Eva Tse is an IMMERSE Fellow part of the Spring 2024 Cohort.
Over the past two weeks, my participation in the IMMERSE Fellowship has been incredibly rewarding, informative and enriching. I’m excited to show you my current progress.
During the fellowship, there have been many opportunities for learning and growth from doing the Schrödinger certification courses and having in person meetings with professionals in this field. Currently I’m completing the Introduction to Molecular Modeling in Drug Discovery course (Up to Module 4) and High Throughput Virtual Screening for hit finding and evaluation (HTVS) course (Up to Module 4). The introduction course served as a refresher course to me, where I can reference if I have more general questions about the drug discovery pipeline, basic Maestro tools, adding surfaces and ligand preparation and interactions. The HTVS course has introduced me to some concepts such as Pharmacophore screening and Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships (QSAR). Additionally, it presented many tasks in Maestro such as SiteMap, PrimeX, and WaterMap.
My mentorship meetings with Katie Amberg-Johnson and new hire buddy meetings with Aisha Oza have been very helpful in understanding the company culture and their specific roles on their respective teams. Katie, a Principal Scientist in the Schrödinger therapeutic group, has emphasized the importance of collaboration in drug discovery by explaining the intricate steps and roles that are involved in this process from finding a target to the development of a drug candidate. Through my conversations with Aisha, a technical writer apart of the education team that has a chemistry background, I’ve realized the diverse roles beyond the traditional research roles.
I’m acclimating well to this new work environment because of its inviting and inclusive nature. This collaborative culture at Schrödinger encourages teamwork and provides support for personal and professional development. Everyone I’ve interacted with, whether in scheduled meetings or during lunch, has all been very friendly and willing to help. An example would be during a team meeting with Kat Bay where I had struggled to articulate a point in my elevator pitch, she had offered tips on what to improve for next time, guiding me through the process. This inclusive atmosphere makes it easy to connect and build meaningful relationships with my colleagues. With this exposure, I aim to clarify my career interests and goals. One of my top priorities is to learn more about the different roles offered here at Schrödinger and to expand my professional network.
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