Ottawa S2BN-Spartan Bioscience: Meet-and-Greet Event

On Tuesday June 13th, the Science to Business Network (S2BN) Ottawa chapter was happy to host a round-table meet-and-greet with several members of Spartan Bioscience, a mid-sized biotech start-up located in Ottawa. Spartan Bioscience aims to bring the power of DNA testing to everyone by building a platform that facilitates numerous diagnostic tests. Spartan’s current portfolio includes solutions for the fields of pharmacogenetics, Alzheimer’s research, and environmental testing. This event, held at The Aulde Dubliner, provided a unique opportunity for S2BN members to interact with individuals performing diverse roles within a start-up biotechnology company in a casual setting. Our speakers included:

Joris van der Heijden, PhD – Technical Lead, Research and Development

Justin Osmond, MA, MTh – Senior Regulatory Affairs Specialist

Roxanne Gauthier-Ferland – Software Test Engineer

Hannah Rivkin – Account Manager in Sales

Attendees learned about the various, and sometimes unorthodox, paths each Spartan member took to acquire their current position. Amongst the various routes, a common theme arose:

Be open to trying anything and don’t restrict your immediate or future career plans to roles or fields that align 100% to what it says on your degree. While hiring managers might have specific technical skills in mind, they’ll never say “no” to onboarding someone with additional expertise or experiences.

Interested in expanding your professional network or practising your networking skills? Follow S2BN on social media or check our website regularly for updates on our event programming – this was a very typical S2BN event that allowed attendees the chance to do both!