Diversity in biotech: How one scientist’s quest for impact took her beyond the lab

As a PhD candidate, Dr N. Erlyani Abd Hamid was no stranger to 16-hour work days. Life was a whirlwind of running lab experiments, interpreting endless amounts of data, and translating her findings into a book-length thesis.  

It was all “in the pursuit of knowledge” in the life sciences, she said. But as time wore on, she yearned for something beyond the world of beakers and bioreactors.   

“Towards the end (of my time in the lab), I was primarily looking for impact,” she said. “What was (my work) going to mean to people on the street?”  

Erlyani’s bid to create impact has led her down a colourful career path through Singapore’s biotech ecosystem. Today, she is the Assistant Director of Programme Strategy and Business Operations at Hilleman Laboratories, a medical research organisation that aims to make life-saving vaccines more accessible in the developing world.

Dr Erlyani in one of Hilleman’s bioreactor rooms or production suites. 

Her career path was far from linear. She put on various corporate “hats”, such as curating technology portfolios and working on corporate planning and strategy. These took her out of the lab into the heart of the biotech business, enabling her to see the bigger picture.  

While engaging stakeholders and developing strategic initiatives might be a different ball game from lab research, it is one she is willing to play for the prize of making a tangible difference.  

She might spend her time in offices instead of labs now, but Dr Erlyani is well aware of the painstaking work behind every medical breakthrough. She spent eight years as a scientist herself, pursuing postdoctoral research on stem cells after completing her PhD.  

Back then, she was part of a large research organisation in Singapore, one of the few groups working on stem cells in the late 2000s.  

“We were uncovering a lot of new pathways on how stem cells continually renewed themselves, and I was very excited to be part of that movement,” she said.

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Combined with her interest in using medicine and technology to combat disease, she found the lab an immensely interesting – and fulfilling – place. But as the years wore on, a question began to surface in her mind.  

“Even if I discover a new pathway or have an incredible breakthrough, what’s that going to mean to people on the street the next day?”  

The answer, it seemed, lay beyond the lab. So, when the opportunity to make an internal transfer to a business-facing role came up, she seized it. Swapping her lab coat for corporate garb came with trepidation – and a great deal of excitement.  

In her new business-facing role, Dr Erlyani curated scientific portfolios to attract investors and drive research and development. In addition to reading data, she had to read people.  

“The key was understanding what motivated each group and what would drive them to work with you,” she said. 

This meant conversations with experts such as physicians, nurses and dieticians. One of the key portfolios she worked on focused on diabetes. In particular, how technology, such as smart watches and mobile apps, could help patients manage the disease.  

“I saw physicians working with scientists to develop tools that could be used in clinics,” she said. “Today, we can safely say that we see these devices and technology in the hands of patients.” It was the impact she was looking for.