Career Mirror -- by Mark Sproxton

To hear a description of his work, some might think Gijs van Rooijen is a dairy, beef or grain farmer. After all, he is a protein producer. Unlike the agricultural folks, though, his production takes place in a laboratory setting and not on a farm.

"We're a relatively new industry that uses plants for the production of therapeutic proteins," explains the head of cellular and molecular biology for SemBioSys Genetics Inc. "There is an increasing need for therapeutic proteins, partially because of demographics, and an increasing desire to improve the quality of life."

Therapeutic proteins are proteins which treat a specific disease or illness. A good example is the use of insulin in the treatment of diabetes. Essentially, SemBioSys can take genetic information coded for a specific human protein, insert that into a plant and grow the protein there.

With years of laboratory experience behind him, van Rooijen now spends his days working without test tubes, petri dishes and microscopes. His time is spent meeting with about a dozen scientists ensuring their research is on track, meeting with product developers, or potential clients who are often pharmaceutical company representatives, and writing progress reports on how the research is moving along.

Always fascinated with science and genetics, van Rooijen said his job came from being in the right place at the right time. While completing his molecular biology PhD at the University of Calgary, van Rooijen's advisor, Dr. Maurice Moloney came up with an idea of developing a new protein purification system. van Rooijen worked on the project while completing his doctoral degree which eventually led to the establishment of SemBioSys.

"That's not typical, but I was there from the beginning," he explained of his current position as senior research scientist. "It fell into my lap rather than seeking out a position that interested me. It seemed natural that I would train or familiarize other scientists with this technology."

With his extensive lab experience, and a thorough understanding of the many factors that come into play during a research project, the former Netherlands resident now calls upon many other skills on a daily basis. "You need a very stable personality. There are always deadlines. You need to be able to work under pressure and deal with a certain level of stress. As I am responsible for about a dozen scientists, you need to have good personal skills and recognize different personalities and abilities."

The variety of tasks van Rooijen faces count as the highlight of the work. "I'm still involved in the science, but also in intellectual property development, product development and some business development. What I dislike, which is hardly anything, is it's easy to get carried away. There's always more work which can be done." Consequently, he tries to limit his time at work from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. so he can also enjoy the pleasures of family life.

While his job may have developed in a way that was once unique, van Rooijen said the idea of taking interesting scientific ideas from academic research to patentable inventions is becoming more common. "There's an increasing awareness of the potential applications of the research done at academic institutions," he said. "That could form the structure of a company because the knowledge is proprietary to your company."

van Rooijen also enjoys working for a small company, but advises those considering this industry to weigh every company's prospects carefully. "Our company has been here since 1995 and is growing, which is not typical. There are a lot of companies that decide (their) research is too expensive and have to fold."

Regardless of where one works, those with biology degrees should look to hone more than their scientific skills, according to van Rooijen. "There are a lot of things you can do with a biology degree other than work in a lab. It helps to have good presentation and written skills. Those are skills not necessarily taught during a bachelor degree."