What inspired you to start your career? Tell us about your background.

I was inspired to study chemistry by a mixture of people; my high school science teachers, the county forensic scientist back in Mansfield OH, and a friend I sat near on the bus to junior high. I was encouraged to pursue a Ph.D. by my mentor at Ashland Specialty Chemicals, Joe Fox, and my future Ph.D. advisor T.V. RajanBabu. I did a Ph.D. at Ohio State, completed my first post doc at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg in Freiburg in Bresigau Gemany. It was still difficult to find a job as I wanted to stay in Germany, so I did a second post doc with the U.S. Department of Energy at Battelle’s Pacific Northwest National Lab in Richland WA. I made the transition into a permanent role in pharmaceuticals with AMPAC Fine Chemicals in Sacramento CA.

What is your position at Crinetics and how does it relate to other departments?

The CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls) department is responsible for manufacturing drug substances and drug products (e.g, tablets) of adequate purity and strength to support a vast range of activities. from in-vitro experiments to clinical trials, and my role involves the design, plan, execution and troubleshooting of the synthesis of our nominated drug candidates in large scale.

Why did you choose Crinetics?

My story to join Crinetics is one that is a bit circuitous, where a mentor of mine that left AMPAC for a biotech in San Diego recruited me to join his CMC team. My mentor was spending many weeks in the German speaking countries and couldn’t speak German, and he reached out because I can. His boss was looking for someone a bit more senior for the CMC role with their company, but his boss is my boss’s husband, hah! We got in touch through the exchange of resumes and our relationship took off in the phone call to discuss the position. The move to Crinetics has been one of a whirlwind, with COVID and learning a role over the internet. I see this company being a rewarding destination for the careers of those who make the cut to join such an elite team. I am looking forward to being surrounded by such talent, and I’ll be shamelessly stealing their secrets to success!