PhDs in Consultancy

Dr. Natalia Vtyurina was trained in Russia as a fundamental Physicist at Lomonosov Moscow State University (2011). She successfully graduated as a PhD in Biophysics from the Bionanoscience department at Delft University of Technology (2016) where she studied DNA-protein interactions at the single-molecule level. This experience prompted her to proceed further towards a new challenge in biomedical research. With the ultimate purpose of discovering how to maximize the delivery efficiency of engineered nano-sized drug carriers, she has completed a postdoctoral research project in the field of nanomedicines at the University of Groningen (2019).

Being social and communicative, she is actively contributing to the dynamic, fast-moving, and multicultural environment of the Controlled Release Society (CRS). In February 2019 she established a new CRS BeNeLux & France Local Chapter and in April 2019 was elected to be a president of this non-profit scientific association.

In November 2019, Natalia made a transition from academia to industry and joined ProPharma Group in Leiden, the Netherlands as an Associate Consultant. She is executing assignments and projects in Life Science Consultancy, Manufacturing & Development, and has experience in Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Internal Standards, Qualification and Validation, and Data Integrity.

In this webinar, Natalia told us about the process of transitioning from academia towards pharma industry. She also explained how she created the CRS BeNeLux & France Local Chapter association, and how she manages working on her business as a stretching class instructor after working hours. Lastly, she answered many questions about how to talk to recruiters.

Dr. Eniko Manek is the Founder of Teuton Tech, the world’s first Nanoformulation Consulting company. Eniko also acts as Head of Research at a pharmaceutical start-up; as well as scientific advisor at different nanotechnology, biotechnology, IP law and innovation management firms. Currently, Eniko is affiliated with the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Khalifa University in the United Arab Emirates, while previously she collaborated with the Florida International University in the US.

Eniko holds a PhD in chemistry, an MSc degree in materials science, and a BSc degree in environmental science, and she also has education in executive management, thermal analysis, quality assurance and life cycle assessment. In her early career, Eniko worked at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics as a research associate and as a lecturer in physical chemistry. Subsequently, she transitioned to industry and gained experience in various executive-level positions – such as Board Member, Deputy & Interim CEO, Chief Technology Officer, Head of Nanotechnology Department and Head of Formulation Laboratory – at various enterprises in the US and in the EU that focus on the development and commercialization of nanoformulated pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and cosmetics. During this time, Eniko also served as board member of the American Chemical Society, Hungary Chapter.

In 2018, Eniko turned her dream into reality and created Teuton Tech, the first and only Nanoformulation Consulting enterprise in the world. At Teuton Tech, Eniko and her team help companies to develop their own nanoformulated products and thus drastically enhance the bioavailability, efficacy, stability and safety of their active ingredients. At present, Eniko’s commercial projects cover the fields of pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, cosmetics and agrochemicals; while in her academic studies she concentrates on nano-therapeutics for the treatment of brain diseases.

Dr. Fabio Gori is a multidisciplinary professional, using his mathematical and data science skills to tackle industrial and biomedical challenges. While completing his degree in mathematics at the University of Pisa (IT), Fabio began researching the biomedical field; he liked it so much that he decided to keep working in the experimental sciences.

Therefore, Fabio began a PhD in Bioinformatics & Data Science at Radboud University Nijmegen in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The focus of his research was developing computational methods or the analysis of microbial communities. After completing his doctorate, he became a Research Fellow at the University of Exeter (UK), where he was using quantitative methods (bioinformatics, differential equation modeling, control theory) to study antibiotic resistance.

He later decided to move to the industry, and so he worked in the German biotech for precision oncology as a bioinformatics data scientist. He moved back to the Netherlands to work as a data scientist at the AI startup Machine2Learn, where he works both on industrial and biomedical projects.

Dr. Nick Edwards is a neuroscientist by training, having completed his PhD and Postdoc training at Brown University, the NIH, and UC San Diego. As a Postdoc, he decided that business provided the best way to scale up solutions to problems he cares about. Since leaving the bench, Nick worked in business strategy at Boston Consulting Group and returned to San Diego to work for Illumina. Now, he is transitioning to a startup company in stealth mode. Nick is also the host of the Once a Scientist podcast (https://onceascientist.net/), where he interviews scientists about their careers in academia and beyond. He’s a passionate advocate for mental health and training the next generation of scientists who will change the world.

In this webinar, Nick told us about his odyssey through the job market after the PhD: from his work in sales in the startup culture, through his work as a consultant for the Boston Consulting Group, to business development at a company in genomics, Illumina. He also explained the origins of the Once a Scientist podcast, and the mission behind it.

Dr. Leonardo Morelli works as Scientific Software Developer at Alten Nederland in Rotterdam since February 2020. Leonardo completed a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics at La Sapienza University, Rome (IT). Then, he moved to Leiden, the Netherlands for his PhD program in Mathematics. Although he insists that his PhD research in Mathematics concerns how the “Hola!” waves at football stadiums propagate, his research employed highly technical mathematical tools both on the theoretical and on the computational side. Halfway through his PhD program, he decided to switch his career path to the industry world — yet still, it took him another couple of years to find a topic that he would be passionate about. In this webinar, Leonardo told us how he got his first job outside academia, made his first steps in the consultancy world, how to recognize a good employer, how does the scrum technique work, and how he feels like – as an Italian in the Netherlands.

Dr. Annika Rausch works as Data Scientist and Consultant at the IT service provider Ordina Netherlands. Before switching to industry, Annika studied Psychology at the University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands, after finishing high school in Germany. She finalized her Bachelor thesis on the topic of motor learning in 2011. She also obtained a Minor in International Business at the University of Twente. Annika later started the two-year research Master Cognitive Neuroscience at the Donders Institute in Nijmegen in 2011, where she specialized in functional connectivity fMRI analysis in Autism Spectrum Disorder. In 2014, she continued working on this topic as PhD candidate within the European EU-AIMS LEAP project, where she developed a keen interest in data analytics and obtained her PhD title. Today, Annika supports clients of Ordina with their digital transformation and implements intelligent systems that help companies with, e.g., automated decision-making processes. She first got hired by the Nederlands Woning Waarde Instituut (NWWI) in January 2019 where she implemented and developed automated validation tools for property valuation reports. She just started her second assignment via Ordina with the Dutch national police in April 2020. In this webinar, Annika told us about her job as a Data Scientist and Consultant at the IT service provider Ordina Netherlands. Why did she decide to choose this particular job? How did the job interview look like? What are the main pros and cons? Are the legends about consultancy companies true – is the working pace really that fast? What is Annika’s relationship with her job and with her colleagues?