Daniel joins the Intellegens Science Team, bringing his expertise in formulation research to our work in support of R&D organisations as they apply the Alchemite™ software. The team includes scientists with backgrounds in physics, chemistry, and materials science, and has accumulated experience from hundreds of projects applying machine learning to problems in these disciplines. We asked Daniel how he’s getting on and to tell us a little about his background and perspective on our work.
1. What is your role at Intellegens?
I am an application scientist in the Science Team. My role involves helping customers apply Alchemite™ to extract the greatest possible value from their data. I support them with tasks such as preparing their data, developing the best strategies to apply machine learning to that data, and helping them to interpret the results from machine learning to make the best possible research decisions – for example, on what experiments to do next. The objective of our team is to help customers adopt machine learning, at the same time supporting them to become self-sufficient in its use.
2. What is your favourite thing about working at Intellegens?
Every day is different! I really enjoy being exposed to varied customers from a diverse range of industries. The multidisciplinary team here is incredibly knowledgeable and welcoming so I am continuously learning about technical topics such as scientific software development and machine learning, while also developing my commercial skillset and gaining exposure to software product development.
3. What is your career background?
My background combines experimental pharmaceutical science and data-driven drug formulation development. I hold BSc and MRes degrees in Chemistry (with a year in the pharmaceutical industry) and Drug Delivery and Nanomedicine, respectively.
I have just submitted my PhD thesis at the University of Nottingham‘s Centre For Doctoral Training in Transformative Pharmaceutical Technologies, where I developed a compendium of data-driven approaches to accelerate nanomedicine and oral solid dosage formulation development in collaboration with AstraZeneca.
4. What is something that you think makes Intellegens stand out from other companies?
Applying complex machine learning to experimental R&D workflows is non-trivial because real world experimental data is messy. I believe Alchemite™’s modelling capability under data sparsity is a unique selling point. In addition, the ability to continuously evolve the product to remain cutting edge is quite impressive.
5. What do you enjoy doing when you are not at work?
I enjoy staying active, whether that means going on a run or to the gym. I also love playing guitar and attempting to make my own music. I am also a big Aston Villa fan and love watching the football at the weekend.
