Meet Candice Hovell – the Head of Research and Development for SpacePharma Inc., an innovative start-up company located in Exploration Park, Florida. SpacePharma is all about increasing scientists’ access to the unique environment of space via their automated laboratory platforms that enable researchers to remotely conduct experiments in low Earth orbit. Candice, a doctorate in Biomedical Engineering from the joint Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University program and B.S. in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of Alabama is also a former NSF Graduate Research as well as ORISE Fellow. At SpacePharma she is now involved in helping clients acquire funding for their space-related research projects and adapt their benchtop experiments for their specialised remote- controlled SpacePharma Advanced Laboratory systems (SPAd Labs)

Dr. Candice Hovell, Head of Research, SpacePharma
Credit: L. Hester

During this free-wheeling interview with Debarshini Chakraborty, Candice chats about her childhood passion for science, her exciting research projects as a researcher in Alabama and subsequently at Georgia and Emory, and more. She describes how her amazingly versatile research experience formed the base for her shift to industry and is full of tips for academics on how to change the chart of their career path to one in industry.

In addition to her role with SpacePharma, Candice is also a former Rural Health Scholar and is very passionate about educational outreach programs and mentorship in rural communities.

DC: How did you get interested in science? Was it a childhood passion? Who and what kind of experiences helped shape your interest in science?

CH: I have been interested in science for as long as I can remember, and I was very fortunate to have had parents who were supportive of my interests. My mom taught me and my sisters how to read while we were still toddlers and growing up, we spent a lot of time at a place I used to call “our friend, the library”. I always loved nature books and by the second grade, all I wanted in the world was a microscope so that I could look more closely at things like leaves and insect wings. I grew up in small town Alabama pre-internet shopping days, but that did not stop my parents from finding me a microscope kit for the holidays that year. I like to think that I would still be a scientist if my parents hadn’t been so supportive, but it’s undeniable that their support and encouragement played a large role.

DC: With your volunteering and teaching assistantship experience, how did you come to choose biomedical engineering for your PhD? Or was it a choice that had made itself?

I decided to switch my focus of study from chemical engineering to biomedical engineering for my graduate studies to diversify my skillset.

CH: Biomedical engineering sits at the intersection of many fields, biology, medicine, chemistry, physics, engineering, etc. As a result there are many opportunities to work with and learn from colleagues from all areas of the science.

DC: Tell us more about your pet research projects during your years in academia.

CH: My stint in academia lasted through nine years. It began with my position as an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Ryan Earley’s Integrative Animal Behaviour and Endocrinology Laboratory at the University of Alabama, where I studied the plasticity of the neuroendocrine stress axis in response to socially relevant stimuli in cichlid fish. We worked with Cichlids since we were studying their ability to remember socially relevant stressors. Male cichlid fish will fight very aggressively over territory, so we examined their performance in social contests or fights and studied brain receptor levels associated with memory formation and retention.

A type of Cichlid fish
Credit: David Brough
From: http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/cichlid/cichlids.htm#Description%20of%20Cichlids

My graduate research was conducted in Georgia Tech and Emory’s joint PhD program and was primarily focused on the development and evaluation of two novel organ-on-a-chip models of blood-brain-barrier for use in the preclinical assessment of novel drug compounds. During my graduate training, I also gathered experience in high throughput microfluidics and mass spectrometry with biomedical applications on a number of side projects including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA, as an ORISE (Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education) fellow. Another important experience in my kitty considering the shape my career took later on, was the time I spent in a start-up company (Accelerated Nanotech). Here I worked as a volunteer science consultant with an interdisciplinary team of MBA, MD, JD and PhD contributors to translate a carbon nanotube-based DNA detection device from a lab experiment to a marketable product.

A sample organ-on-a-chip
Credit: National Center for Advancing Translational Science
From: https://www.zmescience.com/medicine/organ-on-a-chip-animal-testing-04323/

DC: Which one among them really narrowed down your interests for your future career path and why? 

CH: It’s hard to say. While I enjoyed the subject matter of my thesis research the most, all of the projects helped build my skillset or knowledge base in one way or another. Looking back, I feel that participating in projects that spanned a wide range of subject matter was immensely valuable to my professional development. It helped me build a set of broadly applicable time management skills while keeping me from becoming “pigeonholed” into one area of expertise.

DC: How did you find your move from academia to industry? Tell us more about the transition. 

I think it is very important to constantly seek out new vantage points and new interactions in order to continue to develop as a professional.

CH: I have really enjoyed the switch to industry because it has given me perspective I did not have before. In academia, you are constantly surrounded by other academics in your field and over time this can alter your perspective in a significant way such that you focus very heavily on a very small number of metrics. I think it is very important to constantly seek out new vantage points and new interactions in order to continue to develop as a professional.

For example, in academia, it is very common to work in a group composed exclusively of other subject matter experts. Because of this, it can be easy to forget that you are speaking in field specific jargon all the time. In industry, it’s very important to respectfully survey your audience while communicating so that you can ensure good information transfer. Also, if you plan to move to industry (especially a start-up), I would suggest practicing professional phone calls. Phone calls are much more efficient than emails for many tasks, and it’s important to be able to articulate yourself clearly when speaking on the phone or leading a phone conference meeting with multiple participants.

DC: Did your research experience make it easier for you to shift to industry? 

CH: I feel that my research experiences in graduate school have helped me a tremendous amount with the switch to industry. In addition to helping me learn how to effectively plan and execute large projects, graduate school exposed me to a range of cutting edge protocols and technologies. The core staff at Georgia Tech and Emory (cleanroom staff, microscopy core, histology core, genetics core, machine shop, etc.) are exceptional, and I gained a lot of valuable hands-on experience with different design, fabrication and experimental techniques while working there that now helps me in my current job.

DC: Tell us more about SpacePharma and how you feel heading research efforts at a startup right after your doctoral degree.

CH: Honestly speaking, I was somewhat daunted by the job when I began the work, but with the support I received from the SpacePharma team, I have found it to be well within my ability to manage effectively. As the Head of R&D for SpacePharma Inc., I am responsible for obtaining and managing US based clients and projects. My primary tasks include advertising and networking to identify researchers who could leverage our system to enhance their research, writing and editing grant materials, engineering new chip designs to implement client science, and the development of client specific protocols for execution of our automated laboratory system. One of the most important things I learned in graduate school is the value and necessity of teamwork, and I am very excited to have now joined the SpacePharma team.

SpacePharma is an innovative global start-up headquartered in Courgenay, Switzerland (SPSA) with two subsidiary companies: SpacePharma Inc. (SPI), located in Exploration Park, Florida, and SpacePharma R&D (SPRD) located in Herzliya, Israel. SPRD is responsible for managing and supporting international clientele, so while I am responsible for managing the US laboratory operations, I am also fully supported by team of highly experienced and passionate space and science experts around the world. In addition, SpacePharma invests heavily in professional development of employees (attendance of conferences, workshops, etc.) to ensure that we have access to all the information, tools, and skills we need to fully support our clients.

DC: Are you still involved in bench level everyday research at Space Pharma? Do you miss it?

CH: My current work is about 40% bench level and 60% project planning and management.

I have really enjoyed the additional insight managerial roles have given me into SpacePharma’s projects, but I am glad I still get to work in the lab.

DC: SpacePharma specialises in microgravity, nanotechnology, biotechnology and research in space. Could you share with us the heart of some of your major projects?

CH: It is well known that exposure to the environment of space (microgravity, ionizing radiation, etc.) causes many chemical and biological processes to behave differently, but due to the difficulties of conducting experiments in space much remains to be learned.

At SpacePharma, our ultimate goal is to increase researcher access to the unique environment of low earth orbit (LEO). For this, SpacePharma has developed a valuable set of remote controlled research platforms that require little to no astronaut intervention to operate yet contain a range of capabilities (fluid handling, microscopy, spectrometry, temperature control, etc.) that enable researchers to remotely conduct complex chemical and biological experiments in LEO. As new human endeavours and commercial opportunities continue to develop in space, we foresee a need for solutions that can expedite the collection of high fidelity data in space.

The novelty of our laboratory systems lies in designing lab-on-a-chip technology in a modular way that can support a variety of research fields on the same laboratory platform. The science we integrate into our systems belongs to our clients. Some examples of the diverse subject matter areas that we have handled include: organ-on-a-chip, microtissue/spheroid, protein crystallization/peptide self-assembly, cancer, DNA damage/repair, bacterial virulence, aging, and biofilm research.

DC: How does SpacePharma bring together such disparate fields on the same platform?

CH: Currently SpacePharma is largely focused in the life sciences and chemistry fields, and most of our projects follow a similar pipeline from concept to execution. As I mentioned our automated modular laboratory system allows us to quickly build a customized build-to-fit system for each client’s science payload. We have a payload on a launch coming up this November from Wallops Island and another coming up in February from Cape Canaveral.

DC: As a research head in a startup working in a very exciting field, what advice would you give to researchers looking to shift base to industry?

Do not be afraid to “cold email” someone about a job opportunity. Find what interests you and reach out and demonstrate your interest to potential employers.

CH: As you become more specialized over the course of your graduate education, you will develop a unique and highly valuable technical skillset. Take some time to define your skillset and think about how you can use it to market yourself to potential employers. Research your dream job and brainstorm a list of skills that job would need and invest some time into looking for resources to build those skills. One of the best things about Georgia Tech and Emory communities is the wide variety of resources (equipment training, seminars on emerging topics, short courses, etc.) available for little or no cost to students.

DC: How did you find the gender representation at Georgia Tech and now at Space Pharma? Any special message especially for women researchers?

CH: There were a few extended periods of time during my graduate career when I was the only female working in my lab, but my lab mates always treated me as an equal and never made me feel even the slightest bit out of place. However, I can remember feeling very insecure when other members of the academic community would make comments that I was only selected for (*insert honor here*) because I was a female and thus placed in a “less competitive application pool”. My message to other graduate students is to have confidence in yourself and your abilities and to remember that you get to decide which comments you internalize vs. which you laugh off.

DC: Thank you Candice for the interview! We wish you good luck and success in all your future endeavours.

CH: Thank you!

Candice’s LinkedIn profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/candice-hovell-phd-943768a1/
SpacePharma webpage: http://space4p.com/#/
Get in touch with her at – hovell.candice@space4p.com

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About the Author

Debarshini Chakraborty is an erstwhile scientist with a deep passion for science communication, science policy and outreach- a person of many hats. Trained in theoretical soft condensed matter physics, through the years she has branched out in directions away from academia although it is always a scientist’s hat that she puts on when bringing her own spin to her work. Currently working in India’s biggest biosciences innovation hub, C-CAMP, and having earlier worked in unusual roles in multiple research institutes and an embassy science department, Debarshini feels that strength in targeted communication requires command over both science and language, matter and presentation.  She is open to connecting with anyone who shares the same career goals on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Editor

Paurvi Shinde did her PhD, Immunology from Uconn Health and her expertise lies in T/B cell biology and activation pathways. She currently works as a Post Doc Fellow at Bloodworks Northwest in Seattle, where she studies the mechanism of alloimmunization to certain human ‘Red Blood Cell antigens’. Apart from science, she’s loves editing scientific articles to convey the message behind it, in a clear and concise way. Follow her on Linkedin.

Illustrator

Smriti Srivastava – Recent PhD in plant molecular biology from National Botanical Research Institute-AcSIR. Apart from pipettes, colours are my buddies. I am a scientist by profession and an artist at heart. I am working as freelance Scientific Illustrator. I like illustrating science, sketching, landscape painting, madhubani art form, travelling and photography.

Blog design: Debarshini Chakraborty

Featured video – Launch of NASA’s CRS-15: Commercial Resupply Mission 15 for the International Space Station on 29th June 2018 on board a SpaceX rocket from Cape Canaveral. Credit: L. Hester

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