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Career Perspectives: Interview with Meredith Alm, Manager, QA Compliance

Cytel has grown significantly over the last 30 years, with operations across North America, Europe, and India. All of our processes, talent, and expertise are applied to maximizing the value of clinical data. At Cytel, quality comes first, and our QA team are committed to ensuring processes are in place to support our services.

In this blog we talk to Meredith who lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, to find out more about her career path, current role at Cytel, and her interests outside of work.

Meredith Alm

What sparked your interest in Quality Assurance (QA) as a career?

Early on in my career I understood that standards were important, we all want to provide the best quality product or services to our clients, and achieve the balance of conforming to standards and delivering a quality service on time. I naturally like to keep order and am a detail oriented person, so a QA role is perfect for me and I am able to utilize my skills.

What is your current role?

I am the Manager of QA Compliance and I predominantly look after all global processes and quality issues, along with hosting our clients during audits.

What functions do you collaborate closely with? Why are these relationships important?

Fortunately I work closely and have strong relationships with most of the functional departments here at Cytel. Close relations are important because we need an understanding of what work is being undertaken in the business and what processes are required to support this. Ultimately, we are all working to achieve the same goals.

What has been your journey to your current role at Cytel? 

My career began in the retail and service industry, then after 10 years I decided I need a career change. The skills I had acquired transferred very well into my original administration role at Cytel. During my time here I have worked in a variety of functions and supported almost all of the departments. When I graduated from college in 2010, I decided to take on the full time role of QA Coordinator.

Why do you think continuous process improvement is so important? 

To keep improving Cytel's services and products.

  • I think it’s important to take a step back, reassess, and ask some questions like, “Does this step add any value? Are there any potential risks, and can they be identified? Can we maximize productivity and efficiency? What is also important is getting feedback from our co-workers.
  • The subject matter experts working within the various different departments at Cytel such as biostatistics, programming, and data management, can really help us identify and scope out better processes to help deliver our services most effectively. This communication cycle is very valuable.

What are the main challenges you face in the role?

There are always multiple projects running at any one time in the QA department, with a combination of internal improvement activities, and external audits. Our projects often require input from other team members and it is important that I am organized, plan the deliverables for each project and regularly communicate with the stakeholders. 

What are your personal values?

I always strive to do the best job that I can. I have a strong work ethic and persistent nature; this combined with my honest approach has made me the reliable and supportive person I am.

What are your main interests outside of work? 

I have a passion for analog photography, and I can often be found hiding behind my camera! I have a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Photography, I deeply miss working in the darkroom.

 A beautiful shot of Atlanta CityAtlanticCityNJ_April2018

Thank you for taking the time to talk to us and sharing your journey.  

 

Careers 

Cytel are hiring. Would you like to join our talented team? We have roles for biostatisticians, statistical programmers, data managers at all levels across our global locations. To find out more about rewarding careers with us click below.

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