A day in the life of a Senior QC Microbiologist

My current role is a Senior QC Microbiologist and I am responsible for the oversight and performance of environmental monitoring within the manufacturing facilities as well as microbiological testing of the products/raw materials to ensure that both the product and the cleanroom environment are in suitable biocontamination control. Overall, the quality department make sure activities, processes and procedures satisfy product quality, patient safety and efficacy needs.

I started my career at Oxford Biomedica in 2020 in the role of a QC Microbiologist after recently graduating from university. Prior to joining Oxford Biomedica, I had gained valuable experience at AstraZeneca through internships which hugely enhanced my knowledge for my current role. A couple of months into my career at Oxford Biomedica, the company made the commitment to manufacture the COVID-19 vaccine at the Oxbox facility. Naturally, this meant that the pace of the work increased, which opened up great opportunities to not only develop my own skills but to become more efficient as a department. As it is a growing company, there are always opportunities for progression. The culture at Oxford Biomedica is collaborative, with the Quality group partnering with most functions in the business. It is also supportive, and your contributions are always recognised.

Quality Control is both a challenging and stimulating group to work in, with no two days being the same. One of the best parts of my job is the freedom to innovate (within GMP constraints), in order to improve efficiency of the team and streamline processes. With this, brings opportunities to constantly learn, for instance I had the opportunity to attend the annual Pharmig Microbiology conference. This also involves team working and leadership, both of which I enjoy.

In summary, the best part of my job and the most important, is knowing that our work forms part of our wide objective – developing and producing life-changing gene therapies to patients.