Next, I attend a seminar, with a job applicant or perhaps a consultant. Our programs often rely on input from outside investigators from academe or clinicians who have special niches of expertise. We discuss the progress of specific agents, such as the antifoliate that my laboratory has been working on. These meetings help to track very basic work through to the development stage. I joined Lilly rather than staying in academe because I was so impressed by the scientists I met, the level of excitement, and the diversity and breadth of skills available at the company.
Management changes over time, and so does the company's organizational structure.
Because of my level in the company, I try to spend time coaching some of the younger Ph.D. scientists, particularly women, on career strategies, publishing, laboratory management, etc. A working lunch provides a good opportunity for mentoring. Action groups are teams involved in work on particular organs. We talk specifically about drug targets, current results, and problems. It's important to note that scientists in pharmaceutical research experience both good years, when everything seems to go right, and bad years, when experiments don't work as you expect or business decisions affect projects in ways that you don't like.