Meet the Team – Rhoanne McPherson (Associate Director of Operations)

In today’s Employee Spotlight, we’re highlighting our Associate Director of Operations, Rhoanne McPherson. Having progressed from Senior Scientist to Principal Scientist, and now to her current role, Rhoanne supports our scientists, allowing us to remain science-led and client-focussed so we can continually deliver high quality data for within defined budget and time constraints.

Learn more about what inspired Rhoanne to pursue a career in immunology and what scientific innovations she is most excited about at Concept Life Sciences below:

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How long have you been at the company?

“I joined Concept nearly 7 years ago as a Senior Scientist, during that time I progressed to Principal Scientist and more recently to Associate Director of Operations.”

 Who or what inspired you to pursue the career you have today?

“The immunology module from my undergrad degree really made me regret choosing biochemistry for my honours! To be perfectly honest though, it was my MSc supervisor who instilled my passion in immunology, and without whom I probably wouldn’t have pursued my PhD. He probably isn’t aware of how much of an influence he had on me – although the cat is probably out of the bag as he also works for Concept now.”

 What do you enjoy most about your role?

“The people, the diversity in the day-to-day, and helping our clients overcome their scientific challenges.”

 How has your role evolved since you joined the team?

“Having started as a Senior Scientist, my role evolved from being in the buzz of the lab and directing client studies to a more advisory and consultative role as a Principal Scientist. More latterly the focus of my role has shifted to support more of the team operations and overseeing the efficient delivery of studies across the entire translational biology team.”

 What’s the best advice you can give to someone who has just started their career?

“Stick with what interests you and be open to new challenges – it’s what gives you the passion for your role.”

 What is a typical day like for you?

“Each day can vary depending on requirements, but they mostly revolve around keeping in touch with our fantastic Team Leaders who oversee the day-to-day operational aspects of all of our studies, and we work together to ensure that we are delivering the best experience for our clients. We really appreciate how important timelines are to our clients and we pride ourselves on delivering within those constraints.”

 Can you tell us about any specific areas of immunology that you are excited to be working on?

“We’ve got some really exciting developments that we’re looking forward to telling people about. In terms of our Immunology and Biophysical Assay Services we’ve just launched our In-CERT platform to assist with cell and gene therapy discovery and development, but the area I’m most excited about is our continued efforts to add ever-increasing complexity and translatability to our assays with our 3D tumour assays. The ongoing goal is to design and offer platforms that better recapitulate the disease environment and mechanisms seen within the body, to gain more relevant information on drug efficacy – more offerings will be coming soon!”

 If you were a cell or protein, what would you be?

“I’m probably a bit biased, but I would say a T cell, with the way they respond to their environmental cues and effectively orchestrate other key players in the immune system – they definitely have characteristics to aspire to!”

Effective operational management is essential for any productive contract research organisation. Rhoanne’s in-depth knowledge of immunology, and ability to work closely with our Scientists and Team Leaders, is crucial for enabling us to ensure the successful delivery of our client studies. In addition, Rhoanne’s commitment to fostering a positive work environment is greatly appreciated.

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