Case Studies: Dr. Kenneth Burhop

Name

Dr. Kenneth Burhop

Job Title

Vice President R&D, Global Scientific Lead – Medication Delivery

Company

Baxter Healthcare Corporation

City, State

Deerfield, Illinois

1. Please briefly describe what you do.    

As Vice President of R&D for Baxter’s Biopharmaceutical Technologies and Parenteral Nutrition businesses, I establish and direct all applied research, new product identification, ensure the timely execution of all ongoing product development projects and lead new product innovation initiatives for the two businesses.  Another role that I have is as the Global Scientific Lead for our entire Medication Delivery Division, which is composed of a several diversified healthcare businesses.  In this role, it is my responsibility to look for synergies and opportunities to leverage technologies and technical expertise across a large diversified group of scientists, lead our worldwide planning processes (structured innovation process we use to prepare market-back long term product roadmaps and plans) and help lead our annual R&D prioritization process.

2. How many years have you been working in a science related field?

I started my graduate work in 1976 and completed it in 1984.  I then completed a 2 year NIH post-doctoral Pulmonary fellowship at the Albany Medical College after which I joined Baxter in 1986.  I have been employed at Baxter since 1986 (i.e., approximately 22 years).  During my tenure at Baxter, I have always worked in the area of science, assuming positions of increasing responsibility over the years.  So depending on how you define “working in science”, I have been working in the area of science since 1976 (i.e., for at least 32 years).

3. What degrees do you hold and from what Universities?

I received a B.A.  (Zoology major) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in December of 1975.  I then received my M.S. degree in Veterinary Science (Physiology) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May of 1979.  I received my Ph.D. in Veterinary Science (Physiology) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1984.

4. What subject in school was the most challenging for you? Why?

I found math my most challenging subject.  For some reason, still unknown to me, it just didn’t “click”.  I liked problem solving, but memorization of all of the different complicated formulas required, and then deciding which one to use to solve which problem, seemed very confusing and not especially logical, and things just did not seem to all tie together or complete a puzzle.   Unfortunately for my undergraduate major, I was required to take a lot of math.  Thus, I took the approach of actually taking a step or two back when I first started college, and I retook a lot of the basic algebra that I took in high school to ensure I would have a solid foundation and that I would be able to succeed in the more advanced classes that I knew I would have to take later on as part of my course requirements.  To this day, I still find complex math challenging.

5. What subject in school did you enjoy the most? Why?

I always enjoyed science, and in particular biology/physiology.  I believe a large part of this was due to the fact that I was born and raised on a farm, and as such, was exposed to earth science, animal science, veterinary science, basic biology, plant biology, etc. on a daily basis. It just seemed that the more I learned about biology, the more I was fascinated how everything tied together, how complex the human body really is, and how all of the various systems in the body worked together in perfect harmony (most of the time).  The redundant systems, complex bio-feedback and self-regulating mechanisms, combined with the extremely effective processes that allow each of us to function normally on a day-to-basis are remarkable.

6. What/who inspired your interest in science?

As I mentioned, I believe that being born and raised on a farm sparked my initial interest in science, however, it was my exposure to high school biology that likely “sealed my interest”.  At our high school, perhaps the hardest course and most difficult teacher on staff taught advanced biology.  However, it was this challenge and this teacher that actually increased my love for science even more.  The more I was exposed, the more I wanted to learn.  As a result of this class, when I took my first biology course in college, it was basically a review and I found it very easy and clear.  From then on, each class I took raised new questions that I just had to learn the answers to by taking more classes.  When I joined industry, the ability to use these basic scientific principles and learnings to work on developing products that saved the lives of people was the ultimate challenge.

7. What impact does your work have on society? Why is it important that other people learn about and consider your profession?

In the healthcare industry, as compared to academic research, there is more of an emphasis on “applied research” vs. “basic research” which is conducted primarily to understand why things work they way they do.  That is, as a scientist working in industry, while you still need to understand and work on basic research questions, a key requirement in most cases is that in the end, you are expected to develop a product that fills an unmet medical need of a critically ill patient somewhere in the world.  The mere fact that you can work on and develop products that save and sustain patients lives around the world is extremely rewarding.

8. What do you like most about your job?

It is hard to point to just one single factor.  While I enjoy the challenge of working on new and innovative products, over the years, I have come to appreciate the “people” interactions more and more.  While the field of science seemed extremely large when I first entered the field, I quickly learned that science really is composed of a relatively small community of people that all have a common interest and desire to learn.  I have found that over the years and as my career has advanced, I have gotten to know extraordinary, world-class scientists (and their families) from around the world. I have also had the opportunity to work for, work with, and lead a large number of great people that I try to stay in touch with as time goes on.  Finally, I have been given the gift of seeing how products that I have been involved in developing (to varying degrees) have change the lives of patients and families around the world.  Now “how cool is that?”

9. What challenges have you faced in your career? 

Life is filled with a variety of different challenges.  There are technical challenges that can be both rewarding and discouraging.  For example, I worked on one project that was focused on developing a blood substitute solution for more than 15 years.  While we significantly advanced this field of scientific research and made a number of great scientific discoveries, in the end and despite the years of hard work and dedication to this endeavor by a large group of people, neither we nor anyone else to date, has been able to get approval for and commercialize such a product.  On a personal level, I think some of my biggest challenges have been around making career/life decisions.  There is no “magic guide” that gives you clear direction or clear cut advice on what to do next, which new position to take, which project to work on, which company you should work at, etc.  In the end, you just have to do what feels right and do what you feel you will enjoy the most. As long as you enjoy what you are doing, it is probably the right job for you.

10. What other thoughts/comments would you like to share with people considering a career in science?

I believe the most important thing for anyone and any job is that you have to enjoy what you are doing!  I can’t imagine getting up day after day and going to work to do something that I did not enjoy.  So if you don’t enjoy science, I would advise you to find something else to do.  This also applies to factors that go into selecting a job.  For example, compensation can be good in the field in the science and you can make a very good living, however for the most part, it is NOT about the money.  If your goal is to take a job just to “get rich”, science would not be my first choice.  Another factor is how you deal with challenges and failure.  The general rule of thumb is that if you are developing new pharmaceutical products, about 1/10 products in development will succeed.  This means that you will have to deal with 9 products that are not successful along the way.  A key is to learn from these efforts that are not successful and not view them as failures, but rather, as opportunities to learn how to better solve the next challenge that comes along.  If you don’t like change, if you need to succeed with each and every project you work on, and if you don’t like raising as many questions as you one’s you answer, then science is probably not a good career choice.