In this month’s installment of our Meet the Scientist series we wanted to feature one of our team of talented technical writers, since they play such a critical role in what we do at XenoTech (XT). So it’s our pleasure to introduce you to Alex Wakefield, Technical Writer II. We asked Alex several questions to help you get to know him and understand his role at XT…
“Can I offer you a nice egg in this tryin’ time?”
− Frank Reynolds (by way of Alex)
What kind of work do you do, and for whom?
XenoTech’s team of technical writers produces high-quality reports on ADME – drug metabolism and drug-drug interaction studies – that are compliant for submission to regulatory agencies and closely tailored to the needs of the sponsor. Our work ensures a healthier tomorrow through research into novel compounds, some of which are intended as cancer and COVID therapeutics. The gravity of this work demands the utmost integrity in reporting, which is met with multiple checks of not only the scientific content, but technical components of reporting like readability and functionality.
Integrity in reporting is vital to our mission; this statement is best illustrated when talking about regulatory compliance. Our reports are carefully designed to meet requirements set by the FDA, EMA and OECD to ensure the accurate and complete transfer of information in a timely manner to expedite the creation and delivery of life-saving therapeutics. Constant state of the art training and improvement of processes allow us to fulfil our mission effectively. In this vein, integrity in reporting is not a simple promise, but rather an oath that we keep each time we work on a report.
Why did you want to work for XT and what keeps you coming back to work?
When I found the job listing for XT, the name seemed cool in a sci-fi kind of way. Upon further inspection, the job as Technical Writer was a perfect marriage of my college major in professional writing and my minor in biomedical science. The thing that keeps me coming back every day is extreme pride in my work (and the work of my fellow technical writers) as a craft that constantly improves and grows. A poster of Andre the Blacksmith from Dark Souls keeps me inspired in this way.
What do you most enjoy about your role at XT?
There’s a lot of thought that goes into what we do and I think it flexes the same part of your brain that you would use for crosswords and logic puzzles. It can be pretty easy to get lost in your work, which is a pretty solid way to pass the time.
Is there a particular challenge or task that you enjoy?
Sometimes the chemical structure of a provided test article won’t match the DPI requirements as specified by the various submission agencies, so we’ll redraw the structure exactly as it’s provided. I like to take this opportunity to really channel my inner Bob Ross. It’s a “go to your happy place” kind of activity.
What’s something that you find exciting?
This is probably apparent enough by now, but I get jazzed about the nerd stuff as it pertains the job. Like I have two sticky notes that will forever live on my desk that detail a bunch of keyboard shortcuts for MS Word that I remapped to various keybinds for efficiency.