Alessio Prunotto, PhD - Research Scientist, In Silico Drug Discovery

Alessio Prunotto, PhD - Research Scientist - In Silico Drug Discovery at Aqemia

Where are you from and what is your educational background? Where did you study?

I was born and grew up in a small town in the North of Italy. I got both my bachelor's and master's degrees in Biomedical Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy and I got my PhD at the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).

Why did you decide to pursue the PhD/Post-doc journey?

I did the final project of my master’s degree on a subject (molecular modelling) which was quite far away from my stream of studies. As I got excited about this field that was relatively unknown to me, I decided that I wanted to know more about it. A PhD seemed the most natural way to pursue this interest.

It is often said that the PhD is a marathon not a sprint race. What are your thoughts about it?

I certainly agree, and despite this being a well-known fact, it is sometimes tough to internalize this concept and follow it while the PhD is ongoing. Often, during a PhD, a student has to follow ideas that will not necessarily lead anywhere and tries to verify hypotheses that end up being false. This is totally normal and part of the job, but it can still lead to a lot of frustration. As difficult as this can be, during a PhD, one should try to learn the most out of any wrong hypotheses or failed experiment, and then turn the page without too much overthinking about the past!

When did you decide that you didn’t want to pursue an academic career? Was it before starting your PhD journey or during your PhD Studies (at the start, mid, at the end or after)?

From the beginning of my PhD, I always thought of academia as an instrument, rather than a goal. I did a PhD because I wanted to become an expert in a field, and later use this expertise to boost my professional career. I still left the door open to change my mind and pursue an academic career, in case the love for academia hit me all of a sudden. However, this “click” never really happened, hence I followed my original plan.

 When did you transition into industry?

After my PhD, I did a short postdoc to get more experience into applied science, as my PhD subject was mainly focused on fundamental research. After 1 year and a half of postdoc, I joined my current company.

 What is a current position? What was/were your previous job(s) (If this is not your first job in private)?

Currently I am a Senior Research Scientist at Aqemia, a “pharmatech" startup based in Paris, which aims at identifying new drugs by using artificial intelligence and physics-based models. It’s my first job in the private sector.

 Is your job related to what you have done during your PhD/Post-doc?

Yes: despite my current job involving much more applied science and very little basic research, I am still using the same tools and methods that I learnt during my PhD and postdoc.

 Which are the aspects that you like the most about your job?

Unlike academia, the goals are clear, easy to quantify and plan; (ii) it allows me to stay up to date with the latest scientific innovations.

 How has your work-life balance changed since moving to industry?

During the first few months, the work was even more intense in the industry than in academia. This was mainly due to the fact that since I had never worked in the drug discovery domain since my focus was in structural biology, there were a lot of notions that I had to catch up with, especially about organic and medicinal chemistry. However, after this transitory period, I reached a much better work life balance. With respect to academia, it is more important to respect strict timetables, but it is easier to "switch off" during free time (holidays and weekends).

 How did you adapt to the cultural and operational differences between academia and industry?

I would say that adaptation comes naturally, as long as you receive the right inputs and honest feedback from your managers. The priorities of a company are definitely different from those of academia, as they often tend to privilege quick and simple solution over ground-breaking but complicated ones. Also, every solution needs to be easy to be used by others and to be implemented at a large scale.

 Were there any new skills or knowledge areas you had to develop for your role in the industry?

Yes, medicinal chemistry and organic chemistry. I had previous knowledge about these subjects, but not to the level that is required within a pharma company.

 How difficult was it, to gain the required knowledge when you first started your job(s)?

As mentioned in a previous question, it was very difficult at first, especially due to the fact that a startup life goes really fast: you need to deliver results quickly, and the “learning time” is not included in office hours. You need to work a lot of extra hours to ramp up and learn the notions that you need for your daily tasks. I would say it took around 2-3 months to acquire the main concepts that I needed for my job.

 What was your experience concerning the transition into industry? What were some of the challenges you faced during your transition?

I would say that the main challenge with respect to academia is the fact that results are expected on a much faster timeframe. However, the advantage is that the form is less important than academia: the solution to a problem needs to be efficient and understandable, not necessarily “beautiful” or “elegant”. I find that this is something that allows to speed up the research process by quite a lot.

What helped you before the transition (career events, workshops, contacting people on LinkedIn, friends)?

I attended a few career events, but I find that the most effective way of finding a job is through LinkedIn and networking (former lab-mates, people met at conferences, etc.)

 According to you which are the personal/soft skills that are mostly needed to undergo a successful transition into industry? Or in your case what helped you during your transition into industry?

Never be arrogant: with respect to academia, in an industry job you will likely interact with people with very different backgrounds, not necessarily academic. It is important to be open to different perspectives, and not consider our own experience as the only source of truth.

 What advices made the difference in your professional development?

Don’t be a mere executor of orders, as this is not what people expect from a person with a PhD: be always critical and challenge the tasks that you are assigned.

 What aspects of your academic studies helped you during your transition in industry (ppt presentation, public speaking, teaching, scientific project management, teamwork, multitasking…)?

Workload organization; (ii) capability to summarise and interpret data and (iii) scientific project management.

It is also said that networking plays an important role in transitioning into industry. Was it the case for you?

Yes, as I got to know my current company thanks to the indication from a former lab mate.

Did you do one or multiple internship(s) in the private sector after your PhD studies or Postdoc before being hired for a more “permanent” job in this sector? If yes, was it via the unemployment program?

No, I did not do any internship.

Which advice would you give to PhDs and postdocs who are willing to look for opportunities outside academia/in industry?

Don’t be too strict on your career path: in the industry, there’s tons of interesting jobs, even not directly connected to R&D! Also, pursue your passions and do a lot of extracurricular activities during your PhD, such as the organization of workshops and events, student associations, etc. Such activities can often open doors that you did not even think could exist.

If you could go back, would you change anything about your career path?

I would probably do a PhD within an industry, or with industrial collaborators.

What can I wish you for the next coming years?

A lot of happiness! :)

Alessio’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alessioprunotto/