What do you do at work every day?

Simply put, my job is to grow cells. My day typically starts with a team briefing for daily tasks ahead. Most of my day is spent inside the lab - a biomanufacturing facility called a cleanroom. Cleanroom, as the name suggests, is designed to be extremely clean with very low levels of particulates like dust/ airborne organism, etc. Growing cells is just like farming, and you need to feed the cells with media - think of media as the food for the cells to grow. You need to remove the waste and then feed them more media to let them grow. Cells will keep multiplying, and they increase in number over time. We also perform cell counting every day to ensure process transpires just as planned. If any irregularity in the cell count is observed, we investigate to find the root cause.

Rest of my time is spent at meetings with other departments like the engineering, quality, etc., to periodically review and re-write Standard Operating Procedures, which we ought to follow. I also work with vendors who supply materials and equipment for my company to purchase new equipment and get quotations.

What's your journey been like from high school to where you are today?

When I was at school, I was interested in sciences - I liked chemistry and the application of chemistry in engineering. I had spoken to seniors who suggested suitable universities and courses. I did an Industrial Attachment (internship) at a biopharma company and that in my opinion, was the turning point! I observed the manufacturing processes involved, and that motivated me to join this industry because I could have a direct impact on making medicines that can save or improve the lives of people. I subsequently started taking more subjects related to biopharma at university to deepen my understanding of this subject. Doing an internship in the field that you ultimately want to work in, it gives you a head start over others. For instance, something as simple as working in a cleanroom came in very handy when I started working.

Any words of advice for our students who wish to pursue a career similar to yours

If you want a job where you derive happiness out of helping somebody by saving their lives by making life-saving drugs, this one is for you! Skills that you acquire in the process are very transferable - like working in a high-pressure situation, multi-tasking is valuable across industries. Besides, by working in teams, you grow a lot as a team player with better communication skills. We even get direct feedback from patients that they are feeling better after taking the medicines that we make - it makes me immensely happy and proud of the job we do.