What is your unfair advantage?
That’s the question Jeff Fairman asked attendees at Biotech Nexus, a gathering hosted annually by Northwestern Tech’s Master of Science in Biotechnology (MBP) program. Fairman is founder and vice president of research at Vaxcyte, a vaccine company developing a pneumococcal vaccine.
Fairman posed the question to get the audience thinking about innovation, entrepreneurship, and what it takes to build a successful company.
“When you start a company, there are dozens of companies in your space that have way more talent and way more money,” he said. “You have to have an unfair advantage over those competitors, or they’ll crush you.”
For Vaxcyte, Fairman said the company’s strength lies in its site-specific conjugation and cell-free technology for making proteins.
This is also a question current MBP students should consider when applying for work after graduation: Knowing what sets you apart from other job seekers could make the difference between securing a role or continuing to apply for other positions.
Differentiation and job prospects were just two of the many topics covered at the event, which featured a panel discussion followed by a networking opportunity. Joining Fairman on the panel were:
Kanika Chengera (MBP ’07), Quality Systems Manager, Siemens Healthineers Marilen Pavan, Innovation Manager, LanzaTech Michael Schultz, Venture Operations Director, Portal Innovations
The conversation was moderated by Professor Joshua Leonard, co-founder of Northwestern University’s Center for Synthetic Biology and founder of the biotech start-up Syenex.
The event aimed to show attendees the wide range of opportunities available to students with a biotechnology background. Each panelist represented a different biotechnology field.
As an MBP graduate, Chenjella explained that she has a unique understanding of students’ experiences in the program and the questions they may have as graduation approaches.
After graduating, Chengla focused on quality and regulatory affairs in the medical device industry. With over 17 years of experience in this field, her responsibilities range from FDA and regulatory agency inspections to leading product quality and process improvement initiatives.
Pavan is synthetic biology strategy manager at LanzaTech, a carbon recycling technology company focused on converting carbon-based gases into biofuels, chemicals and materials. LanzaTech employs several MBP alumni and collaborates with the program in various capacities, including providing tours of its facilities and networking opportunities.
Pavan encouraged students to take advantage of as many of these opportunities as possible.
“Experience is very important,” Pavan says. “Whether it’s in academia or in a startup or small business, exposure to the science you want to develop is very beneficial.”
Schultz agreed.
His company, Portal Innovations, is an early-stage biotech and medtech venture capital firm that regularly meets with scientists and budding entrepreneurs. In addition to being exposed to the science, he urged attendees to network as much as possible, both in person and virtually on platforms like LinkedIn.
“Most of us who come from scientific and technical backgrounds are probably introverts by nature,” he says. “You’re all here to meet people, so it’s going to be awkward, but just get over it, because that network is what’s going to move your career forward.”
