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Transcript

Data Science Advice for the Biochemical Senior

First in a series.

I should have looked to see this is biochemical rather than biomedical. I would therefore switch slightly away from Pharma and pay more attention to Agribusiness, which I kind of alluded to in talking about FDA approval processes in consumer ‘food products’. The US is going to stay a world leader in this. I’d pay a lot of attention to the processes of manufacture and distribution of veterinary drugs for pets as well as for beef, pork and poultry. Obviously the supply chain for potash and fertilizer components is of global significance. This end of the business will probably be less scrutinized by regulators in the public eye, meaning a better environment for both innovation and (unfortunately) for cowboy operations.

Major Points.

  1. Find the edges of the capabilities at the state of the art of biochemistry to understand what might happen next in the industry.

  2. Read the science fiction that inspires the innovators of the industry.

  3. Know your industry. Software tools will always change. Mastery of tools is always expected. Knowing the business give a superior knowledge.

  4. Understand the best practices and status quo processes. Understand how these are benchmarked for performance and compliance.

  5. Don’t mistake one company’s tech stack for what is actually possible. Know the technology for what it can do so that you might lead.

  6. Read big, thick books. Don’t wait for somebody else to ELI5.

  7. Write your own diary. Know what you were thinking 3 years ago.

  8. Recognize that different companies move at different paces. Even if things don’t change quickly or innovatively, the status quo maintains millions. Stability is valuable.

  9. Don’t be afraid to fail. Fail forward. Learn from your mistakes. Share your scars.

  10. AI will eventually make tools smarter, but chatbots only give short answers. You should be able to iterate them into full books on the subject by knowing smarter questions.

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Authors
Michael David Cobb Bowen