BRC Alums

January 18, 2008: BRC Alums Social Hour

We are pleased to announce that there will be a BRC Alums social hour beginning at 5:00 PM on Friday, January 18, 2008 at Humphrey's Grille and Bar, 311 Boston Post Rd, Orange, CT 06477.

New Horizons

Chemical & Engineering News has followed up on their earlier coverage of Bayer's West Haven Research Center shutdown with a new article (ACS membership/subscription required to access link) focused on how Bayer Alumni, predominantly chemists, have fared over the past few months.

Several passages seemed particularly noteworthy. Regarding job prospects for chemists in Connecticut:

"Of the 28 Ph.D. chemists who had worked in the Bayer R&D center, 16 left for jobs at companies outside Connecticut, scattering to California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Colorado, and Canada. Three other Ph.D. chemists went to Bayer's German operations. The research associates, Bayer's term for bachelor's- and master's-level scientists, had better luck in Connecticut. At least 22 secured jobs at local drug or biotech companies. Another 17 ended up at firms across the Northeast and California, and a handful of others shifted to careers outside the lab."

It's no secret that having a good, pre-existing, professional network is a big help when job hunting. The article offered a few examples, including maintaining a weblog, participating in alumni networking groups, etc. Although writing a weblog can have its pitfalls, doing so has helped at least one Bayer Alum:

"[Derek] Lowe started working at Vertex Pharmaceuticals' Cambridge, Mass., site in July...A Vertex official contacted Lowe after reading his blog, called "In the Pipeline," where he occasionally updated readers about a side project dubbed "Vial Thirty-Three." His brand of scientific curiosity appears to be a match for Vertex."

The entrepreneurial spirit is also alive and well among BRC Alums. Several have launched consulting groups, scientific services companies, or joined promising startups.

"[Uday] Khire, meanwhile, is learning the ups and downs of starting a new business. Cheminpharma, the contract research company he founded in March, had a slow first three months, but it has since picked up some small projects from biotech companies. Khire has hired two former Bayer colleagues: a research associate who is working full-time and another who is working part-time. "I'm missing that regular week-to-week paycheck, but it's exciting," Khire says. Within the next year, he hopes to expand the relationship with biotech firms and to establish new relationships with big pharma."

Perhaps the most interesting line in the article is this one:

"Though they couldn't have imagined it last November, all the chemists C&EN talked to say they are happier in their new situations."

While not all alums have found their next positions yet, the morale at alumni events has been very high, and most seem to have found ways to reinvent their careers in interesting and exciting ways. For those who are still looking for the right opportunity, the BRC Alums network seems ready to help:

"And despite scattering far and wide, they have maintained a strong network of former colleagues. Rudolph frequently sends e-mail updates to a list of West Haven alumni, and they also keep track of one another through professional networking sites such as LinkedIn. Staying in touch helped colleagues provide each other with practical and emotional support during the job search. "I don't think I've ever known such a big, happy, dysfunctional family," Kramss says."

Many thanks go to Chemical & Engineering News, and especially their correspondent, Lisa Jarvis, for their continued strong coverage of the BRC Alums.

Links to original C&EN articles (ACS membership or C&EN subscription required to access the links):

• Lisa M. Jarvis, "New Horizons: Former Bayer Chemists Find a Haven Within the Walls of Biotech Companies." November 12, 2007, Chemical & Engineering News, 85:46, pp. 36-38.
• Lisa M. Jarvis, "Pharmaceutical Diaspora: Highly Experienced Bayer Chemists Encounter Challenging Job Market." April 16, 2007, Chemical & Engineering News, 85:16, pp. 27-30.

Yale University to Acquire Bayer Research Center

http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/07-06-13-02.all.html

NEWS RELEASE

Yale University To Expand Medical and Scientific Research Programs With Acquisition of Bayer Complex

New Haven, Conn. — President Richard C. Levin announced that Yale University’s efforts to expand and strengthen its medical and scientific research programs will take a major leap forward with the acquisition of the Bayer HealthCare complex in West Haven and Orange, Connecticut.

The purchase of the facility — which features approximately 550,000 square feet of laboratory space, as well as office buildings, warehouses, and other facilities — will dramatically increase the University’s ability to launch research programs addressing crucial issues affecting human health and quality of life. Financial details of the transaction will be disclosed at the time of closing.

"Yale is already in the midst of a boom in the expansion of its science and medical facilities," said Levin. "The addition of this ready-made, state-of-the-art research space will allow that growth to accelerate at an unprecedented level — potentially making it possible for Yale scientists to develop new discoveries, inventions and cures years earlier. The availability of Bayer’s science laboratories will enable us to undertake research programs that we would not have had space to develop for a decade or more."

"While Bayer is sad to be leaving the site in West Haven and Orange, we are thrilled to be transferring our legacy of innovation to a renowned research institution with which we share a long standing collaborative relationship," said Gunnar Riemann, Member of the Board of Management and President of Pharmaceuticals, Bayer HealthCare AG. "We wish Yale continued success in the expansion of their medical and scientific research programs."

"The heart of the Yale campus will always remain in New Haven," said Levin. "In fact, the University is already committed to building more than 2 million square feet of new facilities in its home city over the next six years. And we are in discussions about the possibility of leasing a significant amount of space in Science Park to help strengthen its role as an incubator for science-based start-up companies."

As part of the acquisition of the Bayer complex, Yale will be making voluntary payments to West Haven and Orange in proportion to the voluntary payment made to New Haven. The municipalities will receive additional PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) funds from the state in recognition of the property’s future nontaxable academic status.

Yale will also invest $1 million over the next three to four years to enhance and strengthen the professional development of middle and high school science teachers in the Greater New Haven area.

The Bayer HealthCare complex is located on 136 acres in West Haven and Orange. The complex features 17 buildings — all built between 1968 and 2002 — in three categories: research lab space (550,000 square feet), administrative office space (275,000 square feet) and manufacturing and warehouse (600,000 square feet). The oldest of these are the manufacturing facilities, which were built for Miles Laboratories, a former division of Bayer HealthCare. One of the newest buildings is a 125,000-square-foot chemical research facility, used for the development of drugs to treat cancer, diabetes and obesity.

"This significant increase in research facilities comes at an opportune time in Yale’s history," said Levin. "As part of its $1 billion commitment to strengthening science and medical research, Yale has substantially increased its science and medical space since 2003. We’ve opened new chemistry, engineering, environmental and medical buildings, and more are in the planning stages. These major new facilities house departments and interdisciplinary research centers that are changing the course of modern scientific inquiry."

The acquisition of the Bayer complex also adds to the University’s presence in West Haven. For over a century, the University has held 50 acres of property in the city, including Yale Field. Yale also has longstanding research and teaching programs at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven.

Yale is currently developing plans for how best to use the facilities at the Bayer complex.

PRESS CONTACT
Helaine Klasky
203-432-1345

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 13, 2007

Pharmaceutical Diaspora

The Bayer Research Community Alumni website was mentioned in the April 16, 2007 issue of Chemical & Engineering News (a subscription is required to access the full article). Here's a quote:

A "Bayer alumni" website they established enables former West Haven employees to keep in touch and pass on potential job opportunities they encounter in their search. Lowe, for example, has posted jobs he heard about through his blog.

"Every day you get a couple of e-mails with job leads," Rudolph says. "We really stuck together and didn't see each other as competitors, even though in some ways we were." His former Bayer colleagues are "a good bunch of people," he adds. "That is something I will hopefully have in my new company."

The level of collegial support has been "tremendous," Kramss adds. "It really blunted some of the dismay over being away from one's colleagues and friends. Now we have a means of staying in touch with one another." And as more scientists from West Haven find work, it creates a new network for others to tap into. Word of mouth is the best way into a company, the chemists say.

If you are a BRC alum, but you are not already a member of one of the private websites or groups, please take a look at the Yahoo Group links or the LinkedIn Group link elsewhere on this page.

Tip: Avoiding Multiple LinkedIn Accounts

Now that we have quite a few BRC Alums using LinkedIn, it's worth pointing out a potential area of confusion when using LinkedIn. Unfortunately, it is very easy to create multiple, redundant LinkedIn accounts if one is not careful.

LinkedIn accounts are keyed to email addresses, so if you use more than one email address, and you receive an invitation at an address that is not part of your LinkedIn profile, you may be prompted to create a new LinkedIn account.

To avoid the resulting confusion, simply add your various email addresses to your LinkedIn account by editing your account settings.

If you have accidentally created multiple LinkedIn accounts, take these steps to resolve the issue:

1. Choose one LinkedIn account to be your permanent account.
2. Transfer all your information (profile, connections etc) to the permanent account. If you have "connections" on the account that you wish to close, be sure to invite them to connect to your permanent account before you request closure of your extra accounts.
3. To close your other account(s), please email LinkedIn Customer Service. Include the email addresses associated with each of the accounts and indicate which will be the primary email address for the account you keep. Be aware that when LinkedIn closes an account, all of the information in that account is deleted, including profile information, connections, and recommendations.

For more information, please review the LinkedIn FAQ.

Bayer Research Community Alumni at LinkedIn

Many BRC Alums have been using LinkedIn to help to manage their professional networks.

LinkedIn has several features specifically designed for groups like ours, so today we are launching the "Bayer Research Community Alums" LinkedIn group as a complement (not a replacement!) for our private Yahoo groups (see the sidebar on the right for links to the Yahoo groups).

All members of the BRC Alums and Beyond Berlex Yahoo groups are invited to join the LinkedIn group, as are individuals from the broader Bayer/Berlex alumni community.

The Yahoo Group will remain our forum for private group communications, while the LinkedIn group will aim to facilitate one-on-one networking among a broader community.

Through the BRC Alums Group on LinkedIn you can:

• Keep up to date with where other group members have landed;
• Keep your friends and colleagues up to date with what you are doing;
• Use the group network to find and reach the new business contacts you need;
• Accelerate your career through referrals from group members;
• Limit your network searches to other group members only, if you wish to do so.

Whether you use LinkedIn already or you're new to LinkedIn, if you are part of the Bayer/Berlex Research Alumni Community, please feel free to join the members-only BRC Alums LinkedIn Group!

March 2, 2007: BRC Alums Social Hour

We are pleased to announce that there will be a BRC Alums social hour beginning at 5:30 PM on Friday, March 2, 2007 at Humphrey's Grille and Bar, 311 Boston Post Rd, Orange, CT 06477.

1991 Scientific Conference

  West Haven BRC 1991 Scientific Conference 
  Originally uploaded by brc_alums.

Miles Research Center
Sixth Annual Scientific Conference
September 16-17, 1991
Southbury, Connecticut
Scanned by P. Tamburini

1990 Scientific Conference

  West Haven BRC 1990 Scientific Conference 
  Originally uploaded by brc_alums.

Miles Research Center
Fifth Annual Scientific Conference
November 5-6, 1990
Southbury, Connecticut
Scanned by P. Tamburini

1989 Scientific Conference

  West Haven BRC 1989 Scientific Conference 
  Originally uploaded by brc_alums.

Miles Research Center
Fourth Annual Scientific Conference
October 10, 1989
Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Scanned by P. Tamburini