Meet Marius Pelmus: Principal Scientist I (FSP)

"Working at Parexel there is a really strong and efficient teamwork ethic, this is important in the work I undertake especially as a collaboration between colleagues is so essential."

Marius shares his experience about his roles as a Principal Scientist I within Parexel FSP, his direct involvement with the client's team and what is needed to be successful in his role. 

• Please introduce yourself and your role at Parexel.
  Hi, my name is Marius Pelmus, and I am a Principal Scientist I at Parexel. I joined Parexel in July 2020 as a Senior Scientist, after a friend recommended Parexel to me. In July 2021 I progressed to my current position.
  
  
• Tell us a little bit about what you do every day. What are your core responsibilities?
  I work on high throughput screening for biologics formulations, this is part of the Preformulation department. Preformulation is the stage of development during which the physicochemical properties of the drug substance are characterized and established. Knowledge of the relevant physicochemical and biopharmaceutical properties determines the appropriate formulation and delivery method for Pre-Clinical and Phase 1 studies. My work involves the experimental design, automatization, and analytics (chromatography and biophysics), as core responsibilities.
  
  
• What traits and/or skills are needed to be successful in your role?
  Chemistry, biochemistry, and biology knowledge. Creativity, attention to detail, fast learning skills, strong motivation, and perseverance so you don’t give up in front of difficulties.
  
  
• What would you like people to know about your job or department?
  It is a very interactive place to work in, using automatization in high throughput screens is a big part of the fast dynamics. The preformulation work is an essential part of the development of any drug product, this is allowing us to interact with most of the departments in drug development.
  
  
• What is it about your position as a Principal Scientist that challenges you most?
  The biology part, as my background is mostly on chemistry (I have a PhD in Organic Chemistry). To fill this gap, I learned about antibody production, protein structure, interactions, and degradation.
  
  
• How would you describe what it’s like to work at Parexel?
  I’ve found that I work in a very professional environment, as you would expect. I work onsite in the lab to set up the experiments and in my office to process the data. However, due to Covid-19 our meetings are done on Teams (MS Office), but we do get to interact face to face, we do so 6 feet apart, in the laboratory when we do training or when we help each other on technical issues.
  
  Working at Parexel there is a really strong and efficient teamwork ethic, this is important in the work I undertake especially as a collaboration between colleagues is so essential.
  
  
• What excites you most about the work you do?
  I really enjoy solving problems and meeting deadlines. Some examples are the transfer of the analytical methods to new instruments (HPLC to UPLC), conversion of methods from qualitative to quantitative, or low throughput to high throughput.
  
  I get a real sense of job satisfaction contributing to the method development and troubleshooting instruments.

Marius enjoying the scenery at XXXXXXXX

Marius and family at XXXXXXX.

• How has Parexel supported your career development?
  Parexel has allowed me to work in a scientific environment, to get trained, and learn new analytical methods and instruments. I got trained on protein and excipient purification and quantification, N-Glycan identification, determination of protein fragments and aggregates, automated buffer exchange, and automated liquid handling. I am looking forward to learning more high throughput analysis and how to integrate automatizations in the analytical development. I know that what I gain from personal and career development also enables me to work more efficiently and effectively for our clients, and ultimately the work I undertake is helping a patient get the treatment they require.
  
  
• Tell me something most people don’t know about you.
  I enjoy gardening, and when I’m not working I like to cook. Also 
  
  
• What habit or behavior or belief have you recently acquired? Why is it now in your life?
  I have an eye for finding mistakes/flaws and seeing patterns. Most probably it is in my life due to my profession. An eye for detail is ultimately essential as a scientist!
  
  
• Tell me three beliefs that you think would change the world for the better?
  1. You get what you give.
  2. Don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today.
  3. Recipe for success: have curiosity, courage, and confidence; be honest and patient with yourself and the people around you; always look to improve.
  
  
• If you wrote a ‘user manual’ for how people should interact with you, what would be the most important point in the manual?
  To have patience and they will be surprised about the things that we can do together.
  
  
  Do you want to work with Marius and his colleagues? Look for the latest opportunities within Parexel FSP here.
  
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