Switching from academia to industry - and back

Networking

Jeffrey Glennon Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Jeffrey Glennon Ph.D. Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Email: [email protected]

Switching from academia to

industry – and back

“Brooklyn is where I primarily developed. I had an opportunity to make records and perform in clubs here and there, and I started networking with the right people in the right places.”

Busta Rhymes

“Brooklyn is where I primarily developed. I had an opportunity to make records and perform in clubs here and there, and I started networking with the right people in the right places.”

Busta Rhymes

There is no manual on how to work in industry unlike in the clinic!

There is no starting point. NOW is the time to start! And YOU have to make the network happen. No-one else.

At what level can you start to make an industry network?

Look for, make and be aware of OPPORTUNITIES

“He thinks he can use the jail for networking to be somebody. In that way, he's always operating.”

John Leguizamo

Know what the goal is:

Goals in industry are not the same as in academia (although you might do the same research for a different objective!)

Drug discovery & development

Program Project Research Product Development

Registration

The Pharma R&D Process

Target

Robot ready assay

Verified Hit

In vitro drug candidate

In vivo drug candidate

Safe drug candidate

Proof of Principle

From Target to Proof of Principle (POP)

How is industry organised? Example of Pharma R&D

Public private partnerships Dutch-based: TI Pharma, TI-Food & Nutrition, CTTM, etc. EU-based: Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI)

Large Pharma vs. Smaller SMEs Large pharma: you are one small part of a huge process. Job stability is good. Previously permanent contracts .. now usually 2-5 year contracts to start with. However direction of the company, its structure and content can change rapidly … reorganisations are the norm (every 3-5 years) … get used to change … Smaller SMEs (small medium enterprises): you will be a bigger fish in a smaller pond; have greater impact (both for better and worse); can rapidly change direction; small united teams which are working for each other. Less job stability unless finances are strong.

Examples of large Pharma vs. Smaller SMEs Large pharma: Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Roche, Novartis, Abbott, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Otsuka, MSD … are often members of EFPIA (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry Associations) – and thus allowed to be in IMI. Smaller SMEs (small medium enterprises): there’s a lot ... A lot of start-up SMEs will fail. Some have been set up by entrepreneurs, some as spin-outs from academia, some are more-scientifically led and some more business-led; you actually need both … Examples: Octoplus, Synthon,Lead Pharma, MobiHealth, Metris, Synaptologics … look in the bioscience parks, e.g. in Leiden and the in Mercator centres (Nijmegen)

Efficient way of working Good time management Good project management Good oversight Goal-directed

Moving from academia to industry – what should I expect? What do they want?

Working in teams – using & working with talented people in other fields – realising that your expertise is important but only one small part of the bigger picture – swallow your ego – you won’t achieve very much on your own but you will if you reach out to individuals outside your discipline. You will need to push to develop your industry career as a postdoc – get to know the managers (both line and content – and show your unique selling point). The line-between postdoc and groupleader is not as clear-cut in industry – opportunity …

Moving from academia to industry – what should I expect? What do they want?

Expect to meet people: At the same level as your proposed function (your colleagues … they will want to know – are you a good fit? Can they work with you?) Your line and content managers – your potential bosses Will want to know can you deliver? What are your unique selling points? What do you bring to THEIR team that is not already their? How do you add value? Your colleagues who you will be responsible for – can you win their trust / respect – demonstrate knowledge (both content and technical) and listen to what they say.

Interview at industry – what should I expect? What do they want to hear?

Quality scientifically in industry is very high … as it is in academia … But: Be careful of intellectual proprerty issues if you want to publish and come back to academia.

What about the science?

To give the example of pharma: In vitro and in vivo pharmacologist, bioinformatician, biostatisticians, molecular and cellular biologists, geneticists, biochemists, proteomics, technique based specialists: mass-spectrometry, NMR specialists, organic (medicinial) chemists, pharmacokineticists, in vitro and in vivo toxicologists, data managers, IT support, regulatory specialists, QA-QC specialists, clinical pharmacologists, medical doctors, project managers, line managers, department heads, programme managers, business developers, patent attorneys, financial officers, etc ….

What sort of functions are available in industry?

Line managers, e.g. group leaders / department heads should have strong people skills … Be able to - lead - motivate - communicate - set realistic goals for individuals as well as groups - have good oversight

Line versus content management

Project managers / programme (multiple (usually linked)projects leading to a research programme) managers which manage content should have strong strategic skills Be able to: - Focus on key content needs and break it down into steps to get a project done - Lead a group in a specific direction - Work with line managers to get their project running - Motivate groups - Goal-directed - Have good oversight - Keen sense of strategy - Be able to work together with finance / legal personnel to help in getting the project / programme done.

Content management

Ask yourself – what can I give? If you see networking with industry / or working their. Think of trading: ask yourself – what do I and they gain? "Nobody talks about entrepreneurship as survival, but that's exactly what it is and what nurtures creative thinking. Running that first shop taught me business is not financial science; it's about trading: buying and selling.” Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop Do not be overly analytical about this. Go with your gut-feeling. Can you work with this person? Do you trust this person? Surviving in industry depends on a good network

In what context should I network with industry? - Collaborations - Consortia - One-on-one - Personal grants Make connections!

In what context should I network with industry? - Collaborations - Consortia - One-on-one - Personal grants - Organise symposia / workshops together - Contract work - Contact both those in- and out-side your professional area (Public private partnerships offices (IMI, Top Institutes, Agentschap NL, subsidy & valorisation officers)

VERY IMPORTANT!!! Have a vision of what your end-goal should be! Think how are you going to make that happen. *** And if you don’t have the expertise … find someone who does … either in your company or in the network of someone who’s in your network.

Be aware of what your own motivations are and what those of others are! - What do they want? - If you are going to successfully work in industry, give them something they want!

Taber et al. Annu. Rev. Med. 2010. 61:121–33

Interconnected circuits define traits / functions These are also relevant to how you should behave in industry!

Taber et al. Annu. Rev. Med. 2010. 61:121–33

Circuit outlined in RED mediates executive functions such as organization, planning, and attention

Taber et al. Annu. Rev. Med. 2010. 61:121–33

PLAN, DECIDE and DO!

Taber et al. Annu. Rev. Med. 2010. 61:121–33

Circuit outlined in BLUE mediates socially appropriate behavior, impulse control, and empathy

Taber et al. Annu. Rev. Med. 2010. 61:121–33

JUDGE THE SITUATION. IS IT APPROPRIATE OR NOT? CAN I HELP? WHAT DOES THE TEAM AND MY COLLEAGUES NEED TO MOVE FORWARD?

Taber et al. Annu. Rev. Med. 2010. 61:121–33

Circuit outlined in GREEN produces motivation by balancing the inhibitory input of the supplemental motor area with its own stimulus that supports wakefulness and arousal

Taber et al. Annu. Rev. Med. 2010. 61:121–33

BE AWARE & MOTIVATED. If you are not, your competition will be!

E-networking Myspace, Hyves, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Wave, Google Buzz, various blogging platforms… Do e-networks work for industry contacts? Yes and no. Good for initial introductions. Personal contact and trust is far more powerful.

When networking with industry counterparts: make clear next steps (otherwise the contact dies) Don’t end with something vague … “hey maybe we can help each other out” … end with a concrete next step … “let’s meet at 12 next Tuesday to discuss how to optimise the proposal for your manager.” Make an opportunity to meet and reinforce the collaboration / network.

If at first, you don’t succeed ….

Best of luck with building your industry network !!

Questions / advise: email: [email protected]