A day in the life of… Stephanie Pasas-Farmer, BioData Solutions
Stephanie Pasas-Farmer PhD
Founder and Principal Consultant at BioData Solutions, LLC (PA, USA).
Brief biography:
Dr Stephanie Pasas-Farmer is the President and Founder of BioData Solutions, LLC, a consulting firm that offers research & development, commercial and bioanalytical consulting services to early stage pharmaceutical and biological drug development organizations in the field of small- and large-molecule bioanalysis.
With more than 13 years of bioanalytical chemistry and drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK) experience, Dr Pasas‐Farmer has held a range of scientific, business management and operational leadership positions across contract research and global pharmaceutical organizations as well as a start‐up biotechnology company. Dr Pasas-Farmer is a frequent contributor to peer-reviewed publications and industry conferences on current bioanalytical and pharmaceutical industry topics. In addition, she has taken on steering committee and leadership positions for multiple professional and scientific conferences. Dr Pasas‐Farmer earned her Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Science degrees with honors in pharmaceutical chemistry from the University of Kansas (KS, USA). Stephanie lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband, three children and three cats.
My alarm goes off…
My mornings are a mad dash, which typically start at 6.30am, unless I have a call with an overseas client or collaborator where I am required to be on the line from 5am. I am a working wife and mom of three young children, ages 5–9. My mornings are spent getting the children dressed, fed and out the door to school. My breakfast consists of toast and coffee, and usually is consumed while simultaneously helping to make lunches, tying shoes, and making sure all the little ones head out to school properly dressed and prepared for a successful day of learning.
My commute depends on what my activities are for that day. Owning my own company, I operate out of a home office, so on the days I am in the office my commute involves a 2-minute walk from my room to my office desk. However, I often travel to meet with clients and collaborators, which requires me to be away from home approximately 20% of the time.
I’m responsible for…
As principal consultant of my own company, I provide scientific oversite and fill a scientific advisory role for a variety of companies: virtual to medium size biotechs; international contract research organizations; medical device companies; private equity firms; etc.
Some of my current projects involve a wide range of activities such as operational program management, data review and analysis, and regulatory compliance planning, in addition to market development guidance and marketing/business development strategy.
Many of my programs involve the development of drugs to address current unmet medical needs both at home in the USA and globally, with a large portion of these programs focusing in the oncology space. However, one of my most exciting projects is a collaboration on an HIV vaccine that will hopefully go into clinical trials next year. I feel honored to be involved in so many important and possibly life-saving drug development programs.
My typical day…
Although owning your own company and traveling to visit a variety of companies is exciting and truly rewarding, my typical day is usually spent on the phone and in front of my computer emailing clients, reviewing data and/or writing summary reports. What I find amazing is the diversity of the programs which I can discuss with my stakeholders on any given day. In the morning, I may be on a call with Mumbai (India) discussing a metabolic disease clinical trial and in the afternoon chatting with a client on the west coast about an immune-oncology program. I love the fact that no two days are the same in my line of business.
The strangest thing that has happened…
Is realizing how small the scientific community truly is…much of my business has grown by word of mouth and referral.
The best part of my job…
The best part of my job is the diversity of programs that are focused on addressing unmet medical need.
The worst part of my job…
The worst part of my job is traveling to incredible locations but only seeing a conference room. A recent example: London, England. I was only able to see Heathrow, a conference room off of Bond Street, my room at the Marriott Hotel, and the deli of Marks and Spencer’s (dinner).
After work…
I am a scientist and love my field of study; however, my most beloved role is as a mother and wife. I love to spend time with my family either at home or playing outside. I also enjoy traveling to new and exciting locations, showing my children all the beautiful and diverse places of the world. To stay focused and to stay healthy, I practice yoga daily and enjoy long-distance running.
In addition to my family, I believe in a life of service and giving back to the community. I have been given much and believe I should also return what I can to my community, especially by supporting other women in science. To this end, I am currently working pro bono with multiple institutes of higher education in their efforts to support women in STEM through educational, professional development and mentoring programs.
I always wanted to be…
When I was younger, I aspired to be an archaeologist and my idol was Indiana Jones, much to the chagrin of my always impeccably dressed and perfectly coiffed mother. I was constantly getting in trouble for coming back from an “adventure” completely covered in dirt having ruined the new outfit (usually a dress) she had just put me in.
