Alk-Abelló is a Danish based pharmaceutical country that has a heavy focus on research and innovation in the field of allergy immunotherapy. I worked in their source materials facility and was primarily involved in the collection of various pollens used in product and in research. This year, ALK had their revolutionary new allergy immunotherapy approved for use in the US. Their design delivers the doses in a dissolvable tablet form instead of the more traditional approach of allergy shots. What this means is that during my time at ALK, I had the unique opportunity to see how a primarily research based company transitions into a production based company. Through this unique experience I gained invaluable insight into how the life sciences work in the professional word.
In addition, I had some
great hands on experience with practices in my field of study. It was
especially interesting to spend some time in the quality assurance (QA) lab
where I could see many of the tests that I studied in molecular biology being
used on a daily basis. I had the opportunity to pour my own gels, test unknowns
for water content, and check product uniformity through a microscope. I also got to see tests to verify protein
content in samples brought to the lab. Though
I did not spend a lot of time in the lab, I am grateful that I was able to get
a little exposure to how a lab is run at a company and how it differs from an
academic facility. The biggest initial difference was just the cleanliness. It
is clear that as a company, consistency is exceptionally important to make sure
the product is the same each time. It is easy to see how things like lab
cleanliness contribute to making a consistent product.
I was especially glad to
have the opportunity to work on a pollination history project. It was an excellent opportunity to learn
valuable excel skills as well as gain an appreciation for the importance of
good record keeping. I gained an
appreciation for the very explicit documents describing procedure. Maintaining consistency and quality struck me
as some of the biggest hurdles to overcome working with a biological product. In addition to this experience, I also had
the opportunity to work on experiments designed to test the best ways to
extract pollen from two different grass species. We subjected the cut grasses to varying water
amounts, temperatures, supplements, etc. to learn how to maximize the output of
high quality pollen. We also tried
leaving the pollen in the collection sheds for longer in order to see how long
the would drop useful amounts of pollen.
I was especially glad to
have the opportunity to work on the pollination history project. It was an excellent opportunity to learn
valuable excel skills as well as gain an appreciation for the importance of
good record keeping. I gained an
appreciation for the very explicit documents describing procedure. Maintaining consistency and quality struck me
as some of the biggest hurdles to overcome working with a biological product. In addition to this experience, I also had
the opportunity to work on experiments designed to test the best ways to
extract pollen from two different grass species. We subjected the cut grasses to varying water
amounts, temperatures, supplements, etc. to learn how to maximize the output of
high quality pollen. We also tried
leaving the pollen in the collection sheds for longer in order to see how long
the would drop useful amounts of pollen.
Ultimately, I am very
grateful for the opportunity that I had to be a part of the ALK team this
summer. The things that I learned are things that will help me to continue to
grow, both in an academic and professional experience. It was an excellent opportunity to start a
network of people who work in the field I am interested in working in, as well
as get some hands on experience both in a professional lab and in raw materials
collection from the field.
