Matt Hancock
Albemarle Coporation, Senior R&D Chemist
Chemistry B.S., 1999
Ph.D. University of Cincinnati, 2003
Much of my senior year at ISU was spent applying to graduate schools. I
was fortunate to receive an internship with Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati and
worked in the pharmaceuticals division. At the end of my internship I began
graduate school at the University of Cincinnati. I began the doctoral program
studying organic chemistry under Dr. Allan Pinhas. In March 2002 I received my
M.S. and in May of 2003 I received my Ph.D.
In the spring of 2003 I attended the ACS national meeting and was fortunate to
interview with several companies on site. In the months that followed I traveled
to several follow-up interviews with various companies. The morning of my thesis
defense, I accepted a Scientist position with Millennium Pharmaceuticals in
Cambridge, MA.
Millennium Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company that is considered a
pioneer in genomics-based drug discovery. I was hired into the Formulations group
in Drug Development. My day-to-day activities mostly involved physicochemical
characterization of lead compounds, generation of clinical formulations for lead
compounds, and determination of the stability of lead compounds when exposed to
various excipients. Working in formulations is a unique opportunity for people
with a strong background in physical organic chemistry. The work I enjoyed most
was determining degradation pathways and the kinetics of the degradation. I
learned a tremendous amount about drug development and working in the
pharmaceutical industry.
While employed at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, a scientific recruiter who was
looking to fill a Ph.D. Chemist position with a chemical company in the Midwest
contacted me. I then interviewed with Albemarle Corporation later that month
and accepted a position the beginning of 2005.
Albemarle Corporation is a global specialty chemical company specializing in
polymer additives, catalysts, and fine chemicals. I was hired into the Fine
Chemicals division, which specializes in the cGMP manufacture of pharmaceutical
intermediates and APIs. My current work focuses on the synthetic route and
process development of fine chemicals. My day-to-day activities mostly involve
evaluating synthetic strategies, lab scale synthesis, collaborating with engineers
in the synthesis scale-up, and supervising production campaigns in the plant.
Synthetic strategies are transformed from milligram quantity to streamlined
processes that produce metric ton quantities of material. The optimization of a
process is a delicate balance between raw material costs, operation costs,
operation time, safety, and the quality of product.
|
