Harry Shain, Research Associate – Glycologix
Q: What does Glycologix do?
Harry: We are creating a polymer-based therapeutic for bladder disease called Interstitial Cystitis. We do this by taking a small starting polymer and cross linking it with itself to create a larger polymer. Then we’re able to attach reactive groups to the outside of the polymer to make it bind or be attracted to certain types of tissues as well as have certain characteristics.
Q: What kind of work do you do on a daily basis?
I’m the Research Associate, so I am currently managing an intern. I also do all of the laboratory-based work and reporting, and other things of that nature. I do synthesis reactions of our material along with purification. I also perform analysis aon our products.
Q: How has it been going having an intern so far?
It’s been a new challenge. I’ve never been a manager of any kind, so it’s kind of my first stab at that, but it’s been good. It’s good to delegate work and open up time for me to do other things. I joke that I no longer have to clean glassware.
Q: What have you been able to do more of since you got an intern to help with the workload?
For me, I was behind a little bit on our chemical inventory and similar projects. Mainly, I have more time to look at our data and draw our conclusions. Before, I had to plug in the data and then walk away from my computer and start doing other things. So, I have more time to digest our data and make observations.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who’s just starting out in your field, for example an intern?
Ask a lot of questions. Engage in the day-to-day discussion. Don’t be afraid to voice your opinion because you might see something that we don’t. That’s the big thing. Take the opportunities to do things that might make you uncomfortable. I believe people grow the most in times of discomfort.
Q: What’s coming down the road for Glycologix?
We are currently scaling up our process, which is exciting. That comes with its own series of hiccups. Right now, we’re working on fixing some of the problems we found in the scaling-up process. From there, we’re hoping to be in clinical trials by the second quarter of 2023. We just found a somewhat unique property of our material that we are investigating a little bit and then down the line we might be looking for other indications where our polymer-based platform can be beneficial towards.
Q: What’s your favorite movie you’ve seen this year?
Probably Top Gun: Maverick. It was solid, I actually watched it on a business trip out to Minnesota for our scaling-up process. It was definitely worth the watch.