Making a Difference in Patients' Lives

MBP Industrial Advisory Board member Andy Lin talks about his job at Genentech and how he's seen MBP students differentiate themselves.

Andy Lin has spent the past three years working at Genentech in San Francisco, where he and his colleagues are focused on pursuing groundbreaking science to develop medicines for people with life-threatening illnesses. It is a lofty goal and one that inspires Lin.

What is the favorite part of his job?

"Working with dedicated teams to bring innovative medicines to patients and making a difference in patients' lives," he said.

Lin is also an Industrial Advisory Board member for Northwestern University's Master of Biotechnology program (MBP). He recently took the time to talk about his career and MBP, including why his company has hired multiple MBP graduates in the past 10 years.

How do you describe your role and responsibilities at Genentech? 

I currently lead cross-functional CMC teams (composed of members from bioprocess, analytical, formulation, quality, regulatory, clinical supply, and manufacturing) from pre-clinical to product launch stages to ensure new medicines are safe for patients and can be consistently manufactured in compliance with current regulatory and quality standards. I work primarily on large molecules and cell therapies both developed internally or through in-licensing.

What have you found are the best ways to integrate these cross-functional team members and enable them to communicate and interact effectively? 

  • Take time to describe the "whys" and listen to others on their pain points
  • Help team members understand the impact of their work on other members on the team
  • Foster end-to-end thinking on the team 
  • Help team members step out of their functional "silos"
  • Take time to celebrate success
  • Talk about failures and lessons learned

In what ways can someone better prepare themselves to be a part of a cross-functional team? 

You should become a learner to understand how your own work impacts others, and develop a "go/see, learn/do and teach" mindset.

How do you think MBP prepares its students to succeed in the biotech industry? 

MBP students receive fundamental bioprocess training, basic business acumens, professional communication skills, and hands-on research experience preparing them to contribute to biotech and pharma companies when they leave the program. Over the past 10 years, my company (Genentech) has hired several MBP students who are active contributors to our mission in developing transformative medicines for patients in many disease areas.

What common traits, if any, have you see in those MBP graduates that you've hired? 

Folks who join Genentech are all skilled in the specific jobs they were hired to do, but the differentiating factors for career growth are the person's willingness to take assignments beyond their functional expertise and take on difficult assignments that stretch their skills.

What types of jobs are those MBP alumni currently doing for Genentech? 

Process development, analytical development, purification development, and process engineering

What do you think are the biggest differentiators of MBP? 

MBP packs a rigorous schedule of technical classes that prepare students from a diverse background — from biology and chemistry to engineering and other technical undergraduate degrees — to enter the biotech workforce. The program also provides training through resources at Northwestern University to ensure students obtain basic business knowledge and soft skills that are critical to their professional success. MBP students also gain valuable hands-on research experience by working in an NU lab or through internships as part of the program requirements. Finally, students have the opportunity to connect with industry leaders through the program's Industrial Advisory Board to help create their professional network. 

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Lifelong learning can take you to unexpected places and adventures, so keep on learning.

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