Arthur C. Clarke once remarked that great technology is “indistinguishable from magic.” The three panelists featured at a recent OCS event, Exploring Careers in Biotechnology and Medical Device Manufacturing, shared their reflections from the cutting edge of these “magical” industries, providing thoughtful and unique insight into career possibilities and the future of science itself.

The three panelists:

Seth Kitchener of Immunogen, Inc.

Muzaffer “Yalgin” Ozsecen
of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Harvard Medical School; and

Ed Ognibene of Waters, Inc.

Together, the trio exemplified the diversity of paths into these fields and the innumerable opportunities that await a new generation of scientists. Seth, a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, has oscillated among various employers including Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Genzyme before arriving at Immunogen, where he established the company’s first bioreactor capabilities. Yalgin, a graduate of Sabanci University in Turkey and Northeastern University, was selected as a finalist for the CIMIT Prize for Primary Healthcare in 2010 before working as a research engineer at Spaulding. Ed, a graduate of SUNY Stony Brook and MIT, worked at United Technologies and SatCon Technologies before arriving at his current role as Director of ACQUITY UPLC Systems Development at Waters.

Intimidating as these careers may be to the college scholar, panelist testimony described dynamic and welcoming industries. Certainly, there are ways to gain relevant experience – graduate school programs (relevant to your interest, of course), involvement with research labs, conversation with other co-op groups, etc. Yet plenty of opportunities still exist for the “inexperienced.” After all, the panelists agreed, it’s hard to gain the experience you really need, and companies are well aware of this fact. In fact, technical curiosity will set you apart above all else – so don’t be humble in interviews!

Indeed, for all three men, the “typical project” doesn’t exist. Instead, the type, duration and complexity of any given project vary according to the challenge at hand. This comes as no surprise, given how rapidly these industries are developing. Current trends include “easy-use” automation and robots in therapy. And it’s not just engineers at the center – the panel agreed that interaction among scholars of diverse scientific disciplines is rapidly increasing. You can help prepare yourself for this new environment by mastering your own discipline of interest while taking classes in other areas to expose yourself to different ways of thinking and understanding the world.

—Nicandro Iannacci, ‘13