News

July Alumni Spotlight - Alex Toy '04

July 1, 2018
Kabisa Baughen
interview

1. Tell us about your background. When did you graduate from Brown? What has your career path been like since graduating from Brown? What made you choose your employer/position?

Immediately after graduating from Brown’s undergraduate BME program in 2004 I interned at Amgen. From that role I realized that I didn’t want to continuing doing bench research as a career. My mentor advised me that if I wanted to advance into a scientific career I would eventually need to get a PhD and I realized that wasn’t necessarily  the direction I wanted to go. I did enjoy aspects of the business though and thought I might be interested in patent law or FDA regulation as a different way to apply my scientific background, so when I moved to DC with my girlfriend I applied to jobs at the patent office and the FDA. I got a job at the Patent Office and worked there for a few years, but realized that wasn’t quite for me either, so I looked back into working in FDA regulations and decided I needed to go to law school. I attended law school at American University and during that time spent a summer interning at the FDA. After completing my law degree I focused on applying to firms with practices that focused on FDA regulatory work and I worked as an associate lawyer for a couple years before joining Genentech where I currently hold the position of Corporate Counsel.

 

2. How did your experience at Brown help you find your first position after graduation?

Starting my freshman year I did research in the Mathiowitz Lab, where I spent about half my time simply cleaning the operating room and taking care of the animals used for research and the other half working with a graduate student and getting to participate in the hands on drug metabolism research. This research, particularly in drug metabolism, helped me to get a summer internship at a startup that was eventually bought by Pfizer. I also worked in the Hoffman-Kim Lab senior year, which helped me just by exposing me to the excitement of translating basic research to technology that can have a positive impact on people.

 

3. What experiences and/or personal qualities would you look for if you were in the position to hire new graduates from Brown?

As a baseline requirement I would look for technical expertise. Even though my current work does not map one-to-one with what I learned in school I am constantly interacting with people with advanced scientific degrees in medical and regulatory departments. Having familiarity with the scientific world and scientific jargon is very helpful for this aspect of the work. I would also look for candidates with good interpersonal skills with the ability to navigate conflict and collaborate well on cross-functional teams. Finally,  intellectual curiosity is important for a successful candidate.

 

4. What is your current position? On a typical day (or week) in your position, what do you do? What are the toughest challenges you face? What is the most rewarding part of your job?

I’m involved in a lot of different things in my position, which keeps it interesting. I spend time reviewing the company’s advertising and promotion materials, which is primarily targeted towards doctors rather than patients, to ensure that it is truthful and non-misleading. We review relationships with doctors and hospitals to ensure that there are no inappropriate kickbacks and that all relationships are compliant. We ensure that research partnerships are compliant with grant regulations. We negotiate with the FDA about the regulatory labeling on our products to ensure adequate protection for the company and safety for patients. If there are adverse events experienced by patients we are responsible for clear communication with patients and doctors about any new safety signals. Lastly, we also address regulation of quality or manufacturing concerns through communication with the FDA and customers.

The toughest part of my job is finding creative solutions for the business in a competitive environment that maintain the integrity of the company.

The  most rewarding aspect of my job is knowing that I work for a company I believe in that is creating therapies that improve and change lives.

 

5. Are there any courses at Brown that you would recommend taking as preparation?

Biomaterials with Prof. Palmore was heavy in literature reading, which was good preparation and she instilled the importance of thinking critically about publications and research, questioning results, and not accepting everything at face value simply because it is published.

Tissue engineering with Prof. Hoffman-Kim was a fun course that inspired excitement about current technologies and innovation and was engaging because of its discussion based nature. It allowed me to see the connection between basic science research and positive human impacts.

 

6. If you had it to do all over again, what would you do differently?

Even though I ended up taking a less common career path, I don’t regret studying BME at all. The degree gave me a great foundation of technical knowledge and critical thinking skills. Through my experiences I learned that bench research was not for me but also developed a strong respect for scientists that do that work. Even through my internships I discovered what I did and did not enjoy, which helped to shape my career. I’m generally not big on regrets and try to see the positives that have come out of all of my experiences.

 

7. Why did you choose Brown?

I was interested in applying to Brown in a large part because it had an established biomedical engineering program, which wasn’t nearly as common among schools when I was applying as it is now. Ultimately I chose to go to Brown because I was attracted by its focus on undergraduate teaching and research, and my time at Brown met my expectations in that regard.

 

8. Why did you choose BME?

This is more obvious to me in hindsight than it was at the time but my mother was a nurse and my father was an engineer and I think I was influenced by both of them and obviously biomedical engineering is a natural combination of the two careers that strive to improve human health.