Convergence is Here! How Can Life Sciences & Healthcare Accelerate Hiring of Data Science Talent?

October 23, 2019 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

MassBio, 300 Technology Square 8th Fl, Cambridge, MA 02139

Add to Calendar 10/23/2019 4:00:00 PM 10/23/2019 6:00:00 PM Convergence is Here! How Can Life Sciences & Healthcare Accelerate Hiring of Data Science Talent? The convergence of biology, data and engineering is here to transform discovery, development, diagnosis, treatment, patient experience, and outcomes measurement. But there’s an exploding talent gap due to a fast-moving landscape. Last year Massachusetts employers posted over 23,000 jobs in data science across all sectors, doubling the number of postings in 2014. Within the life sciences that demand increased by 40% during the same four-year period – growth that dwarfs the available talent. How can life science companies and research institutions in Massachusetts make the recruitment case against the lure of tech giants like Google and Amazon? One way is to increase awareness of jobs in this field amongst college and graduate students who may not be aware of the opportunities to use their skills to solve some of our most important problems such as cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and antibiotic resistance.

In this forum, our panel of experts will provide examples of programs in place now, such as academic-industry consortiums, specialized internships, and other means to drive awareness among data science students of the tremendous opportunity that awaits them in the life sciences and healthcare fields. Panelists will outline the type of career opportunities available today and where they see demand moving to in the future. They will give examples of the specific data skills sought in candidates and the educational degrees most preferred. We’ll end with an open discussion of other ideas to fulfill the convergence skills gap and what we need to do to boost existing programs.

Anyone involved in talent acquisition, corporate growth strategy, digital / technology innovation, as well as academics and with a passion for transforming life sciences and healthcare should come and join the conversation.

Sponsored by the Human Resoures (HR) Forum Working Group. MassBio, 300 Technology Square 8th Fl, Cambridge, MA 02139
Leader of Bioinformatics & Computing Core Facility, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
Charlie Whittaker is a research scientist and leader of the Bioinformatics and Computing Core Facility in MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. Charlie and his staff provides expertise in bioinformatics, statistical support and powerful computational resources to the KI community. His facility has made numerous contributions to research projects in the Koch Institute and their work is frequently recognized in publications through authorship or acknowledgements. Whittaker received his BS in biology from University of Vermont in 1990. His PhD thesis in cell and developmental biology was performed with Douglas DeSimone at the University of Virginia. He was a post-doctoral fellow in Richard Hynes’ lab at the Center for Cancer Research at MIT where he developed an interest in bioinformatics and computing. He then contributed to the Human Genome Project as part of Chinnappa Kordira’s group at the Broad Institute. He then rejoined the Koch Institute in his current role in 2004.