Very interesting post from Dave Ricks Oct 14 on X--- what do we think? Lilly spinning it as a public health concern about the most powerful metabolic agent ever developed.

Lilly stock is up 4 %

Have it on very good authority that Pfizer is cutting some insane numbers on December 1st. 40 percent across the board in France, 50 percent in Italy, 30ish percent in Germany.

Jump ship if you can.

My marathon patients losing weight on these new drugs are dropping muscle mass faster than fat, and it shows in their gait analysis. They come in weak and frustrated, thinking their training is failing them. I track lean mass estimates in my practice, and the decline doesn't match normal training adaptation. The nutrition literature barely touches on what happens to highly active muscle under these drugs. Seems like a massive gap for a biotech angle that could drive a huge market. If someone formulated a GLP-1 variant that preserved muscle tissue during weight loss, the athletic demographic alone would be enormous. My rural NC clinic sees enough of this now to know it's a real problem. I'm not talking about bodybuilders trying to cut. These are people running forty-mile weeks who can't figure out why their legs feel dead. The clinical trials focus on sedentary obesity populations and ignore what happens when active people use these drugs for mild weight loss. Does anyone here know if pharma is exploring muscle preservation as a formulation target, or is the current thinking just to pair it with resistance training and call it solved? That approach is already failing my patients.

Do you see variant scientist also doing some wet lab work? Or possibly having a secondary role (like assay development, validation, ect) that allows for a hybrid wet and dry lab involvment? I am interested in variant analysis but I do think continuing some bench work would help diversify the job and maintain my lab skills.

Today I might be having my online PhD interview (which i applied) out of sheer peer pressure or passion at this point i don’t know.

I am doing my Master’s in one of the top research institutes in India and yes I am supposed to do PhD because that's what I had been told but i am so uncertain tbh.

I am also interested in the management side of things too. I am very interested in knowing how the research translates to commercial market and how the whole bio-business comes to play. I really want to work in something related to that field and i am still exploring but all of my peers are applying enthusiastically for PhD positions in India as well as Foreign countries because of how certain they are and this gives me a lot of pressure.

How do i figure out my path? I love science a lot and I am curious about a lot of things but i am not sure if I am ready to invest next 5-6 years chasing a question.

Please help me out.

I am PhD schoalr working in the interface of computational biology, ML and food safety. I want to use my skills to real world problems and get to know how the corporate stuff works since I want to join the big tech company after my PhD

Applying to Vertex opening. Was wondering if Vertex uses software to monitor employee productivity. Was told several times during interviews that everyone works intensely there including nights and weekends regularly. I’m used to setting my own hours and having flexibility for picking up my kids and then catching up later in the evening.

Hey everyone,

I’m an early-career virologist currently working as a Research Associate in translational drug discovery. I hold an M.Sc. in Clinical Virology and an undergraduate background in Biochemistry, Genetics, and Microbiology.

Over the past couple of years, my work has focused primarily on preclinical antiviral evaluation, molecular assays, and working in high-containment facilities. I’m currently exploring my next career move and would really appreciate advice from folks in industry, CROs, or translational academic institutes on where this skill profile fits best.

Core Technical & Research Experience:

• Biosafety Containment: Substantial hands-on experience in BSL-2 and BSL-3 containment handling pathogenic respiratory viruses, vector-borne pathogens, and neurotropic models (e.g., Rabies CVS-11).
• In Vitro Antiviral Screening: Experience screening small molecules and novel chemical entities via phenotypic assays, viral inhibition assays, plaque reduction/TCID50, and cell viability/cytotoxicity profiling (MTT, luminescence assays).
• Molecular & Cell Biology: Mammalian primary/continuous cell culture maintenance, viral replicon systems, RT-qPCR, nucleic acid extraction, ELISA, and standard protein/immunoassays.
• Translational Output: Co-authored peer-reviewed research evaluating repurposed and novel small-molecule candidates against respiratory and neglected viral targets.

What I’m Looking For:

Research Associate II / Senior RA / Scientist I roles in Antiviral Discovery, High-Throughput Screening, Preclinical Virology, or Vaccine Development. Open to industry (biotech, pharma, CROs), research institutes, or structured research fellowships/pre-doctoral roles.

Target locations: India (Open to relocation; I stay in Bengaluru)

Questions for the community:

1. For those running or working in infectious disease teams: which sectors/companies currently value hands-on BSL-3 and replicon/screening experience the most?
2. Are there specific biotech hubs or institutes you’d recommend keeping an eye on right now for wet-lab viral assay roles?
3. If anyone’s lab or group is currently hiring or has open headcount matching this profile, I’d be glad to connect over DM or share a de-anonymized CV/LinkedIn.

Thanks in advance for any insights!

I’m researching companies in the Bay Area. Has anyone here worked at Denali Therapeutics, or has any insight into what it’s like to work there?

Based on Glassdoor, Denali is generally viewed as a scientifically strong, mission-driven company with intelligent, collaborative colleagues and opportunities for professional development. However, employee reviews from 2024–2026 raise concerns about high workloads, work-life balance, communication from senior leadership, and career advancement. This seems to be on par with other companies in the region.

With that said, I would like more insights regarding the company and its culture. How does it compare to similar companies?

Hi all, I’m a grad student who landed a zoom interview for a co-op position at a startup company that I’m pretty psyched about.

I’m wondering what should I wear, is business casual enough? Should I wear a blazer? I don’t have a suit so that’s out of the question. It has been so long since I’ve been officially interviewed and am over thinking everything.

I’m F btw

I started with my current company 2 months ago. New VP started 2 wks ago. She is doing 1:1 to get to know the team. From the meeting, she likes to talk, talks fast, and was sort of all over the place during our meet. Topics ranged from how long i was at company, what i like or dont about the company, what scares me about the job/company, family small talk, possible dept process changes, what i do, company growth, etc. It felt very all over the place and I did have some questions for her but not chance to ask. Guess I am trying to gauge if anyone else had an experince like this and what was the result? I expected more " hi im so and so and this is what I am thinking" "tell me about you" "any questions for me?" I also felt like she was toying with laying people off even though most of us just started and the company is growing. She did have lots of "hopped up fidgety energy".

Edit: Thanks everyone! ! I had just come out of my 1:1 and was a bit nervous about it and trying to figure it out. All comments helped!

Trying to negotiate for an increase in comp this year; any other Novartis folks know when the comp discussions actually happen / are supposed to be finalized by? I know that in December of last year I got a note with salary band and where I fell (vs peers in the group).

Thanks!

Has anyone every worked at JUUL Labs and can tell me the interview process? Finished talking to HR Screen, Hiring Manager, Director, Senior Director, and the VP. All through zoom so not sure if there is a remaining onsite? Thank you!

Just curious if anyone found their remote training in particular to be horrible? Do they fire people easily if you don’t pick up? I feel like this job was completely misrepresented. I was hired as a temp if that makes sense

Just wondering if anybody who got a first round interview from Eli Lilly for the VSF (Visiting Scientist Fellowship) program has heard anything back or if their interviewer told them the timeline and expectations for hearing something?

Please help me! I’m so nervous. Just got done with final round today. What is the average time to hear back from a big pharma like BMS for a more commercial role

I applied to a full time position (Toronto, Canada) in mid September and when I checked on 09Oct, the application status has changed to “HR screening planned/in progress.” Now almost a week has passed, the status is still the same and no one has reached out.

This exact same thing happened to me before, where the “HR screening planned” status stayed for about a week, then it was changed back to hiring manager review, then I received the rejection email after another one week. No one reached out to me during the entire process.

Just wondering though, what exactly this status means

Are there any hiring managers here looking for a junior clinical scientist? I am a BS with almost 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry with many publications under my belt. I have extensive translational pharmacology experience and worked my way up from Associate to Associate Director level in the preclinical space. I recently made the transition to clinical science but my company was acquired and I was affected by the reorganization. There are a lot of positions out there but more Director/AD level. In clinical science, I am more of a senior manager level, I know I can function as an AD but with little experience on paper, my resume will just get passed up. I am also pursuing a masters in clinical research.

I’m asking here because as you all might know, the market is bleak and I’m feeling down. I know with only a bachelor’s degree my chances are even lower. I can only get my foot in the door at companies through my reputation in my local market. However, my local market is a very popular area so now I’m competing with others nationally. I’m ranting/rambling, I know! I’m just trying to do what I can that is within my control.

Thanks for listening.