Jamie Thomas
PIPS Host Organisation: Compass Pathways (Industry Co-funder)
Project Title: Understanding and Experiencing Activities in a Biotech Company

During Jamie Thomas’s placement at Compass Pathways, he had the opportunity to join the preclinical, business development, and science communication teams. In these teams, Jamie followed current and upcoming scientific work within the company, coordinated investigations into competitors, and monitored communication from the company.

In the preclinical team, Jamie researched two topics centered around depression-associated biomarkers in the blood and biased agonism of serotonergic receptors. For the business development team, he updated the company via weekly emails on relevant clinical trial activities and updated information on competitors. In the science communication team, Jamie proofread and edited press releases and had access to the @info mailbox to answer queries and support individuals interested in the company and its activities.

This placement allowed Jamie to gain experience in multiple areas of a biotech company and feel that he contributed positively to the work he was involved in. The experience opened his eyes to the industry, which has now become a major consideration for his future career paths, making the overall experience invaluable. In retrospect, Jamie found his work within the business development team the most fulfilling, as it provided a good platform to observe the application of the preclinical science he spent the majority of his time observing. Overall, the placement was a great opportunity for Jamie to gain experience in a new area, for which he is very grateful.