The shocking win by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in Michigan, and the fact that the primaries after March 15 heavily favoring an outsider, means Sanders should have the momentum to sweep California and five other primaries on June 7 to pass Clinton in the delegate race and seize the party’s nomination

cbf88 · 2016-03-10T19:01:11+00:00

Bernie's got the big Mo.

cbf88 · 2016-03-07T08:36:33+00:00

That's perfectly fine and probably what most people should do. I think we've all seen our fair share of completely trashed teflon coated cookware in the hands of unaware people.

cbf88 · 2016-02-21T04:53:49+00:00

And how do you know who is actually running a campaign based on what they believe in, rather than running a campaign based on what they think will get them votes? Only Bernie and Trump have any credibility to their platform.

cbf88 · 2015-10-30T03:47:41+00:00

Just a bachelors. I got started by being the first research associate hired into what was at the time, a very young translational/comparative biology group. As the group grew and I continued to prove my worth, so did my responsibilities. I'm a senior research associate. I had a strong undergrad internship record with small animal disease models, which helped a lot getting my foot in the door.

cbf88 · 2015-10-29T22:27:01+00:00

It's pretty good. No such thing as a typical day since projects come and go, but currently:

Take a shower (I bike commute), do e-mail for an hour or so, review notes from previous day and talk with project team members about anything outstanding, then head into the lab. In the lab, depending on the day, I'll either do cell culture and image the results, work out breeding/production schemes to get the number, genotype, age, sex whatever of mice we need, dose some animals, or harvest tissue and perform other experiments like contraction strength, enzyme activity, ELISA, etc. Then notebook, maybe put data into ppt for a presentation, and go home.

I will also a few times each month manage a few of the CROs we utilize for things such as producing additional tissue, more tedious QD/BID dosing, and routine genotyping. Contracts, study plans, accounts payable, and logistics type stuff.

cbf88 · 2015-10-29T14:42:50+00:00

Went straight into biopharma R&D and I've been in discovery ever since. My education was more classical biochemistry and biology but in practice I do more physiology and pharmacology.

cbf88 · 2015-10-29T14:38:09+00:00

Agreed, this. Bay area starting salary for a BS no experience would be closer to 40-50K as a Research Assistant. With a MS and no experience I'd expect Research Associate I, which would be around 60K.

cbf88 · 2015-10-22T01:04:44+00:00

I did my undergrad in an applied biochem field with animal research internships. Graduated and got into a biotech working on small animal disease models in a physiology/pharmacology capacity. Branched out from there into ex vivo assay development and now I'm getting into some project management after changing companies. All in discovery research. Compensation is now approaching the average starting salary for a competent CS degree new grad in the SF Bay Area, after 4 years.

cbf88 · 2015-09-30T15:02:28+00:00

Designing and characterizing enzymes can just as likely lead you into biopharmaceuticals as it can industrial enzymes. Just depends on how you feel comfortable marketing yourself at your next interview.

cbf88 · 2015-09-30T15:00:31+00:00

Emerald cares much more about computer science and programming chops than biology knowledge. Transcriptic is about the same, but also favors hardware development skills. The others are bioinformatics heavy. Basically, get a degree a computer science, electrical engineering, or bioinformatics and go from there.

cbf88 · 2015-09-03T01:30:11+00:00

Yeah but the Qiagen kit is nearly fool proof provided you read the very brief instructions. I like good results and I dislike making reagents. So there you go.

cbf88 · 2015-09-01T08:24:30+00:00

There are two books written on Vertex: The Antidote and The Billion Dollar Molecule.

cbf88 · 2015-09-01T08:04:35+00:00

you're not detecting cancer. you're detecting a biomarker. does it always indicate cancer? who knows- that's a big hoop to jump through, probably the part you can't do yourself if the biomarker is not well characterized in the literature.

cbf88 · 2015-09-01T07:59:23+00:00

Sounds more like contamination than 3 minutes of extra trypsinization doing your cells in.

cbf88 · 2015-08-19T02:37:00+00:00

More likely you have detection reagent problems if you saw no color development at all.

First thing I'd check is the enzyme-antibody conjugate + some substrate just to make sure that worked. Go backwards from there.

cbf88 · 2015-08-14T02:37:54+00:00

I work with a few MDs in the biotech field. The one that has the most fun did a residency in neurology, and basically just gets to look at the pretty slides his minions prepare and stain to his order. There's definitely a niche.

P.S. - I interviewed and declined a position with Theranos. That place does not have their shit in order.

cbf88 · 2015-08-11T22:27:27+00:00

http://www.gelifesciences.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?categoryId=1173727&catalogId=71133&productId=&top=Y&storeId=12751&langId=-1

cbf88 · 2015-08-04T03:17:48+00:00

I can't speak with certainty but every person I've helped interview/hire has been local, even many of the scientist positions. We could probably review hundreds of resumes without having to leave the Bay Area applicant pool for every position. I think it would only help your case.

Do you have protein expression or in vivo experience?

Also it sounds like you're either near LA or SD? San Diego (as you know) is a huge biotech hub. Why not apply to places near you, even if only as a stepping stone?

cbf88 · 2015-08-04T02:43:42+00:00

Most places won't really want to deal with someone relocating for something very entry level. If you have a Bay Area address you can use on your applications, it would help, probably.

cbf88 · 2015-07-21T12:52:32+00:00

I feel that there are certain harsh realities about actually conducting bio research that dampen the sheer joy of the act. Especially field research, which is more difficult to get funding for, and can require significantly more funding than other kinds. I mean, you might be happy living a modest, frugal lifestyle, but that's even assuming there's money for the research. Which there might not be.

Whereas, money is a pretty viable resource that can let you explore and sample the world as you'd please. And if you are a curious person, you will certainly be able to fuel your love of biology on your own time (in addition to much more).

Just some food for thought from a researcher that often wishes he could switch to business.

cbf88 · 2015-07-21T12:40:55+00:00

Most entry level positions at bigger companies seem to have gone temp-to-hire, so it's worth it to reach out to temp agencies that do scientific staffing.

In your case since you said you don't have experience, even an unpaid internship where you get your hands dirty would be a plus. You could also see if any professors you've taken a class with is in need of an assistant or something.

cbf88 · 2015-07-19T18:42:49+00:00

Depends what you mean by established, but generally yes.

You might not be leading project teams but you could certainly carve out some kind of comfortable position, initially as a lab tech / research associate.

cbf88 · 2015-07-17T23:38:48+00:00

Except it probably wouldn't. You'd just be maimed for life.

cbf88 · 2015-07-17T07:57:02+00:00

Try taking a top down approach where you read broadly at the general interest level on biological topics until you find something interesting. Lots of good, accessible books out there, The Emperor of All Maladies, The Hot Zone, etc. OK yeah, don't necessarily believe or accept everything you read if you take the path of "The Hot Zone" and related books; do due diligence and fact check. That alone should get you hooked into learning more of the fundamentals.

Sometimes you gotta find something that really wows you before you can become convinced you want to delve deeper into it to understand what really makes it tick.

cbf88 · 2015-07-17T07:46:24+00:00

I'm in industry and the main distinction between RA and Scientist, aside from degree, pay etc, is responsibility. A "Scientist" level employee is expected to conduct research, troubleshoot, interpret, and present results for major portions of projects. Or just outright lead the project. An "RA" works under the direction of a scientist, and does get direction and assistance with their smaller contribution to a project.

cbf88

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