Scientific Operations and Strategy

Mentor 

Michael Seiler, Vice President, Commercial Products

Externship Description

At Taconic, our competitive position is to be solutions experts for tough in vivo modeling problems. Scientific Operations melds scientific expertise of the in vivo model with the ability to execute large scale logistics and production of that model in the most efficient and scientifically sound process possible. We accomplish this by being experts ourselves, understanding the market, our consumers, our competitors, and being up-to-date on all recent advances in the scientific fields that may apply to us.

This externship is designed to introduce PhD candidates and postdoctoral scholars to the operations landscape for companies that develop and produce complex scientific technologies and services. The extern will work individually and in a team setting under the guidance of senior scientific and operations specialists, learning how to assess a market and competitive landscape for a complex biologic product and contribute recommendations and reports on gap and SWOT analyses. The extern will also assist in streamlining datasets into usable formats for current and future applications within the humanized model core at Taconic. The extern will participate in inter-disciplinary and inter-departmental initiatives, produce communications, and have the opportunity to lead small projects as needed. The extern may be responsible for literature searches and reporting of key scientific findings.

Why this internship?

Did you know:

1. Life science tools, scientific instrumentation, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical companies need scientific operations specialists in order to produce complex products such as in-vivo disease models. Scientific Operations utilizes a multi-disciplinary approach to look at all aspects of the product in order to reliably produce a specific level of quality, number, and specifications to meet the market need.
2. Depending on the requirements of the position, operations specialists may lead large teams of direct reports, work on-site, in hybrid roles, or in fully remote roles.
3. Scientific operations specialists work with many cross-functional areas within a company where PhD’s thrive because of their unique training and skills; including field applications scientists, research and development, quality, product strategy, and executive leadership.  These positions create an excellent foothold for competitive advancement in various roles within a company.

Qualifications

• Current graduate student or postdoctoral trainee at the University of Chicago
• A background in molecular biology, oncology, immunology, or other immune-related field
• Strong work ethic and interest in learning about the intersection of Research and Development, Product Management and Operations
• Able to commit ~8 hours per week to independent research, reporting and other ad hoc tasks
• Able to attend weekly operations/ R+D/ inventory calls and ad hoc 1-on-1 meetings totaling 1-2 hours per week
• Excellent communication, writing, and time management skills

Responsibilities

• Performing a competitive market analysis using both internal and external sources and reporting results and recommendations
• Analyzing business intelligence data to view trends and identify areas for improvement
• Assisting in the documentation of stem cell assets in a complete, comprehensive, and updateable manner for use in future database design
• Working closely with the Director of Immune Humanization Model Core on several scientific and operations initiatives
• Designing and drafting pilot animal studies to answer specific scientific questions surrounding the continuous improvement of the humanized immune model core