Race in STEM

The latest Race in STEM podcast saw global community manager Steven Fuller chat to Zahir Carrington, a medical tech sales professional based in the US.

Growing up in Philadelphia, a strong family dynamic has been a key foundation of Zahir’s life from an early age. “I grew up in a very big family, a very close family. If you messed with one of us, you messed with all of us. If I think about some of the values that we had as kids, early on it was always to watch out and look out for each other as cousins, being the oldest of two younger brothers.” But most importantly of all, “I was always surrounded by a lot of love from all these people as well.”

Zahir’s enjoyed a varied career, which started as a professional basketball player. But despite his natural talent for sport, his parents would only allow him to get involved in extracurricular activities if he was doing well at school. Everything had to be based on strong educational foundations.

“I remember vividly my dad standing over me at the kitchen table as I’m practising my penmanship and cursive handwriting which you don’t even use anymore, but they were so dialled into ensuring that we had all the necessary schools to be taken seriously in the world and to be in a better situation. I hated it as a kid, I couldn’t stand it as a kid, but I really, really appreciate it now.” That academic grounding proved to be crucial in paving the way for his future success.

Listen to the complete conversation to hear more about the importance of family in Zahir’s career, how he became a successful account manager for a global pharmaceutical company, and how hard work and commitment have allowed him to make the most of life’s varied opportunities.

Part of The IN Group Communities, Race in STEM a safe, judgement-free space to share one another’s experiences and ideas. Together, we can challenge the status quo and showcase the excellence of the underrepresented in STEM.

Keep in touch and find out more about RACE in STEM!

For this month’s Race in STEM podcast, global community manager Steven Fuller caught up with Rapulu (Ral) Ogbah, a pharmacovigilance and lifecycle management quality assurance professional based in the UK.

Born in Nigeria and part of the Igbo tribe, Ral moved to Ireland when he was a child and has lived in Europe ever since. Family has always had a huge impact on his educational and career journey: “A whole lot of my upbringing has always been dictated by my immediate family, specifically my parents and even more specifically, my mum, who had a huge influence on my life. So growing up in an African family, there’s always that element of, you must respect your elders, you must respect authority, you have to listen.”

But Ral’s not the kind of person to blindly accept the world for what it is. In fact, he’s already recognised as a powerful changemaker in life sciences. He’s the founder of the Black Pharma community, which aims to amplify voices and increase the representation of ethnically diverse professionals across the pharmaceutical industry.

“I would actually say I’m a walking contradiction, because I wanted as much as possible to follow my own path, and I am quite headstrong. Anybody who knows me would describe me as a contrarian. I would do things exactly the opposite to what the general population is doing. Whether on purpose or not, I’m not 100% sure!”

Listen to the complete conversation to hear more about the impact of family on Ral’s career, how he became an associate director for lifecycle management, regulatory compliance and PV QA for a global pharmaceutical company, and how Black Pharma is changing the lives of students, graduates and experienced professionals across the UK, US, Africa and Asia.

Part of The IN Group Communities, Race in STEM a safe, judgement-free space to share one another’s experiences and ideas. Together, we can challenge the status quo and showcase the excellence of the underrepresented in STEM.

Keep in touch and find out more about RACE in STEM!

For the latest Race In STEM podcast, our global community manager Steven Fuller caught up with Mandy Budwal-Jagait, a mother of two and senior good clinical practice professional based in the Midlands.

The daughter of immigrants from India, Mandy was brought up in a religious household. What kind of impact did growing up as a woman of colour and of faith have on her educational journey and her decision to pursue life sciences as a career? In Mandy’s words, “Sikhism is about fighting for your rights and equality, rising against injustice.” In that respect, her religion represents her perfectly as a person, as a professional and as an advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion.

The teachings of her religion have been supplemented by a focus on education: “Education comes first, because once you have your education, no one can really take that away from you. Opportunities open. You’ll never be reliant on anyone else if you can kind of support yourself in that regard. If you’ve got a good education behind you, you have more job prospects. It wasn’t a case of, when I grow up, the expectations for me were to get married and have a family. I’m quite lucky in that regard, whereas culturally I know that has been an expectation for others. For me, it was very much, you take the opportunities that are available and you run with it.”

Listen to the complete conversation to hear more about the part Mandy’s faith has played in her career, her journey to head of GCP at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and how we can achieve better representation within the STEM space.

Part of The IN Group Communities, Race in STEM a safe, judgement-free space to share one another’s experiences and ideas. Together, we can challenge the status quo and showcase the excellence of the underrepresented in STEM.

Keep in touch and find out more about RACE in STEM!

The latest Race In STEM podcast saw our global community manager Steven Fuller catch up with Netra Macon, an HR professional within the life sciences healthcare sector, based in New York. 

Being exposed to different lifestyles, cultures and communities from an early age has helped to shape Netra into the openminded individual she is today. Just as her upbringing was geographically polarised – she was born in North Carolina but grew up in New York – her experience of school before second grade could not have contrasted more with her experience from second grade onwards. Having attended a nursery school where the children were predominantly of colour, she suddenly found herself in a new school among only a handful of minority children.

“The school I attended up until second grade closed suddenly and then I had to go to a school that was predominantly white, and it was a handful of us minorities and I was the only black kid in the class. So that was an experience that was very unique and different, and as a child you don’t know if it’s because it’s just a new school. That point of reference of colour and race was just not part of the conversation.”

Growing up, HR wasn’t a career path she could have foreseen: “I did not wake up one day deciding I want to be an HR professional. I had no idea what that meant.” In fact, she had planned to be a journalist. Now a global people lead and board advisor who forges talent strategies, instigates DEI initiatives and connects people at all levels, she’s certainly exceeded her own expectations. 

Listen to the complete conversation to hear more about Netra’s remarkable personal journey – one where she’s learned that we should avoid putting each other in boxes, and appreciate that we all show up in different ways before we can have effective discussions about culture and people.

Part of The IN Group Communities, Race in STEM a safe, judgement-free space to share one another’s experiences and ideas. Together, we can challenge the status quo and showcase the excellence of the underrepresented in STEM.

Keep in touch and find out more about RACE in STEM!

For the latest Race In STEM podcast, Steven Fuller, global community manager for Race in STEM, caught up with Bimpe Shitta-Bey on the importance of education, how to balance learning with the internal pressure to socialise with your peers, and why Desmond’s is an important cultural touchpoint for people of African descent growing up in the UK.

Bimpe is a regulatory strategy lead based in London. One of the most striking things about her is her strong sense of purpose and endless positivity. But despite her spontaneity and desire to make the most of opportunities when they come along, she’s never lost that clear vision of what she wants to achieve.

“I’ve always been lucky because I’ve always had a real sense of self, what I wanted to do. Like everybody, you can be kind of pulled by what others are doing, but in myself I know what the right thing is and what I want to do, what I’m trying to get to, and so I don’t allow myself to be moved from that path. And I think that’s always done me good – just do the thing that it’s telling me inside to do, not what’s going on outside.”

Trained as a pharmacist but realising very early on that the life of a pharmacist wasn’t for her, Bimpe went on to complete her PhD in pharmacy and embarked on a career that’s taken her from the civil services to global pharma and small start-up companies. Now, as a regulatory strategy lead, she draws upon her diverse experience in the pharma and biotech industry to devise and implement innovative regulatory strategies and manage complex and novel regulatory issues.

Listen to the complete conversation (or watch on YouTube) to hear more about her fascinating personal and professional journey, characterised by an incredibly powerful drive and an infectiously positive outlook on life.

Part of The IN Group Communities, Race in STEM a safe, judgement-free space to share one another’s experiences and ideas. Together, we can challenge the status quo and showcase the excellence of the underrepresented in STEM.

Keep in touch and find out more about RACE in STEM!

In the latest Race in STEM podcast, Steven Fuller, global community manager, sat down with Dr. John Ndikum to talk making a difference, breaking through barriers and finding the right voices which resonate with you as an individual. 

Dr John Ndikum is an author, educator, pharmaceutical physician, clinical researcher, and currently, medical affairs professional based in the UK. Although he’s achieved so much, one of the most striking things about him is his humility and desire for continual learning. 

“I do remember being in a hospital with my dad when I was about three years old in Cameroon and while we were waiting, we were seeing these people in white coats. I remember turning round to my dad and saying, ‘Who are those people, why are they wearing lab coats?’ ‘Those are doctors, John.’ I said, ‘Wow, what do they do?’ He said, ‘They help people.’ And I said, ‘I want to do that when I grow up.’” 

After going to medical school at Bart’s, John was a doctor in the NHS for around seven years before completing his master’s in public health at Yale University. He worked in clinical trials before moving into medical affairs. As a senior medical affairs manager, he’s involved in pre-paunch strategy and planning, strategic insight gathering and HCP engagement, collaborative working and cross-functional education. 

Listen to the complete conversation to hear more about his fascinating personal and professional journey, in which a desire to help others, through the many insights and experiences he’s gained along the way, has been a defining characteristic. 

Part of The IN Group Communities, Race in STEM a safe, judgement-free space to share one another’s experiences and ideas. Together, we can challenge the status quo and showcase the excellence of the underrepresented in STEM.

Keep in touch and find out more about RACE in STEM!

In this episode, Steve caught up with the incredible Arrash Masoomi, recruitment extraordinaire-turned-mentor, transformational coach, and trainer. 
As a Recruitment Specialist with over 12 years of experience in the Life Science Industry, Arrash has had the privilege of working with the leading Pharmaceutical, Biotech and Consultancy companies in the World, and he is globally recognised as an expert in Contract Recruitment and Biometrics.
A passionate mental health advocate, Arrash now focuses on delivering Recruitment Training, Mentoring and Coaching, having received an ICF Accreditation Diploma in Transformational Coaching.

Part of The IN Group Communities, Race in STEM a safe, judgement-free space to share one another’s experiences and ideas. Together, we can challenge the status quo and showcase the excellence of the underrepresented in STEM.

Keep in touch and find out more about RACE in STEM!

How can we create the conditions for greater representation in STEM? How do we confront the barriers disproportionately faced by international STEM students, and what do those barriers look like? To help us explore all this and much more, Steve is joined by the incredible Karen Bastin, who shared her thoughts and experiences of working and studying in science and tech all over the world. 

Karen Bastin is a dynamic and experienced Lead Technical Analyst at MasterCard, based in Dublin, Ireland. With a background in product and software analysis, Karen’s expertise lies in driving innovation and efficiency, whilst her diverse range of hobbies outside of work showcases her creativity and passion for life and travel.

Part of The IN Group Communities, Race in STEM a safe, judgement-free space to share one another’s experiences and ideas. Together, we can challenge the status quo and showcase the excellence of the underrepresented in STEM.

Keep in touch and find out more about RACE in STEM!

Listen to our recent Race in STEM episode featuring Dr. Dammy (Adedamola) Olayanju.  
Dammy is the Product Manager for Qkine. He is responsible for defining product roadmap and planning new product launching strategies for successful commercialisation. He is also responsible for the management of company’s high-quality products, providing technical and scientific support for customers, strategic partners, and the wider community. Prior to joining Qkine, Dr. Dammy was a Principal Scientist at Manchester BIOGEL working on the development and application of robust 3D platforms such as stem cell and organoid technologies for use in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and drug screening and development. He also gained his post-doctoral training and PhD in Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of Liverpool, UK.

Visit our website at www.trinnovogroup.com/race-in-stem 

Part of The IN Group Communities, Race in STEM a safe, judgement-free space to share one another’s experiences and ideas. Together, we can challenge the status quo and showcase the excellence of the underrepresented in STEM.

Keep in touch and find out more about RACE in STEM!

If you want to know what resilience looks like, to understand how to take a 'No' and turn it into a positive, or how to be a success after relocating: you will certainly gain some insight through Razanne Kharis' lens.

Having been in the healthcare industry for more than 12 years, Razanne has cultivated her passion and skills through working with patients, teams, and clients. At the heart of her journey lies a profound commitment to serving patients and helping develop both individuals and organizations to ultimately provide the best health care to patients. Through her experience, Razanne has developed a deep comprehension of how to build high-performing teams and drive development and results by strategizing, implementing, and executing at the highest standards. 

Razanne believes that being agile and adopting a growth mindset is key to ensuring success and achieving excellence in delivery. She strives to foster an environment where every voice is heard and valued, as this not only brings out the best in individuals but also creates a synergistic atmosphere that drives collective achievement and transforms vision into reality.

Visit our global platform at trinnovogroup.com/race-in-stem 

Part of The IN Group Communities, Race in STEM a safe, judgement-free space to share one another’s experiences and ideas. Together, we can challenge the status quo and showcase the excellence of the underrepresented in STEM.

Keep in touch and find out more about RACE in STEM!