricker-Krongrad, Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice-President Science and Business Development at Biomedical Research Models, Albert Luderer, CEO & Board Member of Integrated Diagnostics, and Katherine Turner, Chief Development Officer of Attogen Inc.

Below are a few takeaways:

The types of business careers could include roles such as: business development, marketing, product management, program management, strategy, consulting, team lead, scientific lead

An MBA is not required to transition into the business side of the industry, however an MBA can provide useful tools. There are ways to learn the business skills needed without a formal MBA. You can always take specific business courses or learn business skills from colleagues.

Scientists have many transferrable skills – ability to synthesize data, decision making, perseverance, work ethic, planning and project management, for those who give talks – communication skills and presentation skills.

Big companies provide structure and learning, while small companies can provide more learning experiences. Both are worthwhile to experience at some point in ones career since both provide a unique perspective and insight into which is a better fit for you.

Mentors are important in shaping career development choices.

Serendipity is important.

Have a plan – it can change, but at least have one to start so that you can use it as a guide.

Volunteer to develop skills.

Make yourself a "go to" person at a company.

Be flexible, wiling to learn new things.

Define your own path – follow your passion, surround yourself with a good team.

Business is a lot about relationship building.

The power of your network is critically important as your career develops.

Keep in touch and follow up.

Relationships are built over time.

Network, network, network!

Propel Careers, MassBio, and MassBioEd to launch "Futures in Life Science", a year-long seminar series focused on career paths for graduate students and post-docs.

Boston, MA and Cambridge, MA - January 6, 2011: Propel Careers, MassBio, and the MassBioEd Foundation today announced the launch of a collaboration focused on raising awareness of career paths that exist in the life sciences for individuals with advanced degrees. The Futures in Life Science program will bring together experts across a wide range of disciplines and functional areas within the life science industry, who will detail their roles and provide a rich context for the audience to gain a clear understanding of the skills, aptitudes, competencies, and personalities that thrive in their particular functions.

This program will kick off January 26th at the MassBio and MassBioEd offices in Cambridge, MA. The session will include a general overview of the life science industry and six key career areas of interest. This will be followed by six sessions that will provide more detailed "deep dives" into specific areas including R&D, Product Commercialization, Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, Bio-Informatics, Market Access and Outcomes Research, as well as Finance, Legal and Operations roles. All events will also have time included to meet and network with the panelists and other attendees.

The program stems from a continued need identified by many state and non-governmental organizations to increase awareness and education related to careers in science and technology. Together, Propel Careers, MassBio, and MassBioEd are all committed to providing resources that encourage the pursuit of careers in the life science industry and believe that careers exist for students across all academic disciplines. The Futures in Life Science program will highlight these areas and will increase awareness of the associated career paths.

"We believe that many graduate students, post-docs, and medical residents do not consider the full range of career options that they could pursue and this program is intended to address that," said Lauren Celano, MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Propel Careers. "It's all about knowledge, understanding, and effective positioning, and we feel students that attend these seminars will be better equipped and more targeted in their job searches. We are thrilled to partner with MassBio and MassBioEd on this important effort."

"As Massachusetts biotechnology companies continue to grow, we must ensure Massachusetts can provide the broad spectrum of talent they will need in positions across their organizations," said Lance Hartford, Executive Director of MassBioEd. "We know Massachusetts' graduate students, post docs and medical residents have a lot to offer the industry and hope to open doors to potential career paths and opportunities."

Details of the program, including the schedule of events, can be found at the Propel Careers website ( http://www.propelcareers.com/index.cfm/events/ ). The kickoff meeting is scheduled for January 26th from 5:30-8:00 PM. The remaining events will also be held during the same evening time slot, but the specific dates of each seminar will be updated and publicized as they are confirmed. These events will also be videotaped and archived versions will be available online.

About MassBio http://www.massbio.org MassBio, a not-for-profit organization that represents and provides services and support for the Massachusetts biotechnology industry, is the nation's oldest biotechnology trade association. Founded in 1985, MassBio is committed to advancing the development of critical new science, technology and medicines that benefit people worldwide. Representing over 600 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, research hospitals, and service organizations involved in life sciences and health care, MassBio works to advance policy and promote education, while providing member programs and events, industry information, and services.

About MassBioEd http://www.massbioed.org The Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation, founded in 2001, is a non-profit charitable organization committed to supporting science and biotechnology education in Massachusetts through school programs, workforce training, and lifelong learning. MassBioEd is closely affiliated with the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council and helps the Council in fulfilling its goals to nurture the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) pipeline in Massachusetts.

About Propel Careers http://www.propelcareers.com Propel Careers is a Boston based life sciences search and career development firm founded in 2009 to foster entrepreneurship and to cultivate leaders in the life sciences industry. Propel recognizes the importance of job creation and career development opportunities to the success of the industry as well as to the next generation of industry leaders. The mission of Propel Careers is to make connections that fuel innovation, and we do this through placement, networking, coaching and mentorship.

Showcasing Women Leaders in Life Sciences: A panel discussion and networking event

Propel Careers along with careinnovators and Gene Network Sciences are proud to host a panel discussion and networking event intended to showcase women leaders in life sciences. The event will provide a platform to discuss their experiences, lessons learned, and advice on how they have successfully led their teams and companies. Join us for an evening of networking with industry professionals, entrepreneurs, and the future leaders of our industry.

Date: October 6, 2010 Time: 5:30 - 8:30pm Location: Bingham McCutchen LLP, 1 Federal Street, Boston MA 02110

Registration Details: http://womenlifescienceleaders.eventbrite.com/

If you are a MA-based student interested in attending this event, financial assistance is available through the Stay in MA program. Please visit http://www.stayinma.com/home

Agenda: 5:30pm-6:00pm – Registration and Open Networking 6:00pm-6:15pm – Introductions and Overview Propel Careers, careinnovators, GNS

6:15-6:30 – Discussion of the importance of Women Leaders

6:30 pm-7:30pm – Panel Discussion on Women Life Sciences Leaders Moderator: Laurie Halloran, CEO and Managing Partner, Halloran Consulting Group; Panelist: Ellen Baron, Ph.D., Partner, Oxford Bioscience Partners; Panelist: Lynda Chin, MD, Professor of Dermatology at the Harvard Medical School and co-Founder of Aveo Pharmaceuticals and Metamark Genetic; Panelist: Diane K. Jorkasky, M.D., Chief Medical Officer & SVP, Head of Development, Aileron Therapeutics, Inc.

7:30pm-8:30pm – Open Networking

Moderator and Panelists Biographies:

Laurie Halloran, CEO and Managing Partner, Halloran Consulting Group. Laurie founded Halloran Consulting Group in 1998. With over 20 years of experience in clinical affairs management with contract research organizations and biotechnology companies, Laurie is recognized as an industry expert in improving the organizational effectiveness of clinical research programs with a specialty in gap analysis and strategic planning. Laurie has executed over 25 clinical trials from Phase I to Phase III for both emerging and established companies and has managed operational budgets of up to $24 MM. Prior to founding Halloran Consulting Group, Laurie spent 10 years at PAREXEL International where she developed worldwide training capabilities with the clinical operations group. She has also established clinical operations at OXiGENE and Antigenics. She is an adjunct professor at Boston University Medical School. Laurie earned a B.S. in nursing from Russell Sage College and a M.S. in management from Leslie University. She is also a Prosci certified change management consultant. Laurie was recently recognized by PharmaVOICE as One of the 100 Most Inspiring People in the Life-Sciences Industry

Dr. Chin is a Professor of Dermatology at the Harvard Medical School and co-Founder of Aveo Pharmaceuticals and Metamark Genetic. Dr. Chin is a Professor of Dermatology at the Harvard Medical School and Department of Medical Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and an Associate Member of the Broad Institute. At Dana-Farber and Harvard, Dr. Chin is the Scientific Director of the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and co-leads the Dana-Farber / Harvard Cancer Center's Melanoma Program and the Harvard Skin SPORE. At the Broad Institute, Dr. Chin is PI of the TCGA Genome Data Analysis Center. Dr. Chin co-founded AVEO Pharmaceuticals in 2002, a cancer biotechnology company that emphasizes cancer biology. Most recently, Dr. Chin also founded Metamark Genetic, a cancer diagnostic company that will develop function-based prognostic determinants that can guide customized management of early-staged cancer patients. Dr. Chin has made multiple scientific discoveries spanning the fields of transcription, mouse models of human cancer, and oncogenomics. She co-discovered Sin3 and established a role for Sin3 as a scaffold for histone deacetylase and N-CoR, both key modulators of chromatin and basal transcription. Her studies in the telomerase-deficient mice established telomere-based crisis as a key mutational process in the development of cancer, a process that is highly dependent upon the status of DNA damage checkpoints. More recently, Dr. Chin has focused on mining and translating complex multi-dimensional genomic data through comparative oncogenomics of mouse and human cancers and integration with functional genomics to identify novel cancer targets and diagnostic biomarkers. Dr. Chin is actively involved in The Cancer Genes Atlas (TCGA) Project, serving on its Executive Subcommittee and as chairs of the GBM and Melanoma Disease Working Groups that interface the genomic science within TCGA with basic and translational biology in the broader community. She is also a member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the International Cancer Genome Consortium. Dr. Chin received her M.D. from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1993. She is a board-certified dermatologist and conducted her clinical and scientific training at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine where she served as Chief Resident of Dermatology.

Ellen Baron, Ph.D., Partner, Oxford Bioscience Partners. Dr. Baron joined Oxford Bioscience Partners in 2003 and is currently is a Partner at the firm. She has over 20 years of operating and investment expertise in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry and is focused on all areas of healthcare investing, principally in biotherapeutics. Her current investments include BrainCells Inc (platform technology to identify and develop compounds that promote the growth of new neurons for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases, Claros Diagnostics (diagnostic system delivering quantitative laboratory blood test results with ease-of-use for the point-of-care (POC), Tragara Pharmaceuticals (cancer clinical and commercial development),and VaxInnate Corporation (recombinant vaccine technology for pandemic and seasonal influenza). Dr. Baron acts as a Board Observer to Radius (drug therapies for osteoporosis and women's health) and acted as a board observer to Critical Therapeutics prior to its public listing. Prior to joining Oxford, Dr. Baron was Senior Vice President of Business Development at Human Genome Sciences, Inc. Prior to Human Genome Sciences, Dr. Baron spent 20 years at Schering-Plough Corporation in both Research and Development and Business Development. Dr. Baron received her B.A. from Goucher College, her Ph.D. in Microbiology from Georgetown University School of Medicine and was a post-doctoral at the Public Health Research Institute in New York.

Diane K. Jorkasky, M.D., Chief Medical Officer & SVP, Head of Development, Aileron Therapeutics, Inc. Dr. Diane Jorkasky is a 23 year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry with experience in Phase 1 through Phase 4. She is currently SVP, head of Development and Chief Medical Officer at Aileron Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she is involved in the development of stapled peptides. Prior to this appointment she had been Vice President of Global Clinical Research Operations, its clinical research units, and leader of the Operational Excellence Board for Development at the Pfizer Global Research and Development New London, Connecticut. Dr. Jorkasky also established the Pfizer alliance in PET imaging with Yale Medical School, which, after its 7th year, had produced 66 peer reviewed publications and 10 critical decision studies for Pfizer. She is particularly interested in ensuring scientific strategy is realized through innovative application of technology to the operations. Dr Jorkasky is a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Technology. She has been recognized by the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame for her scientific leadership and mentoring of young women and the Connecticut Council on Technology for her work in driving the technological improvements in the clinical research units. Dr. Jorkasky is board certified in internal medicine, nephrology and clinical pharmacology. She is on the faculties of Yale, Penn and Uniformed Service of Health Sciences Medical Schools. She has published on over 100 peer review articles. Most recently Dr. Jorkasky was selected to be a Woodrow Wilson visiting fellow.

About the organizers:

Propel Careers is a relationship driven search organization focused on providing companies access to top talent for full time, project-based, and internship opportunities. We also seek to cultivate current and future leaders in the life sciences through career development, networking, and mentorship. We believe in the mission of companies working to improve medicine and health care, and we operate with the intention of making our clients stronger, more competitive, and more successful for being a part of the Propel Network. We view our work with each client as a partnership and we look forward to seeing the results we deliver. To learn more, visit http://www.propelcareers.com

careinnovators is a health care website and networking resource for entrepreneurs, job seekers, investors, and anyone with a desire to improve health care. We profile health start-ups and news that affects them, and also provide free company, event, and funding databases. We organize various panel and networking events to support the health entrepreneurial community. To learn more, visit, http://www.careinnovators.com/

Gene Network Sciences (GNS) is a privately held biotechnology firm based in Cambridge MA, at the leading edge of today's convergence of breakthroughs in genomics and supercomputing. Founded in 2000 to put the power of modern mathematics and computation at the center of the drug discovery and development process, GNS is a uniquely collaborative team of computational physicists, mathematicians, chemists, molecular biologists, bioinformaticians, and software engineers. Through GNS's own discovery efforts and in partnership with many leading innovator health care companies, they are building the future of medicine by revealing the molecular basis of health and disease through the critical biological relationships among genes and proteins, disease progression, and drug efficacy and toxicity. And we are doing this faster than ever thought possible. To learn more, visit, http://www.gnsbiotech.com/

On January 27th 2010, Propel Careers will be hosting the first in a series of networking panels in Boston which will focus on specific industry sectors such as therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, and healthcare IT. The goal of these panels is to increase connections and awareness of the many career options available to students in these sectors. For more details and to register for this event see link: http://www.propelcareers.com/index.cfm/events/jan-27th-2010-event/ano

The event will profile industry leaders from the following companies: Amplicea Therapeutics, FORMA Therapeutics, NeuroPhage, and Novartis. The panelists will share their experiences and insights into their career paths, lessons learned, and emerging industry trends for students to consider as they contemplate their future careers.

The location for the event is Cooley Godward Kronish LLP (500 Boylston Street, 14th Floor, Boston MA 02116) and the event will occur from 5:30-8:00pm. Based upon attendance at the December 2009 Propel Careers event, we expect a great turnout!