Unfortunately, not all prototypes make it to the finish line. Sometimes there are business reasons, and other times there are technical reasons. But even in those cases, the fundamental concept that we come up with through our research can often be transferred to a completely different kind of product. Occasionally, technologies we developed for textiles would end up in medical tapes. Or cell phones. Or coat hangers. (Our Command Hangers, of course.)

After eight years, I decided it was time for a change and went into management. Now I lead a large team of mechanical engineers and computational chemists (a merge between computer programming and chemistry) to help drive next-generation problems. My job is to make sure they can do their jobs in the most impactful way possible.

In many ways, it is just one level above what I was doing before. I meet with my division partners and make sure that what my teams are working on is bringing value to the corporation. Sometimes I ask my team to work on a crazy idea that pops into my brain. (They’re not shy about saying no.) Other responsibilities include managing the budget and finding the best resources for my team. I also get to shape the group through my hiring decisions.

Other aspects of my job are closely tied to data science. I work with large datasets (structured collections of data) on how people use both purchased and internally developed software, and part of my role is to analyze that data and make it actionable. In order to do this, I’ve learned programming, and I write my own code to dissect and present this information to my supervisor and the executive team. Additionally, we often need to track spending and understand its allocation, where these same skills come into play.

How I Chose the Profession

Back in the Soviet Union, my mother was a chemist and my grandmother was head of surgery at a hospital. (Yes, as both a woman and a Jew. She has a lot of stories, many involving blood libels of one sort or another.) My mother specialized in analytical chemistry and then went into teaching. When we moved to America, she continued working as a chemist for a bit before switching to computer programming (like the vast majority of Jews from the FSU). As a result, I have been exposed to chemistry essentially from birth.

In high school, I realized I have a real aptitude for it. I decided to leverage that while in college and took on many internships and lab research assistant assignments. I loved it. Studying chemistry gave me such a deep appreciation of HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s world. Once you learn enough chemistry, you start seeing the beauty of interconnectivity — how complex systems function in perfect synchronicity to achieve an outcome. You also start to realize just how little we truly understand.

At the same time, thanks to my grandmother, I was also exposed to medicine and surgery as a young child. The combination of these two drove me to pursue a career in developing new medications. The best way to develop a new drug is to become a synthetic chemist. So I applied to the best chemistry program in the world, at MIT. However, the market crash in 2008 and the subsequent meltdown of the pharmaceutical industry changed the course of my career quite a bit, and as a result, I ended up at 3M working on new materials.

To be a synthetic chemist, you need to get a PhD, and it must be with a professor who is well-known, ambitious, and will provide an excellent training.

How I Chose My Specialty

I specialize in organometallic chemistry, with a focus on using computational chemistry to advance new catalyst development. In other words, I use computer simulations to help create new kinds of reactions. I chose this area because it is the most impactful for the pharmaceutical industry. New reactions almost always translate into access to new drugs (or cheaper ways to make current drugs). After my sights shifted away from medicine, I used those same skills to work on new kinds of organic light-emitting diodes — the same types of things found in modern cell phones and TVs. That one was mainly because I liked the pretty colors.

What I Love Most About the Field

I love the diversity of problems. One day you can work on new reactions or molecules to help cure cancer, and another day you’ll be making lightbulbs or medical tapes or hangers, or adhesives that keep airplanes together. I also enjoy the understanding that comes with delving into how Hashem constructed our world.

What I Find Most Challenging

Dealing with failure is a major challenge at work. It can get very hard when everything you do fails and programs just don’t make any headway. Being persistent and keeping myself firmly grounded in the knowledge that Hashem is in charge makes it easier.

I’ll Never Forget When

I can’t disclose many work stories or clients, but I do love being able to apply my chemistry knowledge in my Gemara learning. I was learning the Rashi in Nazir that explains why it’s a kula (leniency) to use the shiur for a reviis of wine rather than a reviis of water to determine the minimum shiur of grape leftovers that will violate one’s nezirus. I took out a silver and Styrofoam cup and demonstrated the chemistry behind the Rashi to the kollel yungeleit.

Something I Wish People Knew About Chemists

There is no one stereotypical “chemist” personality type. Some chemists are your classic nerds who would rather spend the day looking at a microscope (in the case of a chemist, it would be an electron microscope). Others are extremely extroverted, absolutely love being around people, and can be rather chaotic. And each of these types can find an area within the chemistry field that fits their personality. For example, analytical chemists are generally very organized and detail oriented, and organic chemists are more like organized chaos.

How I’ve Seen the Field Change over the Years

There is a lot more emphasis on using large data sets and computer programming to solve problems. I would say this is becoming more and more of an expectation across all of the sciences.

My Advice for People Starting Out

You need to be curious and persistent. Ninety-five percent of the work I’ve done has failed — sometimes quite spectacularly (although, baruch Hashem, no explosions). But I persisted and succeeded. Learn to properly leverage your failed experiments to learn something new, and know what to adjust for the next attempt.

I would recommend spending time learning effective communication. Technical skills are great, and any good PhD program will make sure you work on those. Effective communication is always ignored. This is true both in technical communication (explaining your work in an intelligible way to an audience that doesn’t know your field) and in interpersonal communication. To paraphrase my PhD advisor — you can create the greatest thing in the world, but if you can’t properly communicate it, then you have done nothing.

DANIEL COHEN

Lincolnwood, IL

Principal Research Scientist, AbbVie Pharmaceuticals

Graduated From: Northwestern University, PhD; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Postdoctoral Work

Years in Field: 7

My Typical Workday

I’m a medicinal chemist at AbbVie who works in oncology drug discovery, designing and building molecules to treat diseased proteins. This approach enables the development of medicines with fewer side effects than those currently on the market. Diseased proteins, which are altered due to mutations in cancer cells, contribute to the cancer’s viability. Since cancer cells need these proteins to survive, the team that I direct works on developing a molecule that can inhibit the protein — block its activity and shut down its function. Another branch of our research involves immuno-oncology, in which we design molecules as agonists, to activate the immune system to fight certain forms of cancer. There are several stages in drug development, each of which is a specialty in itself. As the discovery team, our job is to identify the molecule that effectively treats a specific diseased protein. Once we do, it passes on to the process and development teams, where they develop the molecule into an administrable drug. At this point, the clinical team is responsible for administrating that drug in a clinical study. On any given day, I spend time in the lab preparing molecules, giving suggestions to the other chemists, and reviewing the data from the in vitro biologists and the DMPK team (the Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics team, whose role is to test the molecule in animals to evaluate how it behaves in the body). Based on their data, we will decide what to adjust in the molecule, and what further tests should be done.

In my seven years at AbbVie, I’ve worked on two projects that have by now advanced to the clinical phase, with a third one that’s close to it. We are currently working on two projects that look promising and will hopefully move on to the next phase.

How I Chose the Profession

I was raised in a traditional yeshivah background, and when I started college, I originally planned to get a business degree. But when I took my science prerequisites, I was hooked. I enjoyed the hands-on approach, the lab work. While it’s certainly an unconventional path for a frum person, my parents and rebbeim encouraged me, saying that if I was passionate about it, I should pursue it.

I was originally interested in going the academic route. After completing my undergraduate degree, I was offered a one-year position as an adjunct professor at SUNY New Paltz and really enjoyed it. I also enjoyed the research work I did in graduate school, and after completing my doctoral work and postdoctoral study, I applied for positions at several universities. However, the American academic world is very cutthroat, and the only offer I received was from Bar-Ilan University in Israel. My wife and I considered it, but decided that it wouldn’t work for our family to move overseas at that time.

Instead, my MIT advisor recommended I look into pharmaceutical research, which aligned with my skills. Since my wife is from Chicago, the job at AbbVie seemed like the perfect fit.

I’ve recently begun teaching as well; I’m an adjunct professor at Sarah Hartman Women’s College of Touro at HTC (Hebrew Theological College), as well as at Oakton College. 

What I Love Most About the Field

Finding that molecule and transitioning to the next step in a project. I get a thrill every time I put a molecule in a bottle and hand it to the in vitro biologist to test.

What I Find Most Challenging

Sometimes we can have a molecule that’s looking very promising, and then one piece of data comes back that destroys the entire thing and sends us back to the drawing board. But of course, that’s also what keeps us employed.

I’ll Never Forget When

When I was at MIT, I was the safety officer for the lab. One time, someone was working incorrectly with a chemical, and it burst into flames, setting off the sprinkler system in the entire building, which dropped about ten to 20 inches of water. Thankfully, no one was hurt. As the safety officer, it was my responsibility to go back into the building with the firefighters to ensure that the chemicals were safe. My colleagues got a real kick watching me put on those huge, yellow fireman boots and slosh through the building.

Something I Wish People Knew About Chemists

It’s not as scary as it sounds. People think of chemistry as an intense field for only the super-geniuses, but it’s really about following the steps. If you have an interest in it, go for it.

Also, realize that chemistry is its own language. I can have a conversation with a chemist in a different country and will understand exactly what they’re doing and what they’re seeking to achieve. 

How I’ve Seen the Field Change over the Years

It used to be that you could get a job with a master’s degree, but more and more, a PhD is necessary to get hired.

In addition, AI has made its way into the drug discovery field, assisting with the computation and research process. However, we humans are still needed. Even very smart machines can’t predict results.

My Advice for People Starting Out

Don’t get too anxious about the schooling; it’s not the end of the world if you don’t get an A on an exam. Talk to people in the field, understand what’s involved and the different specialty options.

LEVI BENNISH

Chicago, IL

Senior Polymer Scientist, ClostraBio, Inc.

Graduated From: University of Chicago, MA Chemistry, PhD Molecular Engineering

Years in Field: 4

My Typical Workday

My job focuses on designing and improving how medications are delivered in the body to make them safer and more effective. Our company’s focus is on lower gut delivery (lower intestine/colon). I mostly focus on nanoparticles that control the release of drugs to the lower gut. This has been a long-standing challenge in pharmaceutical development, as most items are rapidly absorbed through the stomach. My responsibilities include:

1) Nanoparticle design — I read pertinent scientific literature for the latest advancements.

2) Polymer synthesis — we work specifically with polymeric nanoparticles. These polymers must first be custom synthesized in-house using traditional polymer synthesis chemistry.

3) Development — I conduct lab experiments to study how drugs interact with different delivery systems and analyze data to optimize these systems.

4) Collaboration — I work closely with pharmacologists, biomedical engineers, and sometimes medical professionals to tailor delivery systems for specific therapies.

I’m at a small start-up, so there isn’t always a typical day. I usually get in at about 9 a.m. Sometimes my day starts with a meeting to talk with a potential collaborator (either at a university or a different company), or figuring out how to ship new samples to Europe because I’ve received news that some of the original shipment spilled. Sometimes it can be catching up with colleagues about a recent merger in the field.

I go into the lab to take a look at an overnight run on instrumentation. Or to check that the reaction is still stirring and the temperature is still at 140 degrees after leaving it overnight. I’ll spend some time purifying and analyzing reactions. It takes some time but is necessary. Next, I might go to a local university (a ten-minute drive) to use some of their analytical instrumentation (some of these cost $500K and are too expensive for a small company to purchase).

After lunch, I might work on my computer to analyze data or work on report writing. Writing and preparing presentations are an essential part of my job. It may be a small project report, or something quite lengthy like drafting a patent. Intellectual property (IP) protection is the cornerstone of any biotech company. If a company doesn’t have a patent on their inventions, the company will be almost worthless to investors, as any competitor will be able to copy their invention.

I might work on a presentation demonstrating the latest lab results for collaborators or potential investors. I also spend quite a lot of time reading relevant scientific literature to understand what others are doing and better understand the science of whatever I’m working on. Finally, I spend some time meeting with team members to discuss progress or solve problems. Collaboration is a big part of the job — both with our own internal team and with external scientific consultants as needed.

How I Chose the Profession

I was always interested in science in general and chemistry specifically. I like to help people and make a difference in their lives, and I also enjoy innovation and creativity. This field is the perfect combination of these qualities. I’m involved in the development of new medical treatments, working creatively in the laboratory on my own time and schedule.

And I love the innovation of the biotech start-up culture. It is a high-risk, high-reward environment with groundbreaking technologies. Some succeed and are worth multimillions and sometimes billions, while most go bust when they are proven to be duds. This is all part of the thrill of pioneering work. 

How I Chose My Specialty

I focus on drug delivery technologies, developing systems to safely and effectively transport drugs to their target sites in the body, with a particular emphasis on using polymers as delivery vehicles. Polymers are large molecules made of repeating small units linked together in chain-like structures, found in materials like plastic, rubber, and even DNA.

I chose this field because it applies innovative and creative approaches to overcoming persistent pharmaceutical challenges, such as delivering the right medicine to the correct location in the body at the right dosage. This is especially crucial in cancer therapeutics, where the goal is to precisely target cancer cells while minimizing harm to surrounding tissues. It’s a fascinating field that delves into atomic-level details, often determining whether a therapy succeeds or fails. 

What I Love Most About the Field

I love having the ability to make an impactful difference in patients’ lives. It’s an incredible feeling to work on projects that directly benefit others in such a crucial way. The combination of scientific problem-solving and the potential to transform health care is what makes this field so exciting to me. 

What I Find Most Challenging

The field of drug development is tough and unforgiving. Only about five percent to ten percent of new drugs that make it into clinical research (phase-1) make it through to FDA approval. It’s not always easy to be excited about new projects knowing that the odds are stacked against you. There’s a reason why prescription drugs cost so much money; the average cost of developing a new medicine in 2024 is estimated to be well over $2 billion, which encompasses the entire research and development and clinical trials. The process can take over a decade to get from the initial discovery to clinical trials to market launch.

Something I Wish People Knew About Chemists

How creative the work can be. Chemistry is often heavily associated with math, and some areas of chemistry are indeed very math heavy. But many chemistry fields don’t use much math at all — it’s really a lot of creativity. Tackling complex pharmaceutical questions often requires a lot of imagination and out-of-the box thinking.

How I’ve Seen the Field Change over the Years

It’s gotten incredibly more complex and nuanced. The detail and personalization of medical research is mind-boggling. The disease models of modified laboratory animals (mice or rats) are highly complex. For example, transgenic mice carry different DNA that can express specific proteins, which can help researchers better understand certain diseases.

My Advice for People Starting Out

For someone like me with a yeshivah background, I found math and engineering to be daunting. But I didn’t let it stop me; I decided to accept the challenge and worked hard through it with the help of remedial classes.

Don’t be afraid to try to learn as much as you can, especially in related fields such as pharmacology and biology. There are complex challenges out there that you may be able to tackle with your knowledge.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1039)