In August of 2001, Denise hung up her tattered dance shoes and boarded a plane to the United States to pursue a pre-med undergraduate degree. However, in the summer of her Sophomore year, Denise, quickly realized a career in medicine was not in her future. With the guidance of a college advisor, she found an alternative discipline that exercised both her curiosity and love for science – research in clinical pharmaceutical sciences. Fast-forward to 2021, Denise is one of our resident experts in physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling.
In 2009 Denise attended a NONMEM course taught by Jill Fiedler-Kelly. A few years later, Denise was looking for a new job opportunity. Recalling Jill’s workshop, Denise interviewed for a senior-level pharmacometric position at Cognigen. Unfortunately, the position required a more experienced scientist. However, one year later, Cognigen notified Denise of an opening for a junior-level position and encouraged her to interview. And the rest is history, as they say, or was it? After five years with Cognigen, Denise left for a new experience at a Biotech company. It was during this time that Denise realized the special culture at Cognigen. The opportunity to return to Cognigen seemed like the obvious choice when Denise was offered a position that allowed her to work remotely.
Denise points to the company’s team-centric focus, its value in its employees’ strengths, diversity in thought, and pride in creating a comprehensive product that balances quality and efficiency. She also acknowledged her most valuable training happened at Cognigen because she had access to some of the brightest minds in the field of pharmacometrics. For all the young women and girls interested in STEM, Denise offers these pieces of advice:
- Do what you love
- Know your worth
- Ignore imposter syndrome
- Meet your commitments while also maintaining a healthy work-life balance
Where can you see Denise next? Register for our upcoming Model-Informed Drug Development Conference on March 3rd and 4th.
By Lindsay Lehmann