Drug Development, as we all know, is a long drawn and intricate process that has given us so many impactful and life saving medicines!

John Calhoun, our next pathbreaker, Sr Manager of Statistical Programming Operations at Abbvie Inc (Seattle), works on the clinical development side of the drug development and approval life cycle.

John talks to Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about his career path, and a big career move from the world of academic research labs to the cutting edge biotech industry by leveraging his background in writing applications for statistical analysis.

For students, a lot of the skills you learn come from being involved in various projects and are learned in the first couple of positions in your career.  It’s key to select positions where you can learn and grow in your skills. 

John, can you explain your background to our young readers?

My name is John Calhoun and I am a Senior Manager, Statistical Programming Operations AbbVie, Inc

Thank you for including my interview on the InterviewPortal.com.  This site is a fantastic resource to see what career fields are out there.  Specifically, learning more on how people land in their career positions gives key insights on what it takes to achieve those goals. What I have learned is, to be put in a position of success, it’s important to recognize an opportunity while also being prepared with the right skills and education.

I grew up near Seattle, WA, USA.  My father was a dentist and my mother worked alongside him at their dental office. From my parents, I learned the importance of taking care of others and finding a purpose in life. All while growing up, I was always told that my job was to be a student. Education is a key to success in life. 

Early on, I attended Catholic primary school, then going on to public junior and senior high school.  From 7th – 12th grade, I always took the advanced honors level courses.  During this time, I enjoyed playing in the school band, studying photography, and playing on the tennis team.  I enjoyed my chemistry and physics courses along with marketing and business law classes.  After high school graduation, I went on to attend the University of Washington.

What did you do for graduation/post graduation?

I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology and minors in chemistry and music.  As a student, I worked in various research labs and spent 2 years of that time participating in undergraduate research projects in medical genetics, pathobiology, and molecular biotechnology research groups.  This work in these research labs was outside of my core requirements for graduation.  Most of my research projects were around developing applications in various programming languages and platforms.  Afterwards, I went on to get a master’s degree in pharmaceutical bioengineering.

In the USA, most biology departments are in the college of arts and sciences.  To get your degree, you have a specific number of credit requirements that include courses outside of your major degree.  Those courses outside of your major can be in a foreign language, writing composition, history, music, art, etc.  I had always had an interest in music and could play multiple instruments along with reading and composing music. In the music department, my specialty was computer music.  In computer music, all the instruments and music score are written in a variety of programming languages.  I completed 4 courses in computer music where we created synthesized instruments and generated music scores with our computer source code.  I also completed courses in music theory and music history to obtain my music minor.

What were some of the key influences that led you to such an offbeat, unconventional, and uncommon career in the Biotech industry?

I had an interest in science and engineering and my parents always encouraged me. My current field of statistical programming for clinical trials is an important piece in pharmaceutical development. I know that my day-to-day work provides a positive impact on the treatment of the patients we serve.

Along the way, I received mentorship from colleagues and others that were further into their careers.  While a student, I was exposed to different research groups and projects.  I learned more about my interests and focused on these specific areas.  This led me down the path to where I am today.

A turning point in my career was the acceptance into a paid competitive undergraduate internship in biomedical and health informatics.   Through this program, I got involved in computer systems infrastructure and development design and engineering.  Another turning point was when I made the jump from academia to the biopharma industry.  Prior to biopharma, I spent 6 years working full-time in academia.

How did you plan the steps to get into the career you wanted?Tell us about your career path

My first position after receiving my bachelor’s degree was at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center(FHCRC) in Seattle, WA.  The group at FHCRC were research collaborators with the University of Washington’s research group that I had done undergraduate research in.   When the position opened up at FHCRC, my colleagues got me a recommendation and interview.  While at FHCRC, our group worked on genetic differential expression studies using microarray technology.  We worked on human genetics along with the yeast model organism. This was a programming and statistics heavy group.  The group head (principal investigator) and most staff were physics PhDs.  My work continued here for a bit over 2 years. I was programming on multiple projects.  Our principal investigator relocated the research lab to Princeton University for a full tenured faculty position.

When our research group closed at FHCRC, I was then looking for new work.  I had a couple of choices, an offer from another local research institute and an offer from a colleague at the University of Washington’s Genome Sciences Dept.  I took the position working with the prior colleague at the University of Washington Genome Sciences.  While at the University of Washington, I worked as a research consultant programmer in support of population genetics projects.

As things go in academic research labs, funding can be somewhat fluid.  Funding for my position at the University of Washington ended after 2 years and I was back on the job market.  I posted my resume up on mulitple job boards and got contacted by various corporate recruiters.  This is where I got my start as a Sr. Clinical Programmer at Gilead Sciences, Inc.   While at Gilead, I did database programming and administration, application programming, systems admin, clinical trial study programming, and was part of clinical trial study teams.  I continued on at Gilead for 8 years.

For continuing education, while employed at Gilead Sciences, I applied to the University of Washington’s Bioengineering Department.  I was accepted into the Pharmaceutical Bioengineering Master’s program and was part of their professional evening degree program for 3 years.  One of the big advantages of doing a professional program is the ability to continue to work while you are obtaining your degree.  My master’s program accepted about 15 people the year I joined.  The courses were taught by faculty and industry professionals with course work covering biologics, clinical development, and pharmaceutical manufacturing.  It was an amazing program.  I highly recommend the University of Washington’s Bioengineering Program.

Next, I got contacted through a colleague about working in an early stage at a newer company.  The CEO and founder of the company were looking for someone to setup their USA operations for their new subsidiary company.  This biotech company had multiple medical diagnostics tests that they were commercializing.  During this 1 year, I helped get their USA operations off the ground and setup the IT infrastructure.

For AbbVie, I had a similar story.  I was contacted by a corporate recruiter about a position working as a contractor at AbbVie.  I worked on contract at AbbVie for about 9 months and then was offered a full-time position.  AbbVie has been a great place to be that past 4 years.

For planning my career path, I always tried to talk to as many people as I could.  People love to talk to you about what they do in their specialty.  I received much helpful advice this way and learned about emerging trends and where the best opportunities are in each field.  Some of the most rewarding and interesting work is created by asking around.  In academia, jobs can be made specifically for candidates with ideas and willingness to take on new challenges. 

A big career move for me was going from academic research labs to the biotech industry.  In biotech, you have many sub-specialties with excellent career paths.  I best fit into the clinical trials aspect of the work with my background writing applications in statistical analysis groups.

Career Path:

  • Research Laboratory Glassware Washer (student job)

Univ. of Washington

  • Undegrad. Intern in Biomedical & Health Informatics

Univ. of Washington

  • Scientific Programmer

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

  • Research Consultant    

Univ. of Washington

  • Sr Clinical Programmer

Gilead Sciences, Inc

  • Sr Applications Analyst

Gilead Sciences, Inc

  • Director of Dev. & Infrastructure

UltraBio, Inc (Biodevice Company)

  • Biomarkers Principal Clinical Programmer

Catalyst Clinical Research, LLC

  • Technology Lead

I IQVIA, Inc

  • Sr Mgr Statistical Programming Operations, Statistical Reporting and Standards
    AbbVie, Inc

Degrees:

  • Master’s Pharmaceutical Bioengineering
  • Bachelor of Science – Biology (Cell & Molecular)

How did you get your first break?

In my second year of college, I got a position washing laboratory glassware in a medical genetics lab.  From there, I met people and new research project opportunities opened up for me. Down the line, I made the jump over to the biotech industry.

My first break into biotech was getting contacted by a corporate recruiter with a position they thought I’d be a great fit for.

Where do you work now?

I now work in the Statistical Reporting & Standards group at AbbVie, Inc.  AbbVie Inc is a large global biopharmaceutical company that develops pharmaceutical products across a wide array of therapeutic areas.  My position as Sr Manager of Statistical Programming Operations involves being project lead on programming applications used to review and prepare clinical trial data.

My work is on the clinical development side of the drug development and approval life cycle.  This is late in the drug development cycle, when a drug/therapy is being tested or monitored in human patient populations prior to a drug approval by a regulatory agency.  Research is done discovering new chemical compounds or biologics as a therapy for a disease.  The company then works on developing the manufacturing processes of the chemical/biologic compound while testing for safety and efficacy. Next, the therapy is brought to clinical trials used in people.  My work involves the preparation of human clinical trial data for statistical analysis.

What are the skills needed for your role?

In this field, there is a need for a strong understanding of computer programming, databases, IT infrastructure, project management, and clinical development.   This basic set of skills will help you along on your way.

What’s a typical day like?

A typical day for me involves project team meetings, reviewing technical work, vendor reviews, guiding project design & development.  We also maintain and update our released applications and work with our end users internal to the company.  What makes my job enjoyable is knowing that my work will directly benefit patients via the company’s products.  I also get to work among career professionals and the most talented employees in biopharma.

Your advice to students based on your experience?

Get the degree and certifications you need to get a start in your field.  Also, remember that many people in the field come from a variety of academic backgrounds.  Often, you can work your way into a new field that isn’t necessarily specific to your degree.  A lot of the skills you learn come from being involved in various projects and are learned in the first couple of positions in your career.  It’s key to select positions where you can learn and grow in your skills.  Things happen a step at a time, seize the moment and keep an eye out for opportunity.

*Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of AbbVie, Inc.