Mario Romani, PhD - Preclinical Scientist
Mario Romani, PhD - Preclinical Scientist at OM Pharma
Where are you from and what is your educational background? Where did you study?
I am Italian, born and raised; more specifically from Rimini, a roman city which throughout the years became a very popular holiday destination for young people. I conducted my university studies in Bologna, at the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna. During my bachelor in Biological Sciences I fell in love with pharmacology and physiology so I decide to start a master degree in Pharmaceutical Biotechnologies. Thanks to a scholarship I could perform the last semester of my master abroad in a hosting institute which could provide lab experience. This is how I ended up in Switzerland, and more specifically, at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Here I completed my master and afterwards obtained my PhD in Biotechnology & Bioengineering at the Laboratory of Integrative Systems Physiology.
Why did you decide to pursue the PhD/Post-doc journey?
When I started my master I did not have in mind a PhD journey in my career path. However, once I reached the end of my studies it felt like a natural next step: despite the deep theoretical knowledge that my master gave me, I felt I was lacking a training to be a “scientist” in a broad sense, and especially how to think like a good scientist. I was lucky enough to be offered a PhD position in the same lab that hosted me during the final part of my studies, so I was well aware of the project I would work on and of the people that would teach me. So overall it was an easy decision to take.
It is often said that the PhD is a marathon not a sprint race. What are your thoughts about it?
Yes and no, the PhD is an atypical marathon. During the PhD it is important to focus on the long term goal, which is indeed crossing the finish line with all the knowledge you have collected along the way. In this sense, the PhD is similar to a marathon: keeping a comfortable pace, avoiding getting distracted by setbacks, focusing on the final objective without depleting energies is pivotal. However, differently from a standard marathon, during the PhD is important to have a reservoir of energy that can be used for short sprints at need along the way. There are often moments in which a PhD will have to add that extra step, push a little harder, and surpass the obstacles, it is part of the journey (e.g. revision of a paper, thesis submission, etc.). Being aware of how much energy can be invested in such short sprints is important to not be exhausted at the end of the race. So overall, maybe the PhD can be considered a marathon combined with a hurdle race, which sounds absolutely terrible, but it can actually be fun as well.
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)?
I started my PhD journey knowing already that I would not pursue a career in academia. I have always believed that the PhD was an important step to become the scientist I wanted to be, to learn how to elaborate hypotheses and to solve scientific questions. But I knew since the beginning that my mindset and scientific knowledge work much better when they are applied in a structured and translational way. These features are common in industrial research but they are not granted in an academic environment.
When did you transition into industry?
One and a half year after my PhD I have obtained my first industry job. However, I had the chance to closely work with industry partners during my PhD, which ultimately corroborated my desire to move to industry.
What is your current position? What was/were your previous job(s) (If this is not your first job in private)?
I am currently a preclinical scientist at OM Pharma. Before taking this role I had a short experience as Clinical Research Associate & Lab manager at the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). This was a step that I was eager to add to my career path, as during my PhD I had very limited experience with clinical research, despite always being oriented towards translational research.
Is your job related to what you have done during your PhD/Post-doc?
Yes and no. Indeed, during my PhD and my experience at the CHUV I studied different cellular pathways and structures that are strongly conserved across species and that are pivotal for cellular homeostasis (e.g. mitochondria, stress response pathway). These are often dysregulated in many different pathologies. My current job focuses on the same structures/pathways (plus some additional ones) but applied to new fields: respiratory and urinary tract pathologies.
What are the aspects that you like the most about your job?
I like the fact that I interact a lot with people with different backgrounds, operating in different departments but working together with the same objective. It is really gratifying to see my research feeding the different departments of the company which can use it to move forward in their tasks as well.
How has your work-life balance changed since moving to industry?
My industry job helped me in creating a more stable equilibrium in my work-life balance. This is also intrinsic in industry’s structure: objectives are well defined as well as deadlines so it is uncommon to be in the situation to work beyond regular working hours to finish a task. Of course there are exceptions, but overall in my opinion it is easier to maintain a healthier work-life balance.
How did you adapt to the cultural and operational differences between academia and industry?
As I mentioned, I have always had a mindset that suits the industry environment so for me was rather natural the adaptation to this new setting. I believe it could also be part of the growing process (both work-wise and age-wise) to seek for a more structured environment rather than the “student” status that is intrinsic in the PhD work. A healthy work environment definitely helps in the adaptation process, with help coming from colleagues and managers.
Were there any new skills or knowledge areas you had to develop for your role in the industry?
I had a lot to learn outside of science per se. In industry, scientific research is a mean to reach company objectives ultimately to help the highest possible number of patients. This is something that is achieved not only in the lab, but also with cooperation with other departments which need scientific input to move forward. Learning how to apply my research to different areas (e.g. commercial, marketing, medical affairs, pharmacovigilance, etc.) was a big portion of the skills I had to develop.
How difficult was it, to gain the required knowledge when you first started your job(s)?
For me, it took around 2-3 months to really start feeling comfortable in my activities and to master my new research areas. It required a lot of studying of literature, but also analysis of the company’s dossiers and material to understand the possible research directions that could really bring an added value to the overall company’s strategy. On top of that, as I mentioned before, I invested time to learn how to work with non-scientists within the company, and how to synergies our strengths to be efficient in our tasks.
What was your experience concerning the transition into industry? What were some of the challenges you faced during your transition?
Perhaps the most prominent mindset switch during the transition from academia to industry was the fact that research is not performed necessarily to deliver a paper (always nice to publish, but it is not the main goal), but to provide knowledge and results that are useful for the other departments (e.g. clinical department to set up the right parameters to be investigated in patients; medical affairs to explain medical doctors how the product works, etc.). However, during my PhD I was mainly taught to do science always thinking about a possible publication, creating a story-flow, and prepare for possible questions from reviewers. So I had to adapt to a different way of planning experiments and projects.
What helped you before the transition (career events, workshops, contacting people on linkedin, friends)?
I believe that personal connections (friends, people met at events or LinkedIn contacts) are the best way to help the transition. I find big events such as career events to be useful to get to know the different options available after a PhD, but not necessarily to get a chance to obtain a new job in industry.
According to you which are the personal/soft skills that are mostly needed to undergo a successful transition into industry?
Being able to “vulgarize” science, in order to communicate it to a non-scientific audience. This is important as a scientist in industry will often have to communicate results and strategies to people that do not have the same background but that will have to take key decisions on the topic. Of course, also being a good team-player will ensure a smoother transition.
In your case which personal/soft skills helped you during your transition into industry?
Exactly the 2 skills I described above. I have a real passion for science, so I am always happy to explain it even to people working in different fields. This tremendously helped me in being able to efficiently communicate with different stakeholders in the company and work efficiently with them as a team. On top of this, I like to think outside-the-box to address scientific questions, which is a fundamental factor to drive innovation, important component in industrial research.
What advices made the difference in your professional development?
First, to have fun doing the job you do. It sounds like a silly thing to say, but finding excitement in the discoveries you make helps overcoming the negative periods that are naturally occurring in any job. Second, to always push yourself outside of the comfort zone. Being curious and eager to always learn more is pivotal for self-development in any job, even more in science.
What aspects of your academic studies helped you during your transition in industry (ppt presentation, public speaking, teaching, scientific project management, teamwork, multitasking etc)?
Several skills turned out to be important in the transition; but the most important were: (1) Scientific project management in a broad sense, meaning ability to organize workload, give priorities to the different tasks, organize needed collaborations, etc. (2) Teamwork, meaning working efficiently and synergistically together, giving help and getting it back from peers. (3) Ability to simplify complex scientific concepts into easy-to-grasp notions.
It is also said that networking plays an important role in transitioning into industry. Was it the case for you?
I did not obtain my current job thanks to my network, but through a simple application. However, I believe that networking is really important and I had job offers coming from my network multiple times (both in academia and industry).
Did you do one or multiple internship(s), traineeship(s), BNF project(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?
I’ve never held such a position during my career path.
Which advice would you give to PhDs and postdocs who are willing to look for opportunities outside research academia or in industry?
First, to be open-minded about the next career step. Industry offers a plethora of different jobs for a person with a scientific background and a PhD. It is not uncommon to permanently put the lab coat aside and take a role that requires less hands-on work on the experiments per se. Second, to already orient as much as possible research and activities towards industry. Working on translational research, collaborating with companies, attending company sponsored events, participating in associations with connections to industries are all things that can facilitate the transition down the road.
If you could go back, would you change anything about your career path?
No, I wouldn’t change anything. I am definitely happy with my career path and the decisions that led me where I am today. However, it would have been interesting to perform my PhD directly in partnership with industry, indeed some companies even offer PhD programs. I am not sure this would have been better for my career path, but it is something that I did not consider after my master, now I would be open to it.
What can I wish you for the next coming years?
To always be excited about new scientific discoveries, and to keep pushing the boundaries of the comfort zone.
Mario’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mario-romani-mr/
