Effective Transition from Academia to Industry

#WESTtransition

Join us for this annual event to hear lessons learned from a variety of individual experiences and to learn the critical skills necessary for a smooth and effective transition. Panelists include individuals that have successfully made the transition from academia as well as a an experienced recruiter who has managed these kinds of transitions. Panel discussion moderated by Sandra Glucksmann, Chief Operating Officer, Editas Medicine.

Panel Discussion and Networking with the following:

Dong Yun Lee, Ph.D., Scientist at Scholar Rock, LLC

Dong Yun Lee is a scientist at Scholar Rock, LLC, a biotechnology company whose mission is to discover and develop a new class of biologic therapies, called niche modulators. As a scientist, Dong Yun leads a research group to design, develop, validate and optimize a range of biochemical and cell-based functional assays used in both high-throughput and medium-throughput antibody screenings. In addition, Dong Yun contributes to the identification and prioritization of novel therapeutic drug candidates and indications to strategically expand company’s portfolio. Prior to joining Scholar Rock, LLC, Dong Yun was a post-doctoral fellow at Genentech, Inc. and the University of California-San Diego. She holds a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a B.A. in Biochemistry from Cornell University.

Nivedita Namdev, Ph.D., Medicinal Chemist, Drug Discovery Professional

Nivedita Namdev is an experienced Medicinal Chemist and most recently was an Associate Director in Chemistry at ArQule, Inc. She spent her formative years in India and received her BS degree and went on to earn a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Purdue University. Nivi received her post-doctoral fellowship with Ivy Carroll at Research Triangle Institute for conducting research on dopamine receptor antagonists as treatment for cocaine addiction. She started her first industrial experience at PPD Discovery and worked on various client sponsored projects followed by a move to Cambridge to join UCB Research where she further expanded her experience in CNS indications and worked on optimizing muscarinic and sigma receptor inhibitors as treatments for pain and cough respectively. She joined ArQule in 2005, where she held a series of positions with increasing responsibilities over the years and gained experience in the development of small molecule therapies in the oncology space. She was associated with multiple projects that led to several IND nominations. Having been inspired by her own experiences in participating in the HBA mentoring program, Nivi has enjoyed being a sounding board & mentor for her reports and colleagues. Nivi enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, often trying out new ideas for various cuisines, pottery, and gardening.

Tracy Nicholson, Recruiting Consultant to Third Rock Venture companies

Tracy joined Third Rock Ventures in 2012 and focuses on cross-functional recruiting to build teams within our portfolio companies, as well as performing executive search for the firm. She has 15 years of recruiting experience specializing in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. While at Third Rock Ventures, Tracy assisted with recruiting for several of the firm’s portfolio companies, including Jounce Therapeutics, Warp Drive Bio and Editas Medicine. Before that, she was the human resources manager and recruiter at Agios Pharmaceuticals. She also consulted at larger biotech and pharmaceutical companies like Novartis and Vertex, and at search firms before going in-house. Prior to launching her recruiting career, Tracy worked as a research scientist at Biogen, Genome Therapeutics and Avant Immunotherapies. Tracy received a B.S. in biology from Boston University.

Morgan Maeder, Ph.D., Research Scientist at Editas Medicine

Dr. Morgan Maeder is a Research Scientist at Editas Medicine, Inc. She has extensive experience with engineering targeted nucleases, including ZFNs, TALENs and the CRISPR/Cas system, and applying them in human cells for genetic and epigenetic engineering. Following the completion of her PhD in the laboratory of Dr Keith Joung (Harvard) she was the first scientist to join Editas, a Cambridge, MA-based company focused on the development of novel therapeutics based on genome editing technology.

Deepak Reyon, Ph.D., Scientist I, Translational Sciences at Biogen Idec

Deepak Reyon's research interests focus on exploring and implementing different strategies, using precise targetable nucleases, for precise high-throughput genome engineering in any organism or cell type. Through his graduate and post-graduate career he has been involved in developing methods for high-throughput assembly of: Zinc fingers nucleases (ZFNs); Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and Clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR) RNA-guided CRISPR associated (Cas9) proteins.

Date and Time:
February 3, 2015
6:00 - 8:30 PM

Agenda:

5:50-6:10pm: Registration, mingling, and light dinner
6:10-6:30pm: Facilitated networking
6:30-7:30pm: Panel Discussion
7:30-8:00pm: Audience Q&A
8:00-8:30pm: Optional networking

Location:

Microsoft, One Cambridge Center, 4th Floor, Hawthorne Room, Cambridge, MA 02142

Map and Parking Information

We appreciate Microsoft donating the use of their event space.