Please tell us about your experience on co-op.
As a biotechnology master student, I worked at a small biotechnology company in Cambridge, Surface Oncology, for 6 months from January to June, 2018 as a protein chemistry intern in CMC department.
Working as a protein chemistry Co-op in CMC team allowed me to do multiple things. The main task for the first four months was to qualify and characterize a lead candidate antibody and its target using different analytical methods, such as ForteBio Octet, HPLC and FPLC. Meanwhile, I also followed up other projects and helped to characterize the binding affinity between various antibodies and their targets using Octet as well as supporting size and charge-variant characterization with SDS-PAGE, CEX-HPLC and SE-HPLC. After finalizing the lead candidate antibody characterization, I jumped into a second project assisting with development of a new assay for adenine nucleotide measurement using HPLC.
Surface Oncology is a small company founded 4 years ago with 60 employees now. It has great working environment not only encouraging us to be open-minded during project discussion, but also recognizing of every employee’s thoughts and contribution to the company. The advantage of working in a small company is obvious. I could get involved in various project and communicate with more intelligent scientists from different department. Also, I could learn the whole upstream process from drug discovery to initial clinical phase instead of only focusing on one part. Being a small company like surface, it grew significantly fast and went to public this year. I was so blessed to witness Jeff, the CEO of Surface Oncology, rang the bell at Nasdaq with everyone else working in Surface. It’s such an extraordinary experience.
What is your favorite part about Northeastern?
Among all different places on campus, my favorite place is Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) where I had the biotechnology application lab course with Professor Kevin Broadbelt. First of all, I really like the design of the whole architecture and interior decoration which is simple, clean and unique. As a building functioning in science, it does not only have so many labs and conference rooms but also provide a common area for students and faculties where we can take a break and chat with friends.
Why did you choose to attend Northeastern?
First of all, Boston is the harbor of biotechnology companies. Northeastern has one of the best location for a biotechnology student as we can get more exposure of the industrial world. Secondly, the master program of biotechnology in NEU is a two-year program with four directions which convinced me that I can truly accumulate knowledge and grow my interest. Last but not least, the career service department of Northeastern is absolutely the most attractive part for anyone who wants to have successfully transition from academy to industry. There are so many working-related opportunities in NEU that no one can miss them.
What advice would you give to an incoming graduate student?
My advice for incoming grad students is cherishing your time. Unlike undergraduate students, grad students have much less time to complete their program while numerous club activities, workshops, networking events are available for us and many of them are time-consuming. Choose wisely to avoid wasting your time on something you may regret later. Good luck.
What are your plans after degree completion?
Since I’m going to officially graduated this summer, my next step is to secure a position in biotechnology industry related to protein characterization and accept more challenge as a research scientist.
