Tell us about yourself, your position, background, motivations.

I was born and brought up in Mumbai, India. After getting my BSc degree, I moved to Japan where I received my PhD studying the neural regulation of energy homeostasis and glucose metabolism at the National Institute for Physiological Sciences. Throughout my time in my PhD program, academia seemed to be the only career option and so, upon completion, I decided to do a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Otago in New Zealand. However, I had a desire to learn more about opportunities in the biotech and pharma industry, so eventually decided to move to San Diego and accepted a postdoctoral position at the University of California San Diego. After several seminars, informational interviews, and networking events, I realized that an industry career aligns perfectly with my interests and skills. I was very keen to stay in the endocrinology field, so it was a no brainer to apply to Crinetics.

I joined the Biology department at Crinetics in November 2021 supporting early-stage, preclinical drug discovery. I am a Sr. Scientist working with cross functional teams and contributing to the screening and identification of drug candidates that will move on to the development and clinical stage. I really enjoy research and the opportunity to do what I like, while contributing to future therapies that will improve patient’s lives is very rewarding and motivating.

What about Crinetics makes you the most excited to work here?

Being able to work with people who are also passionate about the science, willing to share their expertise and working towards a common goal is what excites me about working here. I also like that Crinetics is a patient-focused and employee-focused company. It is nice to know that the company I work for cares about patients’ needs, proactively seeks to hear what they need and works towards that unmet need. They are also committed to employee experience and career development, which is enticing especially for someone like me who is still in the early-mid stage of my career, where getting opportunities to see and be involved in higher up processes of drug discovery is valuable and can make a big difference.

What is your advice on people hoping to join Crinetics?

Be authentic when you interview, learn about the company, and come with questions. Come with a growth mindset, open to learning and willing to work hard. Collaboration is key, so work on building good relationships from day one with people on your team and other teams.