Jennifer Van Camp has worked in research for major pharmaceutical companies for more than 20 years. In her experience, medical research produces extensive data but doesn’t always have processes by which to leverage this information. When she had the opportunity to go on sabbatical, she thought about this problem and came up with an entrepreneurial solution.

This week, Jennifer joined Patrick and Shelli to talk about the idea of digital exhaust in medical research and what she and her team are doing to combat it. She also discussed her philosophy of leadership as well as her belief in the power of mentorship. Take a listen to the episode for more of her insights.

• (01:36) - R&D at AbbVie
• (03:53) - Organic chemistry to AI
• (08:22) - Getting people to believe
• (11:34) - Do you miss the bench?
• (13:09) - Street cred
• (15:15) - Curiosity & collaboration
• (18:16) - The Ideal Team Player
• (19:40) - Building a team of compliments
• (25:23) - Turn the Ship Around!
• (27:15) - Ted Lasso
• (28:32) - Nurturing your network

Jennifer Van Camp is a Senior Director in Information Research, where she leads the data science organization that supports AbbVie’s R&D efforts. Jennifer received her PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Michigan in 1997. Between 1997 and 2007, she worked as a medicinal chemist at several pharmaceutical companies, including Monsanto, Pharmacia and Pfizer. In November 2007, she joined Abbott/AbbVie Discovery as a chemistry group leader in Advanced Technology where her group was focused on target selection and validation efforts.

In 2012, she was granted the opportunity to explore a “visiting scientist” appointment in the cheminformatics department. This sabbatical resulted in the first, dedicated data science organization to support Discovery. In the past 8 years, her team has grown to 70+ employees who span the globe to serve the data needs of the entire R&D organization. In November 2019, Jennifer became the first Research Fellow to be inducted into the esteemed Volwiler Society from BTS. She holds multiple patents and was awarded two President’s Awards for outstanding innovation. Jennifer serves on the board of East Lake Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois. She is married to her husband, Jason, and mother to three active boys.

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Podcast episode production by Dante32.