Recap: LSCDS Networking Reception
On February 23 LSCDS held their annual networking reception, our biggest networking event of the year! The event was held on the platform Gather Town, which allowed attendees to roam networking rooms, an outdoor space, and sit at virtual tables together. Despite being virtual, the event successfully brought together trainees and professionals from a broad range of fields including consulting, medical affairs, communications, pharma/biotech, venture capital, investment banking and government. Some companies represented included Notch Therapeutics, GSK, Merck, and Klick Health. Trainees participated in three small-group 20 minute-round table discussions with assigned individual professionals based on their chosen interests, followed by an open networking session. During these sessions, professional guests shared their career journeys from graduate school to industry.
Structured Networking Sessions
Dr. Alexandra (Axie) Hause-Kawaguchi
I was happy to meet with Dr. Axie Hause-Kawaguchi who is currently a consultant at Throughline Strategy. There, she develops evidence-based strategies to support patient outcomes. She works to set up clinical trials worldwide that support the development of new drugs and diagnostics in areas like cancer, inflammation, and chronic kidney disease. Axie holds a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Western on Ontario and to pivot to a role in consulting, she went on to obtain an MBA from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. There, she learned various skills that helped leverage her scientific background for business strategy. However, Axie shared that an MBA is not essential for pivoting into this type of role from a research position in graduate school. She noted that a lot of the skills we gain as graduate trainees were integral to her success as a consultant, such as analyzing large data sets and communicating complex information in a succinct way to broad audiences. Think of your last student seminar or lab meeting – how did you take all your data and form it into a cohesive story for everyone to understand? These skills are valuable! Axie is happy with her transition to industry and encourages anyone interested to take the leap. Working for a mid-size company like Throughline is exciting, and your work-life balance is valued.
I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Marco Cardelli who is currently a medical science liaison with Bausch Health. Marco completed his PhD at the University of Toronto and spent 5 years with Spartan Bioscience, a biotech start-up based in Ottawa. During the pandemic Spartan Bioscience pivoted to covid test development and unfortunately, the project did not take off – leaving Marco to explore new job options. Marco shared that this is a possibility when working with smaller biotech companies, they come with higher risk, but also higher reward! It was a risk that he doesn’t regret taking. Shortly after, Marco started at Bausch Health where he works to establish and maintain relationships with key opinion leaders (KOLs) including physicians, researchers, and clinicians. He keeps atop of the latest scientific research through reading clinical trials and research articles and advises KOLs on the latest upcoming research to ensure that products are being used effectively. Marco shared that there is no need for expertise in one specific field when it comes to being a medical science liaison and that you shouldn’t pigeonhole yourself based on your graduate research area of study. When you join a large company as a medical science liaison, there is a thorough onboarding process that allows you to learn essential skills on the job. He pointed out that these companies are investing in you and want you to prosper. Going into his first meeting with a KOL, he felt poised to succeed. He encourages anyone interested in the field to be comfortable trying something new. Be honest about the skills that you’ve learned through your
graduate studies and how that can be applied outside of a wet lab research setting.
Open Networking Session
The night was rounded off by an open networking session where attendees and professional guests could explore the Gather Town space and speak one-on-one. A winter wonderland area was set up (resembling our current lovely Toronto weather) and I spoke to a few guests about the event. Trainees appreciated the opportunity to learn about possible career paths while professionals enjoyed sharing their stories, in hopes that it will help others find fulfilling careers.
Overall, the night was a success. 150 trainees and 25 professionals attended the event. From the trainees, 45% were PhD students, 28% MSc, 15% Postdocs and 12% were others (JD, MBA, MD). 85% were from UofT, while 15% of registrants were from other universities.
The virtual format allowed attendees to participate from the comfort of their own homes, removing the need to commute to the event space. Future events may continue to keep a virtual space along with in-person networking. We are looking forward to another exciting Networking Reception next year, and hope to see you there!
