Cytel’s Functional Service Provision (FSP) teams work on exciting projects with biotech and pharmaceutical companies as statistical programmers and biostatisticians. We spoke with Nandan Kothavale, Programming Senior Team Lead, who’s based in India and works with a global pharmaceutical company, about the projects she’s found most impactful and what it’s like to work as a statistical programmer with Cytel’s FSP.
Can you share a little background on your career at Cytel so far?
I joined Cytel in 2013 with mere 2 years of professional experience. I’ve been with Cytel for more than 10 years now. So far, my journey with Cytel has been a roller coaster ride with my fair share of hurdles, difficulties, complex challenges, good opportunities, and learnings at every turn. Over the years, I got excellent experience working on several studies spanning Phase I – IV clinical trials in various therapeutic areas. I have handled responsibilities including project management, cross-functional teams, client interactions, mentoring teammates, increasing team productivity, and ensuring quality and timelines. My journey with Cytel has helped me to grow as an individual along with my professional growth. I am very fortunate to have the chance to work with excellent leaders and teammates who helped me to give my best all the time and helped me to enhance my skills.
Can you share an example of a project you’ve worked on that was really fascinating and/or impactful for you?
There are a few projects I have worked on which have been very impactful. But there is one recent publication project I worked on that comes to mind. We had a request where we needed to submit more than 1,000 complex outputs in a period of 40–50 days, and we had to utilize relatively less experienced people. I can proudly say that we delivered all those outputs within the given timeframe with high quality without a single client comment on it.
What motivates you in your work?
While working on complex tasks and scenarios, you need to produce some creative ideas and you learn something out of those scenarios. I feel these complex tasks and hurdles motivate me as they help me to improve my own technical as well as soft skills.
What’s most important to you as a team leader?
I try to be honest and dedicated to my work commitments/responsibilities. As a Team Lead, I generally focus on being patient with my teammates, I listen to their concerns with a positive mind without any bias. Your actions and commitments should speak louder than your words and it will always act as a motivation and inspiration to your teammates. Communication and decision-making are the keys to become a successful Team Lead.
What makes you feel like you're an integral part of the team?
My priority is always on the collective success of a team rather than individual success. It helps to build a bond between team members, and they get a chance to learn and educate each other. This ideology resonates with Cytel culture. I am thankful to my leaders for recognizing my capabilities, guiding me, and providing me with timely opportunities to grow in my career. Hence, I feel accountable and valued within Cytel.
What does it take to be in Cytel FSP?
Accountability, commitment, dependability, prompt decision-making, communication, and eagerness to educate others along with your own learnings are a few aspects an individual should have while working in Cytel.
Thank you, Nandan, for sharing your experience!
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