The real-world implications of synthetic drug discovery are very important, especially in cases of diseases like malaria that affects large populations in resource-limited regions.
Shilpi Pandey, our next pathbreaker, Senior Manager R&D at Diageo, works in Analytical R&D and Quality Systems, where she applies her scientific and regulatory-industry background to alcoholic beverages, premium and mainstream alcoholic beverage products .
Shilpi talks to Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about beginning her career in the field of drug development and cancer research, and transitioning to the world of consumer beverages, which also requires scientific governance, regulatory discipline and enforcement of quality standards to protect product quality, consumer trust, and business credibility.
For students, if you truly want to achieve something meaningful, and you are willing to work for it, life can become far brighter than your fears.
Shilpi, Your Background?
I grew up in Uttar Pradesh in a family that deeply valued education, discipline, and hard work. My parents were extremely supportive of studies, but they were also very clear that education was not something to be taken lightly. They gave us freedom, but with responsibility. Their message was simple: if you study sincerely, build your own career, and prove yourself, you will have choices in life. But if you fail to create your own path, society may decide your path for you.
This understanding created both a dream and a fear within me. In fact, that fear became a very strong driving force in my life.
My dream was to do something meaningful with my life, to become someone my parents and I could be proud of, to contribute to society, and to make my human life count for something beyond routine existence.
My fear was equally strong: I did not want to drift aimlessly, lose my identity, or live a life where my potential remained unexplored simply because I lacked focus or courage. I always felt that since I was born as a human being, I must do something meaningful for myself and for society, something that would make my parents proud and would also make me proud of myself.
Until Class 12, Biology was my greatest love. I was deeply fascinated by life sciences, evolution, animals, plants, and the mystery of human existence. I was also very good at drawing, and Biology gave me a wonderful opportunity to create diagrams, projects, and visual learning.
It was not that I disliked Arts subjects like History, Geography, or Civics. In fact, today I genuinely enjoy reading them. But during school, I struggled because I was not sure what career path they could lead to, and I was very poor at memorizing dates and historical details. Also, those subjects were often taught in ways that did not excite me, while science felt practical, interesting, and high-scoring.
Science had experiments. It had diagrams. It had logic. And for someone who was curious, creative, and under pressure to build an independent future, science became my natural path.
At the same time, I have always loved fine arts and music as hobbies, so I was never a one-dimensional student.
Looking back, curiosity, fear, ambition, discipline, and the desire for choice shaped my journey.
One of the most important lessons I learned is this: even if teachers are excellent, if a student lacks focus, discipline, dedication, and resilience, he or she can still lose direction. And sometimes, even average circumstances can be transformed by a highly focused and determined student.
Good teachers matter. But focus, discipline, dedication, resilience, and consistent hard work are equally essential. Success requires both: guidance from good mentors and personal focus and discipline.
What did you do for Graduation/Post Graduation?
I did my BSc in Chemistry followed by MSc and PhD in Organic Chemistry. I did my PhD at Central Drug Research Institute.
Like many Biology-loving students, my first dream was to become a medical doctor.
I was strong in Biology and Chemistry, but Physics became my biggest challenge not because I lacked capability, but because at that stage I did not receive the kind of conceptual guidance that could make me truly love or understand it. Physics slowly became intimidating, and despite my strengths, I could not crack medical entrance exams.
This was disappointing, but it was not the end. Sometimes failure does not end a dream; it redirects it.
I decided: if I cannot become Dr. through MBBS, I will become Dr. through knowledge, research, and PhD.
That mindset changed my destiny.
I joined Allahabad University (BSc Chemistry), and there I experienced something extraordinary: incredible professors who transformed subjects into passion.
For example, Zoology, once my most favorite subject, became less interesting because teaching quality did not inspire me. Chemistry and Botany became my deepest passions because my professors taught with brilliance. Physical Chemistry, once frightening, became something I genuinely loved.
This taught me another important lesson: a great teacher can change your destiny. Teachers can ignite passion, but only if the student is equally ready to stay focused, disciplined, and willing to work hard.
During graduation, I excelled academically, but Botany practicals, especially fine section cutting, were challenging for me despite strong theory performance. So, when it was time for Master’s, although I loved both Botany and Chemistry deeply, I chose Chemistry because I was more fascinated by practicals, reaction mechanisms, laboratory work, and scientific depth.
I chose Chemistry for my Master’s because I was deeply fascinated by reaction mechanisms, laboratory experiments, research possibilities, and scientific discovery.
By then, I was no longer just trying to become “Dr.” I was dreaming of becoming a scientist.
I realized that meaningful achievement requires not just dreams, but dedication, resilience, and consistent hard work.
What led you to an offbeat, unconventional and unique career in Biological Research?
My career was shaped by a combination of curiosity about life and evolution, strong desire for independence, fear of an unfulfilled life, love for Biology, Chemistry, and research, excellent professors, academic challenges, family pressure to become independent, excellent mentors, academic setbacks, family expectations, personal discipline, and a deep desire to do something meaningful with my life.
The major turning points were my failure in medical entrance due to Physics, leading to the discovery that there are multiple ways to become “Dr.”, Allahabad University professors transforming my academic direction, and falling in love with Chemistry and research.
I always felt deeply that human life is precious, and if I was born as a human being, I must strive to do something meaningful not only for myself but for society.
I did not want to simply exist. I wanted to contribute.
That aspiration became my fuel.
I realized that success is not always about one exam; it is about finding another route to your purpose.
I always believed that if a student has true dedication, focus, motivation, and willingness to study hard, then despite challenges, he or she can absolutely create a bright destiny.
How did you plan the steps to get into this career?
My journey was not a perfectly designed roadmap, but it was powered by dedication and resilience.
While I was studying, social pressure around marriage kept increasing. Many people around us believed that once a girl reaches a certain age, marriage should become the priority.
But I had a different fire within me. I wanted a career. I wanted purpose. I wanted to prove that with dedication and hard work, one can shape destiny.
I started my research career at Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, in the area of synthetic antimalarial drug discovery. My work was mainly focused on designing synthetic substitutes for Artemisinin, an important antimalarial drug originally isolated from the Chinese traditional medicinal herb Artemisia annua. Artemisinin is highly effective against malaria, but there are practical limitations associated with its natural-source dependency, limited availability, and complex total synthesis.
Scientific studies had shown that the six-membered peroxide ring system, specifically the 1,2,4-trioxane ring, is the active pharmacophore responsible for antimalarial activity. Based on this understanding, our lab focused on designing and synthesizing simpler synthetic peroxide analogues that could mimic the active pharmacophore of Artemisinin while being more practical, cost-effective, and suitable for wider industrial manufacturing.
We worked on the synthesis of 6-, 7-, and 8-membered synthetic peroxide molecules and evaluated their antimalarial activity. We also worked on other derivatives related to Artemisinin, such as Artemether and Arteether, which are clinically relevant antimalarial derivatives and are marketed by companies such as IPCA.
This experience was my first real exposure to drug discovery research, where I understood how medicinal chemistry connects molecular design, synthesis, structure–activity relationship, biological activity, scalability, and therapeutic relevance.
That work naturally led me toward a PhD because I realized that I did not want to stop at laboratory execution. I wanted to understand drug discovery more deeply how molecules are designed, synthesized, optimized, characterized, and evaluated for biological relevance. CDRI gave me the scientific foundation, confidence, and research direction to pursue a PhD in organic/medicinal chemistry.
After MSc, while working as a research intern at CIMAP, I learned at the very last moment about the CDRI PhD entrance opportunity. My friends told me that the deadline to fill the form had passed and now I could not do anything.
I rushed there with my documents. The entrance exam was about to begin.
By God’s grace, I was allowed to appear.
I cleared the written exam.
Then came the interview.
A highly respected panel including the Head of Medicinal Chemistry, CDRI, Head of the Chemistry Department, Lucknow University, and senior academic leaders interviewed me.
I got selected.
Not only selected, my HOD himself took me under his mentorship.
That selection changed everything. That moment changed my life.
CDRI was not just a PhD admission.
It was freedom.
It was an identity.
It was to protect my career.
CDRI became my first true career breakthrough, my scientific identity, my protection against social pressure, and my path toward meaningful achievement.
My father then firmly supported me, saying, “Now she has a career path. Her marriage will never come at the cost of her career.”
That support changed everything.
Even when marriage discussions continued, my father clearly refused alliances where I would have to sacrifice my PhD. That was a turning point not just academically, but existentially.
My PhD mentor also gave a strict condition: “No marriage during PhD.”
For me, that was a blessing because it allowed me to fully dedicate myself to research.
Getting selected into CDRI was my true first breakthrough.
It reinforced my lifelong belief: if you are dedicated, prepared, and willing to work hard, one opportunity can completely transform your destiny.
Can you explain the problem statement of your PhD and talk about your research? What real world implications does it have?
My PhD research was in the area of synthetic antimalarial drug discovery, with the objective of designing and synthesizing simple, synthetic, cost-effective analogues of Artemisinin.
The problem statement was very clear: Artemisinin is a powerful antimalarial compound, but its dependence on plant extraction and its complex synthesis make it difficult to rely on as the only long-term scalable solution, especially for a disease like malaria that affects large populations in resource-limited regions.
The scientific question was:
Can we design simpler synthetic molecules that retain the essential antimalarial pharmacophore of Artemisinin, especially the peroxide functionality, but are easier to synthesize and potentially more scalable?
Our research focused on the 1,2,4-trioxane/peroxide pharmacophore, which is responsible for antimalarial activity. We synthesized different peroxide-based scaffolds, including 6-, 7-, and 8-membered peroxide analogues, and studied how structural changes influenced activity.
The work involved:
- Designing molecules based on Artemisinin pharmacophore understanding
- Multi-step organic synthesis
- Reaction optimization
- Purification and structural characterization
- Structure–activity relationship understanding
- Biological activity evaluation in collaboration with relevant screening teams
The real-world implication of this research was very important. Malaria is a major public health problem, and affordable, scalable antimalarial therapies are essential. If synthetic analogues can be designed successfully, they can reduce dependence on natural sources, improve manufacturability, reduce cost, and support wider access to treatment.
For me personally, this PhD built my foundation in medicinal chemistry, synthetic strategy, analytical characterization, problem-solving, and research discipline. It trained me to think scientifically not just to make compounds, but to understand why a molecule is designed, how structure controls function, and how laboratory research may eventually connect to patient benefit.
After your PhD, why did you decide to do a PostDoc at Temple University?
From the beginning, I had a deep interest in cancer research. Cancer cases have been increasing significantly, and I always wanted to contribute to an area that had strong real-world medical relevance. After working on antimalarial drug discovery during my PhD, I got the opportunity to work on oncology-related drug molecules during my postdoctoral research at Temple University, USA. After the PhD thesis submission, I started to apply to my candidature as post doctoral fellow in different international universities and also with professors whose work found interesting to me.
After submitting my PhD thesis, I proactively explored postdoctoral opportunities by applying to international universities and reaching out to professors whose research closely aligned with my scientific interests. I carefully identified research groups working in areas relevant to my expertise and career goals, and tailored my applications to demonstrate both my technical background and my motivation to contribute to their ongoing work.
Although the therapeutic area changed from malaria to oncology, the scientific foundation was connected. My PhD had trained me in organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry thinking, molecular design, structural characterization, and problem-solving. These same capabilities were required in oncology drug research.
At Temple University, my work involved:
- Synthesis of biologically relevant molecules
- Medicinal chemistry-oriented molecular design
- Reaction development and optimization
- Purification and characterization of compounds
- Understanding how structural changes may influence biological potential
So, while the disease area was different, the core scientific skills were related. The postdoc helped me broaden my research exposure from infectious disease drug discovery to oncology drug discovery. It also gave me international exposure, independence, and confidence to work in a global academic research environment.
However, personally, staying in a foreign country without family was difficult for me. I am a very social and family-oriented person. I enjoy being around family, friends, relatives, and celebrating festivals in a larger cultural and emotional setting. In the USA, despite the scientific opportunity, I felt homesick and personally dissatisfied. I realized that for long-term happiness and productivity, I needed to be in an environment where I felt emotionally connected and socially grounded.
That is why I decided to return to India. It was not because I did not value the postdoc; it was because I understood that professional success must also align with personal well-being.
My internal formula throughout my career was:
Dream + Fear + Discipline + Hard Work + Resilience + Continuous Efforts = Destiny
My path was:
School: Biology dream
Medical setback: Redirection
Graduation: Chemistry + Botany passion
Master’s: Strategic Chemistry specialization
Internship: CIMAP
Breakthrough: CDRI PhD
Global Exposure: Postdoctoral Research in USA
Leadership: Pharmaceutical and Analytical R&D leadership
I learned that each stage was a ladder.
At every stage, focus mattered because even with great opportunities, students can lose direction if they lack focus and discipline.
Dreams alone are not enough. Focus, discipline, dedication, and hard work are what convert dreams into reality.
How did you get your first break?
After returning from my postdoctoral research, I was looking to shift from academic research to the pharmaceutical industry. I wanted to apply my scientific training in a more structured, regulated, product-oriented environment where research connects directly to real medicines, regulatory submissions, manufacturing, and patient impact.
I got the opportunity at Teva Pharmaceuticals through a combination of my scientific background and professional network. Several of my seniors, friends, and colleagues from CDRI were already working in industry. A few of them helped forward my CV to the relevant authorities. I went through the interview process and got selected.
This taught me a very important lesson: capability is essential, but relationships, credibility, networking, and professional brand also open doors. Good relationships with seniors, peers, and colleagues can expose us to the right opportunities at the right time.
Teva is a global pharmaceutical company known for generic medicines, APIs, specialty products, and regulated pharmaceutical development. It operates in a highly regulated environment where quality, compliance, scientific robustness, and regulatory expectations are extremely important.
At Teva, I worked for around 13 years, and my experience covered Chemical R&D, Analytical R&D, and Quality Compliance. This gave me a very strong end-to-end understanding of how an API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) or pharmaceutical project moves from laboratory development to scale-up, technology transfer, regulatory readiness, and plant execution.
My CDRI and postdoc background helped me strongly at Teva because I already had deep training in synthesis, structure elucidation, reaction understanding, molecular design, and scientific troubleshooting. I could understand not only the analytical result, but also the chemistry behind why an impurity may form, why a method may fail, why a reaction condition may affect quality, and how analytical data can support process decisions.
At Teva, I learned how science operates in a regulated industrial environment. In academia, the focus is mainly discovery and publication. In the pharma industry, the focus is reproducibility, documentation, compliance, patient safety, regulatory defensibility, and successful product delivery.
Overall, Teva shaped me from a scientist into a regulated-industry professional. It gave me strong combined exposure to:
Chemical R&D + Analytical R&D + Quality Compliance + Regulatory Expectations + Technology Transfer + Plant Support
This integrated experience made me more effective because I was not looking at any function in isolation. I could connect chemistry, analytics, quality, compliance, process robustness, impurity strategy, scale-up challenges, GMP expectations, and regulatory requirements into one complete product-development mindset.
My journey at Teva shaped me from a scientist into a regulated-industry professional. It gave me strong exposure to ICH guidelines, GMP expectations, analytical lifecycle, method validation, impurity control, documentation discipline, audits, cross-functional execution, and leadership.
What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?
Challenge 1: Physics fear
Solution: Redirected dream, not ambition.
Challenge 2: Social pressure and early marriage expectations
Solution: Academic excellence, clarity, and undeniable academic credibility.
Challenge 3: Internal pressure and maintaining focus
Solution: Discipline, resilience, and long-term meaningful purpose.
Challenge 4: Career uncertainty
Solution: Stayed flexible, but never gave up on independence.
Where do you work now?
Diageo is a global alcoholic beverage company, and in India it operates through United Spirits Limited.
Diageo’s business is focused on alcoholic beverages, premium and mainstream alcoholic beverage products
Its customers are not patients like in pharma. The customers are consumers, distributors, trade partners, and markets. However, even though it is not pharma, quality, safety, consistency, compliance, sensory performance, consumer trust, and brand integrity are extremely important.
My role at Diageo has been in Analytical R&D and Quality Systems, where I apply my scientific and regulatory-industry background to alcoholic beverage innovation, quality, analytical governance, and manufacturing support.
Today, I work in senior leadership roles across Analytical R&D, Quality Systems, and scientific governance.
What problems do you solve?
I ensure quality, safety, scientific excellence, and trust.
At Diageo, my work has included analytical method development, validation, quality systems, ISO-17025 readiness, proficiency testing, inter-lab harmonization, product quality support, manufacturing troubleshooting, and scientific governance.
Examples of my work include:
- Development and validation of GC/HPLC methods for alcoholic beverage matrices
- Analysis of volatile congeners in whisky and spirits
- Study of maturation-related compounds such as vanillin, syringaldehyde, coniferaldehyde, gallic acid, vanillic acid, 5-HMF, and other wood-derived markers which impart flavor, body, finish to the liquid.
- Analytical support for whisky maturation and cask studies
- Evaluation of different wood/cask types and their impact on chemical composition
- Support to first-batch approvals and product commercialization
- Investigation support for deviations, complaints, and quality issues
- Round-robin and proficiency testing coordination for inter-lab consistency
- ISO-17025 readiness, SOP harmonization, documentation control, and audit preparedness
- Instrument qualification and laboratory capability building
- Laboratory Information Management System /Learning Management System /Electronic Data Management System and quality-system governance support
- Cross-functional collaboration with plant QA, manufacturing, innovation, packaging, sensory, and regulatory teams
- Competition Benchmarking of Diageo products against competitor.
The key difference is that pharma is primarily driven by patient safety, ICH/GMP requirements, APIs, formulations, impurity control, and regulatory submissions. My work at Diageo is driven by consumer safety, sensory consistency, brand quality, product authenticity, maturation science, regulatory compliance, and batch-to-batch consistency.
But the common thread is very strong:
- Analytical accuracy
- Method robustness
- Data integrity
- Documentation discipline
- Risk-based thinking
- Quality governance
- Scientific problem-solving
Even though Diageo is not pharma, regulatory discipline and quality governance are still very valuable. So, in summary, my work changed from medicines to beverage alcohol, but my core professional identity remained the same: using analytical science, quality systems, and regulatory mindset to protect product quality, consumer trust, and business credibility.
What skills matter?
In addition to subject knowledge, hard work, focus, discipline, dedication, resilience, leadership, problem-solving, and adaptability, regulatory studies have helped me in my career
My regulatory studies helped me move from only doing scientific work to understanding the purpose, quality expectation, compliance requirement, and business relevance behind that work.
I strongly believe that if we are working in any industry, especially a regulated industry, knowing only the technical part is not enough. We must understand the complete ecosystem of that industry, the regulations, quality expectations, documentation requirements, customer expectations, intellectual property landscape, and approval pathways.
In the pharmaceutical industry, every category has specific mandatory regulatory requirements whether it is drug substance/API, drug product, key starting materials, raw materials, intermediates, excipients, packaging material, analytical methods, specifications, stability data, impurity profile, residual solvents, elemental impurities, nitrosamines, and documentation. These requirements are defined by regulatory guidelines and by the expectations of different markets such as US, EU, UK, Canada, Japan, India, and other regulated/semi-regulated markets. If a company wants to develop, manufacture, register, and sell a product in a particular market, it must comply with the applicable regulatory requirements of that market.
My Diploma in Drug Regulatory Affairs gave me strong understanding of ICH guidelines, GMP expectations, DMF requirements, NDA and ANDA pathways, regulatory submissions, documentation discipline, quality expectations, and lifecycle approach to product and method development.
This helped me work more efficiently because I could understand not only what work has to be done, but also why it has to be done, how it should be documented, and how it may be reviewed by regulatory authorities.
My Diploma in Drug Regulatory Affairs gave me strong understanding of:
- ICH guidelines
- GMP expectations
- DMF requirements
- NDA and ANDA pathways
- Regulatory submissions
- Documentation discipline
- Quality and compliance expectations
- Life cycle approach to product and method development
For example, in analytical R&D, method development and validation are not just laboratory activities. They support regulatory filing, product approval, commercial manufacturing, quality control, and patient safety. Regulatory knowledge helped me align my scientific work with ICH expectations, impurity control strategy, validation requirements, stability expectations, and dossier readiness.
In addition, I also completed a course in Patents and Intellectual Property Rights, which further strengthened my understanding of innovation protection, patentability, freedom-to-operate thinking, and the importance of protecting scientific inventions.
This was very useful because in R&D, we are not only generating data; we are creating knowledge, processes, methods, products, and intellectual assets. Understanding patents and IPR helped me appreciate how scientific innovation connects with business strategy and competitive advantage.
Overall, regulatory and IPR knowledge helped me become a more complete R&D professional. It enabled me to think beyond experiments and understand:
- What is the objective of the work?
- What quality standard is expected?
- What regulatory requirement must be met?
- How should the data be generated and documented?
- How does this work support filing, approval, commercialization, and business value?
So, regulatory studies helped me connect science, quality, compliance, intellectual property, and business purpose into one integrated professional approach.
In short, my Diploma in Drug Regulatory Affairs is relevant because it strengthened my understanding of regulatory thinking, compliance frameworks, documentation expectations, and quality systems. The diploma helped me think in a structured way about standards, audits, documentation, risk, compliance, and scientific defensibility.
What do you love about your work?
I moved from being a girl once pressured by fear into someone who now helps shape science, quality, and innovation.
This journey taught me that without discipline and focus, even talent can drift. With dedication and resilience, even challenges can become stepping stones.
No matter how talented you are, without focus and discipline, dreams can get derailed.
How does your work benefit society?
My work helps ensure quality, safety, trust, and scientific integrity.
I believe meaningful work is one of the best ways to honour life.
If you are satisfied with yourself, and if you are self-sufficient, you will be motivated to help others achieve their dreams.
A memorable work example?
Getting selected into CDRI remains one of the closest achievements to my heart because it was not just an academic achievement.
It was the turning point where my life changed from social expectation to self-defined purpose.
It proved that a focused, disciplined, and determined student can reshape destiny even under pressure.
Advice to Students?
My heartfelt advice:
- Your first failure is not your final destination.
- Good teachers can transform your life and seek them.
- But even the best teachers cannot help if you are not focused.
- Discipline, dedication, and resilience are non-negotiable.
- There are many routes to success.
- Education gives freedom of choice.
- Build a career that protects your identity.
- Dream meaningfully ; do not live without purpose.
- Stay focused, distraction is dangerous.
- Work hard, there is no substitute.
- Be disciplined;motivation fades, discipline stays.
- Respect teachers, but remember your effort matters most.
- Failures can redirect you, not destroy you.
- Dedication and resilience can brighten destiny.
- Always have gratitude for whatever you have in your life.
- Pay gratitude to your parents, teachers, situations, and circumstances in your life.
Most importantly, if a student truly has dedication, motivation, focus, discipline, and is ready to study hard and work hard, then despite challenges, he or she can absolutely make destiny bright.
Never let distraction or temporary setbacks derail your larger purpose.
Future Plans?
My future goal is to continue doing meaningful work, leading, mentoring, and contributing to science and society.
I want young students, especially girls, to know that your life can become much bigger than society’s default expectations if you stay focused and courageous.
Final Closing Message for Students
Good teachers can guide you.
Parents can support you.
Society can pressure you.
But ultimately, your focus, discipline, hard work, and dedication decide your destiny.
If you truly want to achieve something meaningful, and you are willing to work for it, life can become far brighter than your fears.
As you walk, as you take action, the path slowly starts becoming clear.
If one door closes, another door opens. Sometimes life redirects you not to stop you, but to guide you toward something even more meaningful.
If you are adamant about doing something big, purposeful, and meaningful in life, and if you are truly working hard with dedication, discipline, resilience, and honesty, the universe also starts aligning with your dream.
Dream big. Stay focused. Stay disciplined. Keep walking.
Your path will reveal itself.
Sometimes your dream may not happen exactly the way you first imagined, but if your intention is strong, your purpose is meaningful, and your efforts are sincere, life often gives you an even more powerful version of that dream.
So never stop because one plan failed.
Never think one setback defines you.
Keep moving. Keep learning. Keep believing.
Because if your dream is real, your effort is relentless, and your purpose is meaningful, life has a way of opening new doors and helping you create a destiny brighter than you once imagined.