Professional Careers Beyond Academia Conference – Keynotes

Booking is now open and free to research staff and students:

Research Staff book your place via MyUCLCareers

Research Students book your place via the Doctoral Skills website

Talking us through the Life and Health Sciences pipeline, we will have keynotes from:

• An Investigator in the Novel Human Genetics Research Unit (NHG-RU) for GSK,
• A Clinical Trials Manager for Medpace,
• The Head of the Multidisciplinary Division at Costello Medical
• A Senior Consultant, in the EMEIA Life Sciences Strategy Centre of Excellence EY-Parthenon

Alongside the keynotes, we have two great forums with speakers including:

• A Portfolio Adviser for Our Planet, Our Health from The Wellcome Trust
• A Pharmaceutical Assessor for the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency
• The director of Public Health Modelling for The UK Health Forum
• A Policy Adviser for NHS England and NHS Improvement

We also have an Entrepreneurship workshop led by in2science^UK – an award winning charity which empowers students from disadvantaged backgrounds to achieve their potential and progress to STEM and research careers through high quality work placements and careers guidance.

Conference Schedule: Thursday 6^th June, 10am – 5.30pm

9.30 – 10.00 Registration

10.00 – 13.00 Introducing Life & Health Sciences outside of Academia: Keynotes and Q&A

Welcome by Institute of Child Health and an Introduction to UCL Careers

Keynote – GSK “Research: Bio Tech/Pharma”

Keynote – Medpace “Clinical Trials”

Keynote – Costello Medical “Science Communication”

Keynote – EY Parthenon “Life & Health Sciences Consultancy”

Q&A Session with keynotes

13.00 – 14.00 Lunch Break

14.00 – 15.15 Breakout Session

Option 1: Forum – Careers in UK and Global Health

Option 2: Forum – Careers in Government & Policy

Option 3: Workshop – Entrepreneurship

15.30 – 16.00 Closing Remarks

16.00 – 17.30 Networking Drinks

 

Want to learn more about our keynotes before the conference? Read below:

GSK
Dr. James Porter, Investigator
Novel Human Genetics Research Unit (NHG-RU).

James obtained a BSc in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bristol followed by an MSc (Immunology) and PhD (Innate immunology of asthma exacerbations) at Imperial College London before joining GSK in 2014. At GSK he has led and contributed to numerous early-stage target validation campaigns, novel target ID studies and more recently supported late-stage programmes. James also acts as an industry supervisor to undergraduate (industrial-placement) and PhD (CASE) students and serves as a data integrity representative, ensuring scientific data meets the high standards that GSK sets out to achieve.

What is your key tip for researchers?

“Scientific techniques are generally the same in industry and in academia, if you’re considering a career in industry think about what skills you can apply to an industry setting.” 

Company Bio: The Novel Human Genetics Research Unit (NHG-RU) is one of the four key research units within the GSK R&D organisation. With access to multiple genetic databases (23andMe, UK Biobank, Finngen etc.) and GSK expertise (Human Genetics and Functional Genomics), the NHG-RU is poised to identify, validate and progress novel targets with strong genetic association to diseases, with significant unmet medical need and commercial opportunity.

 

Medpace
Dr. Stephanie Millin, Clinical Trial Manager

 

Stephanie Millin completed her PhD from the University of Oxford in 2017, having studied genetic modelling and molecular pathways in Parkinson’s disease. After taking a break to surf and scuba dive in Australia, she returned to the UK straight into her current job at Medpace. Stephanie’s PhD contributed to her fast-tracking from an entry-level position as a Project Coordinator to her current role as Clinical Trial Manager within a year, a transition that could normally span several years. Stephanie is now responsible for overseeing and managing all aspects of Clinical Trials with a focus specialism on Nuclear Medicine.

What is your key tip for researchers?

“Don’t let failures get you down! They’re disheartening and inevitable, but each one takes you a small step closer to success.”

Company Bio: Medpace are a leading mid-size clinical Contract Research Organisation (CRO) that operates globally within a range of therapeutic areas. “Our unique global partnering philosophy emphasizes an uncompromising commitment to clinical research and to the highest level of ethical standards and performance in our jobs.”

 

Costello Medical
Dr. Lucy Eddowes, Head of Multidisciplinary Division

Lucy has led a wide variety of projects since joining Costello Medical, covering the majority of core services that Costello Medical offers, leading to her establishing a team in 2017 that is dedicated to providing multidisciplinary support to clients. In her role as Head of the Multidisciplinary Division, Lucy is particularly focused on continuing to diversify and grow the service offerings at Costello Medical. Lucy also oversees Costello Medical’s pro bono project activities, collaborating with non-profit organisations to expand work in this area.

What is your key tip for researchers?

“In terms of taking the first step outside of academia, deciding what to try can be challenging. But don’t forget that you are surrounded by colleagues having the exact same thoughts and facing the same dilemmas so group together to share, learn and keep each other motivated on your career searches.”

Company Bio: Costello Medical provides scientific support in the analysis, interpretation and communication of clinical and health economic data. “Our vision is to be a community of the very best people, constantly challenging ourselves to make meaningful and outstanding contributions to improving healthcare.”

 

EY Parthenon
Dr. Sami Jaffar, Senior Consultant
EMEIA Life Sciences Strategy Center of Excellence

 

Sami has over 4 years of life sciences strategy consulting experience for established and emerging pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and has worked across different therapeutic areas. His core expertise is in portfolio and disease area strategy, due diligence evaluations and opportunity assessments for BD&L.Prior to EY-Parthenon, Sami was a Senior Consultant at Navigant Consulting, focusing on life sciences commercial strategy projects and developing expertise in IBD and oncology therapeutics and diagnostics.

What is your key tip for researchers?

“Consulting is a difficult industry to enter. It requires appropriate preparation and that can be daunting, but do not be afraid of failure. As Henry Ford once said, “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”

Company Bio: EY-Parthenon is the Strategy Consultancy arm of the EY brand (which covers Tax, Audit, Accounting, Assurance). The EY-Parthenon Life Sciences Strategy Center of Excellence works with the leading Global Biopharma & Biotech companies to solve complex issues through innovative strategic solutions.