Recently, a lucky group of 26 PhD students and postdocs from the Centre for Blood Research (CBR) attended an all-inclusive tour of STEMCELL technologies. This event, organized by the CBR Educational Program, was a great opportunity to meet and network with various professionals and to learn what a career at STEMCELL Technologies or other similar biotech companies would look like.
Originally launched in 1993 as Terry-Fox Laboratories, STEMCELL Technologies has become the largest biotech company in Canada. They currently employ over 850 people in Vancouver alone and estimate that this number will grow to 1700 by 2020. The company has three locations in Vancouver and also employs scientists in 11 other countries around the world, including France, Australia, China, and Singapore. Globally, STEMCELL has made a name for itself by producing high quality specialty cell culture media, developing cell isolation systems, and providing accessory products for stem cell and tissue culture research.
The CBR group was welcomed at the Head Office and Research Building in Vancouver where they were introduced to a few of the company’s heads and managers, given a brief peek into the labs, and then offered a lunch and networking session with some of their representatives. Speakers included Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Booth, Marketing and Communication Publishing Manager Nicole Quinn, Global Sales Trainer Nadya Ogloff, Process Development Manager Stephen Fussey, Manufacturing Representative Beatriz Rodriguez, and Research and Development Senior Scientist Ryan Conder. This broad range of representatives demonstrates the scope and skill set required for such a large organization to succeed. Notably, the company aspires to fill their positions primarily with people possessing scientific backgrounds. Even the sales and marketing reps are expected to understand how the company’s materials are used and are thus trained to troubleshoot customer issues in any situation.
