“You need to surround yourself with bright individuals. You can't do it all by yourself, you need a good team.”
Director
Discovery Informatics
Lilly employee since 1989
Education
Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, India;
Master's in Biochemical Engineering, University of Calgary, Canada;
Master's in Computer Science, Union College, NY
What I Do for Lilly
I manage information technology groups in research to enable new approaches to drug development. I manage a staff of 37 IT and science professionals.
Career Path
I have had many assignments within the Lilly Research Labs. I started in the Agricultural Chemical research area performing Chemical modeling work. I then worked in the Elanco Animal Health unit developing Clinical Systems for New Drug Applications to the FDA. I became a liaison with the FDA for all electronic submissions and other IT work for Elanco R&D. I joined Discovery Research IT in 1996 to start the Bioinformatics and Cheminformatics groups. Before joining Lilly, I worked for about 5 years with IBM in upstate New York. I also worked at Johnson & Johnson in India.
The Reason I Came to Lilly
I always wanted to be at a place where I could use both my science and computer skills. I also wanted to work for a company I could relate to more easily in helping the community. I knew about Lilly through professional magazines and journals. During interviews, I developed an interest in the scientific research IT area.
Challenges or Struggles
Lilly has helped me grow by providing opportunities to learn variety of skills needed to be successful on the job and in life. For example, you have to be able to learn to manage your time more effectively and balance work family life issues. There's more to life than just work and this forces you to look at everything on your plate and decide where you can make the biggest contribution.
Ways I've Been Involved at Lilly
I'm involved in Consulting Pairs, a program to leverage diversity to maximize productivity in the work place. I have taught high school kids Economics through a Junior Achievement program class sponsored by Lilly. I'm very active in the Indian community and with The United Way. Lilly supports these communities through financial contributions and by being flexible at work.
