One Day, One Job » medicine

Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund

Willy Franzen — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:49:51 +0000

Today’s the big game! By the end of tonight there will probably be a new football hero for many fans. Unfortunately, even being the star of one of the world’s biggest sporting events doesn’t guarantee a carefree future. Football is a brutal sport that takes a terrible toll on the body. This is doubly bad for players. First, it causes all kinds of long-term health problems, and, second, it shortens careers significantly. This becomes a major problem for retired players who no longer have a source of income and are dealing with the physical aftermath of a career in football. Nobody wants to see their heroes down and out, which is why Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund was started. They’re based in Northbrook, IL, and they “provide financial assistance and coordinate social services to dire need retired NFL players who are pioneers of the game and have greatly contributed to the NFL’s status as the most popular sport in America.”

A Great Organization

I know that it’s hard to empathize with someone who played a game for a living, but even today’s players with their salaries that are often millions annually have a tough road ahead of them. Imagine if you made all the money that you’d make in your life in your first three years after college. It’d be pretty hard to be responsibly manage the money–especially knowing that there will likely be long-term medical problems. Fortunately, the NFL has realized the problems that life after football can present, and they’ve gotten much better about taking care of players after retirement; however, that still leaves many retired greats without help. Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund, which is chaired by Mike Ditka, is helping to take care of these players by “treating them with dignity, and addressing the post-football related issues in their lives.” While Gridiron Greats Assistance Fund doesn’t have a jobs page, you can contact them here. They’ve offered internships in the pat, so it many not be unreasonable to inquire about a job. It’s at least worth trying if you’re a big football fan. You may also want to check out our past posts on the National Football Foundation, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, USA Football, and, of course, the NFL and its teams.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Who do you think will win the Super Bowl?

Association of Public Health Laboratories

Willy Franzen — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:48:10 +0000

For the most part illness is an individual problem. You get sick, you go to a doctor if it’s serious enough, and it eventually gets better with or without treatment. But sometimes your illness can be a public health issue. If you get something like influenza or food poisoning, there’s a good chance that information about your illness could help lots of other people stay healthy. At times like these “when new health risks emerge or well-known problems re-emerge, it is public health laboratories that analyze the threat and provide the answers needed to mount an effective response.” The Association of Public Health Laboratories is a non-profit organization based in Silver Spring, MD that “works to strengthen laboratories serving the public’s health in the US and globally.” The organization’s membership spans across all kinds of laboratories ranging from the public health labs mentioned in their name to environmental and agricultural labs. Many are government labs, but there are also corporate and non-profit labs included.

Check the Labs

To get a full understanding of what the Association of Public Health Laboratories does, you really need to understand what public health labs do. Luckily, the APHL has put together an About Public Health Labs page. Once you’ve read that, you’ll be better able to make sense of their programs and policy positions. But the best way to get a feel for why the APHL is an organization that you may want to work for is to check out their success stories–they’re the reason that promoting public health labs is so important. If you’d like to help the APHL deliver more success stories, you should check out their Jobs page. Right now they have a few positions that seem well suited for new and recent grads including Associate Grants Management Specialist, Associate Communications Specialist. There are a few more science-y positions, but they typically require a few years of experience.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about the Association of Public Health Laboratories?

IMMCO Diagnostics

Willy Franzen — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:43:16 +0000

Yesterday, I was watching a tv news segment on holiday etiquette, and a viewer e-mailed in a question about how to deal with throwing a party when nearly every guest has submitted “dietary restrictions.” The “expert” responded that the host should just serve what she wants to serve considering that none of her friends are likely at risk for starvation. My guess is that a lot of the guests don’t really have dietary restrictions but dietary preferences; however, there seems to be an increasing number of people whose health is significantly affected by eating certain things. A lot of these reactions are caused by autoimmune diseases, which are caused by “an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body.” I’m not sure if autoimmune diseases are becoming more prevalent or if they’re just getting more attention, but IMMCO Diagnostics based in Buffalo, NY has built its business on battling autoimmune diseases. They incorporate “innovative medical devices, diagnostic laboratory testing expertise and pioneering research for a comprehensive solution to autoimmune disease diagnostics.”

A Diagnosis for Your Job Search

One might think that IMMCO Diagnostics would be a relatively new company as the awareness surrounding autoimmune diseases has exploded, but they’ve actually been working in the field since 1971. I wish I could really dig into what they do, but autoimmune diagnostics comes with a lot of big words that I don’t understand. If your medical/scientific vocabulary is a bit bigger than mine, you may want to look over IMMCO Diagnostics’ Products to get a better feel for what they’re working on. If you want to work to help people overcome autoimmune diseases, check out IMMCO Diagnostics’ Jobs page. Right now they have two positions that may interest you: Research Associate/Technician and Marketing Assistant. Check them both out and see if they’re worth applying for.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about IMMCO Diagnostics?

Public Health Solutions

Willy Franzen — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:03:54 +0000

For most people health is a deeply personal issue that is only to be talked about with close friends, family, and medical professionals, yet “public health” is a term that you hear used more and more. It’s because health isn’t an independent outcome–it’s closely tied to the health of others in your community. You’re better off if your peers are healthy, which is why governments and non-profits direct so many resources to improving public health. One of the organizations that does this work in New York, NY is Public Health Solutions. They are an “organization that develops, implements and advocates dynamic solutions to prevent disease and improve community health.” They were founded in 1957, and since then they’ve been building upon a “foundation of rigorous scientific research to link research and practice in dynamic ways to improve the health of communities.”

What’s Your Solution?

Public Health Solutions’ programs focus on addressing “critical public health needs such as maternal and child health, nutrition, access to health insurance, HIV prevention and care, and smoking cessation.” You can read up on their current programs here. All together the programs serve more than 200,000 low-income New Yorkers every year. Remember that everything that Public Health Solutions does is based on rigorous research, so you may want to read over some of their their publications to get a better feel for their work. If you find yourself lost in the research, then you may want to consider a job with Public Health Solutions. Their Jobs page has some positions posted, but I think you’ll find the jobs they have posted on Idealist more interesting–the most suitable position for a new or recent grad is Data Coordinator. Check that one out as well as Public Health Solutions’ other positions, and see what works for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Public Health Solutions?

Liquidia Technologies

Willy Franzen — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:49:06 +0000

When I was a kid, there were two kinds of visits to the doctor’s office: ones where I had to get a shot and ones where I didn’t. Children will never be able to understand how lucky they are to have the opportunity to get poked in the arm with a needle so that they can be vaccinated. Tomorrow’s kids will be even luckier to get poked if Liquidia Technologies keeps innovating. They’re a Research Triangle Park, NC based company that is “developing engineered particle-based vaccines and therapeutics that have the potential to dramatically improve the quality of human life.” Liquidia Technologies was founded in 2004 based on discoveries made by a Professor Joseph DeSimone of UNC, and since then they’ve raised a ton of financing.

There’s No Vaccine for Unemployment

I was in over my head as soon as I landed on Liquidia Technologies’ website, but maybe that’s because my Biology education ended after 9th grade. Luckily, I found the company’s corporate video, which does a great job of explaining what they’re all about:

If you’re yearning for more information on the science behind what Liquidia does, you should be able to find a good amount of info on their website. If all the biotechnology lingo makes sense to you without a need for translation, then you might be a good fit for a job at Liquidia Technologies. Right now they’re hiring Associate Scientists in Biology, Drug Delivery, Bio Conjugate Chemistry and Materials Science. They’re looking for people with 0-4 years of experience, so these jobs can be considered entry level. Liquidia also accepts general applications, so that’s an option if you think you could be a good fit in a different role.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did you hate getting shots as a kid?

New England Healthcare Institute

Willy Franzen — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 13:50:47 +0000

Now that our country has a shiny new AA+ credit rating (that’s a downgrade from AAA in case you were wondering), we’re going to have to get far more serious about cutting our government’s deficit spending. Considering that 23% of Federal spending is on health care and that health care costs are consistently growing faster than GDP, we’re going to have to find a way to spend less on health care. Oddly enough, there seem to be a lot of people who strongly believe that cutting costs and improving health care can go hand in hand. Some of those people run the New England Healthcare Institute, a Cambridge, MA based non-profit organization that is “dedicated to transforming health care for the benefit of patients and their families.” They realize how broken our system is, and they’re taking an evidence-based approach towards fixing it.

Transforming Health Care

NEHI calls itself “the largest, most diverse, multi-stakeholder health care organization in the nation.” While many would consider them a think tank, NEHI prefers the term “think-and-do tank.” If you take a look at NEHI’s Programs and Initiatives, you’ll see that their main focus areas are Health Reform, Health and the Economy, Health Information and Technology, Medical Innovation, Waste and Inefficiency in Health Care, and Prevention and Wellness. It’s really interesting to dig into what they’re doing, because it’s an approach that makes sense, even if it’s not talked about much. Our country needs to take a new perspective on health care and start thinking about keeping people healthy instead of treating them when they get sick. That’s a big part of what NEHI is trying to do. If you’re interested in public health, you should really dig into their website and read up on them. If you like what you see, check out NEHI’s Jobs page. Right now they have two positions that could be suitable for new grads: Administrative and Database Coordinator and Health Policy Associate. Give them both a look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about NEHI?

Samaritan’s Purse

Willy Franzen — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:13:00 +0000

This is a sponsored post for Samaritan’s Purse.

We all have a Good Samaritan story–a time where we helped someone in need or were helped by someone when we were in need. These are the moments when people are at their best, yet they don’t seem to happen often enough. Samaritan’s Purse has spent the last 40 years working to ensure that the story of the Good Samaritan lives on and continues to inspire people to “go and do likewise.” Samaritan’s Purse is a non-profit “nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world.” They’re based out of Boone, NC, but they’re constantly repositioning their resources to react to world events. Samaritan’s Purse’s work can typically be separated into two categories: Emergency Relief Programs and Community Development and Vocational Programs. While these two Program groups serve very different situations, they share the goal of helping people in need wherever they may be.

Be a Good Samaritan

There’s no better way to get a feel for Samaritan’s Purse’s work (besides actually joining them and doing it) than taking a look at the In Pictures section of their website. It will give you a feel for what they do, how they do it, and whom they help. One of their major relief projects is focused on helping Japan and the Japanese people recover from the earthquake and tsunami that struck in March of 2011. Samaritan’s Purse was on the ground almost immediately (as you can see here, here, and here). The need for immediate relief supplies has obviously subsided, but now Samaritan’s Purse is leading a rebuilding effort. They are working in a number of communities to get the Japanese people back to a normal way of life before winter comes. This is a tall task when you consider that one community they’re working in “lost 70% of its physical structure” and another was hit by a wave as tall as a 12-story building, but Samaritan’s Purse has a history of excelling with this kind of work.

Right now Samaritan’s Purse is recruiting heavily for their Japan reconstruction effort. Right now their biggest need is for Japanese Interpreters and they think that recent college grads could be perfect fits (they’d also love to hear from people with more experience). This position is vital to the reconstruction effort, and it offers an amazing opportunity to get life-changing experience while doing amazing work. Christian values are an essential part of what Samaritan’s Purse does, so be sure to read their Statement of Faith and learn about their leader Franklin Graham before applying. And if you don’t speak Japanese, there are plenty of other job opportunities posted on Samaritan’s Purse’ Jobs page, and many are perfectly suited for new and recent grads. They include:

Japanese Interpreter (Japan)
Digital Video Producer (Boone, NC)
Marketing/Metrics Analyst (Boone, NC)
Network Administrator (Boone, NC)
Curriculum & Training Specialist (Boone, NC)
Bio-Med Technician (Boone, NC)
Field Accountant (Juba, South Sudan)
Social Media/Marketing Specialist / Communications (Boone, NC)

These look like amazing jobs that truly offer the opportunity to make the world a better place. Give them a look and see which positions fit you the best.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Samaritan’s Purse?

DNAnexus

Willy Franzen — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:29:43 +0000

The idea of having my genome sequenced kind of freaks me out. I’m certainly warming to it, but I don’t like the idea of finding out about a deep, dark family secret or the fact that I’m predisposed to some kind of cancer from a DNA test. I know it’s irrational, and I know that I’ll overcome it eventually. I fully expect that within 20 years every child born in the U.S. will have his or her genome sequenced at birth. So maybe I should just the bite the bullet and get my genome sequenced. But if I’m going to do that, I need your help. The other day I came across a post about Palo Alto, CA based DNAnexus on Hacker News (an awesome site for programmers and people interested in startups). The post was focused on the company’s referral program that offers $20,000 and a full genome sequencing to anyone who refers a software engineer that they hire. That clearly caught my attention (I am trying to run a business here), but, more importantly, it introduced me to what DNAnexus is doing. A single genome contains over 100 gigabytes of data. Storing and analyzing this data requires some serious hardware, especially if you want to do it on a large scale. DNAnexus is an “early-stage software technology company that aims to become the data platform of the genome era.”

You Are the Data

It’s mind blowing when you think about how much data is contained in every single cell of your body. When you multiply that out by the number of people in the world, you realize that computing is going to have to come a long way to be able to be able to crunch all of that data. DNAnexus wants to be the leader by “building the DNA operating system – a platform that will handle the data deluge coming from exponentially increasing whole human genome sequencing.” It’s hard to say what kind of things will be made possible as whole human genome sequencing becomes more common, but you can bet that it will lead to some amazing medical breakthroughs (see their testimonials here). For DNAnexus though, it’s really all about hardware and software breakthroughs. They have built their “infrastructure from the ground up to run on Amazon Web Services, the world’s leading cloud computing provider,” so that they can deliver “computing and storage infrastructure” with 100,000s of CPUs and 100s of petabytes of storage available.

If you’re interested in the intersection of computing technology and genetics, you have to take a look at jobs at DNAnexus. I’m not only saying that because they offer an amazing referral bonus; I really think that they’re doing something that has amazing potential for impact on the human race. DNAnexus is looking to hire Systems Engineers, Security Engineers, Web Services Engineers, Data Visualization and Interaction Engineers, UI/UX Engineers, and Computational Genomics, Algorithms, and Machine Learning Engineer. You can apply for any of these positions on your own if you’d like, but if you want to help support One Day, One Job (and help me overcome my fear of having my genome sequenced) then send me an e-mail to willy@onedayonejob.com with your résumé or LinkedIn profile and I’ll submit it according to the rules of the referral promotion.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you get your genome sequenced?

Arthritis Foundation

Willy Franzen — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 15:02:30 +0000

While I was fishing yesterday (in a winter hat during the month of June I might add), I was tying knots, casting, wading through the river, and catching and releasing lots of fish. Though I wouldn’t by any means call it a strenuous workout, I was certainly putting all of my joints to use–from my fingers to my ankles. Most young people take for granted that their bodies work like they were built to, but it’s not so easy for some people. We often associate arthritis with aging, and it’s definitely linked to that, but it’s a group of disorders that can affect people of all ages (2/3 of people with arthritis are under the age of 65 according to the CDC). There are more than 100 types of arthritis and related conditions, which is why theArthritis Foundation was founded in 1948. They’re an Atlanta, GA based non-profit organization that “helps people take control of arthritis by providing public health education; pursuing public policy and legislation; and conducting evidence-based programs to improve the quality of life for those living with arthritis.” Considering how debilitating arthritis can be for the more than 50 million people who suffer from it, it’s a good thing that the Arthritis Foundation is doing what they do.

Joint Their Team

In just over 60 years of existence, the Arthritis Foundation has invested more than $400 million through grants to researchers which has resulted “in major treatment advances for most arthritis diseases.” They continue to fund research at an extremely high level, and they’ll keep doing it as long as arthritis is a problem. In addition to the research, the Arthritis Foundation offers community-based services like self-help courses, water and land-based exercise classes, instructional videotapes, and more, while also advocating “to local and national governments on behalf of the 46 million Americans with arthritis and chronic joint symptoms.” They seem to be doing great work that really helps to make the lives of millions of people better. If you’d like to be a part of what the Arthritis Foundation is doing, check out their Jobs page. At their National Office they’re looking for a Community Outreach Coordinator, a Consumer Health Marketing Coordinator, and a Web Marketing Specialist. They also have positions with local chapter available like Special Events Coordinator (Cedar Rapids, IA). Take a look and see what appeals to you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you have arthritis?

OpGen

Willy Franzen — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 15:42:55 +0000

Everything that I learned about DNA I learned from the O.J. Simpson trial and Jurassic Park. That’s not entirely true, but it’s scarily close. DNA analysis seemed so futuristic back then, but now it’s an everyday type thing. Still, there continues to be a ton of innovation in the world of molecular DNA diagnostics, and one of the leaders is OpGen, which used to be headquartered in Madison, WI, but is now located in Gaithersburg, MD. OpGen’s business is based on “a unique and powerful Optical Mapping Technology that rapidly generates high-resolution, ordered, whole genome restriction maps from single DNA molecules.” I’d explain that to you if I could, but I think you’re better off reading OpGen’s explanation of Optical Mapping.

OpGen Sesame

So what is Optical Mapping good for? Well OpGen aims to have their technology “positively influence healthcare outcomes, advance scientific research, and enhance public health.” But what does that actually look like? You’ve heard about the latest E. coli outbreak in Europe, right? Understanding the genetics of this new, extremely virulent strain of bacteria is essential to fighting it. OpGen’s Optical Mapping technology enables scientists and researchers to “discriminate between closely related strains or that detect insertions in engineered strains,” and, in turn offer “a tractable solution for triaging microbial strains for complete genome sequencing.” It’s still way over my head, but it’s really cool stuff. If you are interested in genetics and the science behind Optical Mapping, then you may want to consider check out Jobs at OpGen. They have a few opening that seem suitable for new or recent grads in Gaithersburg, MD including Customer Support Specialist, Laboratory Assistant I – Manufacturing, and Laboratory Associate. Check the positions out and see if you’re a good fit for any of them.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about OpGen?

Central Intelligence Agency

Willy Franzen — Mon, 02 May 2011 15:52:33 +0000

I was a senior in high school on September 11, 2001. We were told what had happened during our morning announcements period, and a few of who had free periods after went to the beach across the street from our school’s campus. We knew that on a clear day you could usually see the Twin Towers from there, but all we could see was a plume of smoke. We listened on the radio and heard reports of the towers falling and rumors of other attacks in the works. I was deeply affected by what happened that day, and since then I have been waiting for our country to bring Osama bin Laden to justice. Yesterday, a group of NAVY SEALs did just that under the command of the Central Intelligence Agency, which is based in Washington, DC but operates all over the world. I am extremely grateful to all of those who were involved–especially for those who risked their lives to make us safer. It’s a reminder of how important it is for our government agencies to have top talent working for them. WIthout great people working at the CIA and in our armed forces, bin Laden would still be at large.

Share Your Intelligence

The Central Intelligence Agency “was created in 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act by President Harry S. Truman.” We often think of it as some super secret spy agency, and in some ways that what it is; however, there’s a lot more to the CIA. As the CIA’s About page mentions, the CIA is under the direction of the Director of Central Intelligence, and he or she is tasked with:

Collecting intelligence through human sources and by other appropriate means, except that he shall have no police, subpoena, or law enforcement powers or internal security functions;
Correlating and evaluating intelligence related to the national security and providing appropriate dissemination of such intelligence;
Providing overall direction for and coordination of the collection of national intelligence outside the United States through human sources by elements of the Intelligence Community authorized to undertake such collection and, in coordination with other departments, agencies, or elements of the United States Government which are authorized to undertake such collection, ensuring that the most effective use is made of resources and that appropriate account is taken of the risks to the United States and those involved in such collection; and
Performing such other functions and duties related to intelligence affecting the national security as the President or the Director of National Intelligence may direct.

The operation that occurred yesterday is an example of the CIA at its best (well maybe at their true best we never even hear about it). Obviously, we can’t know most of the details of the operation, but it appears that the processes that the CIA developed over the past 10 years finally led to this accomplishment of one of the major goals of the War on Terror. If you’re inspired by this success, then maybe you should consider a Career with the CIA. They are a major entry level employer, and the Agency offers a very wide range of employment opportunities. Jobs are offered in the following areas:

Accounting, Budget & Finance
Analysis
Clandestine Service
Contracts & Acquisitions
Cyber Security
Engineering
Facilities Services
Geography & Cartography
Graphics, Multimedia, Publications & Photography
Information Management
Information Technology
Investigations
Legal Services
Library Services
Logistics Services
Medical Services
Science, Technology & Weapons
Security
Support Services
Trades and Labor

The CIA is one of the few government agencies that makes it extremely easy to browse through their job opportunities, and you can do that here. Today is a good day to be an American and a good day to think about career opportunities that will allow you to serve your country.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What secrets do you know about the CIA?

Child Mind Institute

Willy Franzen — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 15:05:40 +0000

Children are by definition immature. They can be confusing, frustrating, and annoying for adults, but nobody should ever be surprised when children act like… children. But when is it something more? Psychiatric and learning disorder issues can be particularly hard to diagnose in kids. Yet identifying and treating such issues as early as possible is essential to ensuring that a child can live a full and happy life. The Child Mind Institute is a New York, NY based non-profit that “is devoted to transforming mental health care for the world’s children to enable them to reach their full potential.” By focusing on finding new ways to identify and treat childhood psychiatric and learning disorders, the Child Mind Institute is helping those who are least equipped to help themselves.

A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste

According to the Child Mind Institute’s website, there are more than 15 million in children in the United States with psychiatric disorders, and less than half of them will ever receive help. The Child Mind Institute is a relatively young organization, but they’re working tirelessly to change this. The key idea behind the Child Mind Institute is “turning science into solutions for the world’s children.” Their commitment to science includes conducting research, making information and resources based on this research available to parents, offering “evidence-based clinical care for children and their families,” and advocating “to destigmatize childhood psychiatric disorders and bring effective care to families around the globe.” If this sounds like a mission that you want to be part of, then you should check out the Child Mind Institute’s Careers page along with their Idealist page. Right now they have a few openings that seem appropriate for new or recent grads including Intake Coordinator, Receptionist, and Data Manager. It looks like a great organization, so maybe you can help them “build a global institution that will be a leader in turning science into solutions for the world’s children.”

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about the Child Mind Institute?

Caring for Carcinoid Foundation

Willy Franzen — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 16:08:01 +0000

Cancer sucks. We’ve all dealt with the pain it causes at some point. But things are getting better. We’re constantly making progress towards more effective cancer treatments, and a big reason for this is that we’re starting to treat different types of cancer as individual diseases. This means that organizations focused on specific cancers are becoming increasingly important. Take for example the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation based in Boston, MA. They’re a non-profit that aims “to discover a cure for carcinoid and related neuroendocrine tumors” while also working “to eliminate the suffering of patients, families, and caregivers affected by neuroendocrine tumors.” The Caring for Carcinoid Foundation is extremely research focused, which is why they direct “100% of all individual donations to fund breakthrough scientific research of carcinoid and related neuroendocrine tumors.” They’ve already awarded more than $6 million in research grants, and that number is going to keep on growing.

Show How Much You Care

The Founder of the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation is named Nancy Lindholm. She’s currently living with Carcinoid cancer, which unfortunately has no cure. Here’s a part of her story:

A few days before my first wedding anniversary, at age 29, I collapsed on the subway in Boston. I was taken to the emergency room at Massachusetts General Hospital. There, I was diagnosed with extensive liver tumors that displace the majority of my liver, as well as with innumerable bony tumors. The doctors were grim and gave me a few months to live.

For years, I had experienced tremendous fatigue and abdominal pain and, eventually, intense flushing. My doctors always told me these symptoms resulted from the stress of working long hours as a tax attorney. In fact, these symptoms were caused by carcinoid cancer and its metastatic effects known as Carcinoid Syndrome. My diagnosis was confirmed several weeks later by a liver biopsy.

I founded the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation to support leading scientists whose research will lead to a cure for carcinoid. I know the lonely feeling of fighting an incurable cancer that receives little governmental research funding and little pharmaceutical company interest. I also know that greater insight into carcinoid cancer will result in greater insight into other cancers such as neuroendocrine, endocrine, gastrointestinal, and prostate.

If you’re moved by Nancy’s story, then you should check out the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation’s jobs on Idealist. Right now they’re looking for an Entry Level Executive Assistant / Communications Coordinator. It looks like a great opportunity to work with a great organization, so check it out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Had you heard of Carcinoid cancer before?

Precision Therapeutics

Willy Franzen — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 14:00:42 +0000

In just the past year and a half, I’ve lost two important people in my life to cancer. Chances are that you’ve been similarly affected by the disease considering that 1 in 4 deaths in this country are caused by cancer and that there were more than 1.5 million new cancer cases last year. The numbers sound grim, but every year we’re getting better and better at treating cancer. One of the major trends that I keep hearing about is that doctors are starting to see cancers as individual diseases instead of as one disease that affects many areas of the body. Precision Therapeutics is a Pittsburgh, PA based company that is taking this idea once step further. They believe that cancer should be treated at an individual level. In other words, they see every single case of cancer as potentially unique, and they want to help doctors and patients find the best way to treat it.

You Need Precision in Your Job Search

Precision Therapeutics was founded in 1995, and since then most of their focus has been devoted to a single product. It’s called the ChemoFx® Drug Response Marker, and it is “a test that quantifies an individual cancer patient’s probable tumor response to various chemotherapeutic and biologic agents—providing both sensitivity and resistance information.” It works by testing a range of different chemotherapies on a patient’s cancer cells. It then determines which of the different therapies are most likely to be effective and ineffective, so that doctors have a better chance of taking the right course of action. Obviously I’m not qualified to give you the full overview since my last Biology class was in 9th grade, but what I’ve told you should be enough to pique your interest. If it has, then you will want to take a look at Precision Therapeutics’ Careers page. Right now they’re looking for a Data Analyst, a Java Software Developer, and a Medical Records Coordinator. All three positions look suitable for a new or recent grad, so check them out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Precision Therapeutics?

Sabin Vaccine Institute

Willy Franzen — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 17:39:27 +0000

In the history of human existence, there are few technological advances that have had as much of a positive effect on our species as the development of vaccines. The truly amazing thing about vaccines is how cost effective they are when it comes to improving the human condition. A single intervention can give an individual lifelong immunity from or resistance to a variety of diseases, and the marginal cost of a vaccine dose after development is often ridiculously low. One of the great vaccine triumphs in human history was Dr. Albert B. Sabin’s development of the oral live virus polio vaccine. He was a scientist who “dedicated his entire professional career to the elimination of human suffering though his groundbreaking medical advances” and “waged a tireless campaign against poverty and ignorance throughout his lifetime.” In 1993 he passed away, and the Sabin Vaccine Institute was founded in his honor. It is a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that is “dedicated to reducing needless human suffering from vaccine preventable and neglected tropical diseases through prevention and treatment.”

Job Search Immunity

Sabin Vaccine Institute does its work through three key programs: Sabin Vaccine Development, Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, and Vaccine Advocacy and Education. These programs are complementary in that they all have the shared goal of “developing preventative measures for diseases that place burdens on the world’s poorest countries.” Those preventative measures may be in the form of new vaccines, or they may be in the form of education programs that promote vaccine use. Sabin Vaccine Institute’s mission may seem simple, and in many ways it is. Unfortunately, vaccination isn’t as simple as just poking people in the arm over and over again. If you’d like to join Sabin Vaccine Institute in their mission to end suffering across the world, then you should check out their Jobs page. Right now they have two jobs posted, and both seem suitable for new or recent grads: Resource Development Coordinator and International Vaccine Advocacy Program Coordinator. Both jobs look great.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Sabin Vaccine Institute?

Cord Blood Registry

Willy Franzen — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:09:40 +0000

You can sell anything to new parents. They want to create a perfect world for their new baby, so they often tend to go overboard on things like strollers, cribs, mobiles, and clothes. Recently, an expensive new option for parents-to-be has come to market. It seems a little out there at first, but it has the potential to be the most valuable purchase/investment that a parent could make. It’s having your child’s stem cells banked at birth by freezing the blood from the umbilical cord. The mention of stem cells often creates a lot of controversy, but that’s almost always directed at embryonic stem cell research. There are plenty of other ways to procure stem cells—and umbilical cord blood is one of the best, especially for individual medical use. Stem cell therapies are still pretty uncommon, but the hope is that future therapies will be available to those who have had their stem cells banked—and there’s already a long list of diseases that have been treated with stem cells from cord blood. Cord Blood Registry in San Bruno, CA is the world’s “largest and most experience cord blood bank” having “already saved cord blood for more than 325,000 newborns.” Banking cord blood may not be all that common yet, but if you’re going to do it, it looks like Cord Blood Registry is the place to go.

Banking on the Future

Now, there are some people who criticize cord blood banks for taking advantage of naive parents and selling them an expensive product/service that isn’t really necessary. There may be some truth to that, but I’m sure the parents of children who were treated with stem cells from their cord blood are pretty happy with their investment. Now, there’s no way that I could explain the whole process of cord blood banking, but the Cord Blood Registry website does a great job of that. They have sections on Why You Should Bank Stem Cells, Why You Should Choose Cord Blood Registry, and a great database of Frequently Asked Questions. The site is extremely informative, even if it is focused on selling parents on the idea of cord blood banking. If you’re fascinated by what Cord Blood Registry is doing, then you’ll want to head over to their Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for a Client Support Representative, a Human Resources Coordinator, and an Associate Manager/Content Scientist. I wonder if employees get free cord blood banking for their kids?

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would bank your child’s cord blood?

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

Willy Franzen — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 16:40:13 +0000

If you watch the news enough, there’s a good chance that you’ll never want to leave the house. The world is a dangerous place, and things like terrorist attacks, Black Friday stampedes, and infectious diseases are out there waiting for us. Obviously most of these dangers are overhyped—but who knows what to believe and what not to believe? Hopefully our public health agencies and their employees. They’re the ones that we need to be well informed and well connected, which is why the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials exists. It’s a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that is “dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to assuring excellence in state-based public health practice.” They do this by bringing public health officials together and keeping them connected.

Join the Association

The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials has a vision of “healthy people thriving in a nation free of preventable illness and injury” and a mission “to transform public health within states and territories to help members dramatically improve health and wellness.” These are things that everybody can get behind. The ASTHO’s About page actually gives a great overview of the organization, so I recommend that you give it a look and browse its links. You’ll start to better understand what the organization does and how they work. Once you’ve done that, you’ll want to check out the Associate of State and Territorial Health Officials’ job postings on Idealist. Right now they’re looking for an Immunization and Infectious Disease Policy Analyst and a Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Program Coordinator. Both look relatively suitable for new or recent grads, so give them a look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about the ASTHO?

The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics

Willy Franzen — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 14:00:17 +0000

Just two weeks ago we were talking about market failures and externalities when we looked at The Institute for Market Transformation. Today we’re going to look at an organization that focuses on a single issue that is dominated by externalities. Antibiotics are truly wonder drugs. They can cure all kinds of ailments. One of their few downfalls is that the more that they’re used, the less effective they become. Now, this isn’t an individual drug resistance, but a worldwide one. If I use an antibiotic today, it may not work as well for you next year. Unfortunately, individual incentives for both doctors and patients lead to antibiotic overuse. The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics is a Boston, MA based non-profit organization that does exactly what its name says. Their “specialized staff provides field consultations and lend specialized expertise to guide policy makers, provider organizations, and other stakeholders seeking to improve antimicrobial supply, use, and management decisions.”

How Prudent Are You?

You’ve had your head in the toilet for four days. You have a stomach bug, and it’s not going away. You go to the doctor and beg for antibiotics. He tells you that your situation is most likely viral, but to shut you up he gives you some antibiotics. You start feeling better the next day, and you assume it’s the antibiotics that did the trick. You won’t only beg next time, but you’ll insist. It’s an ugly cycle, and it’s a big part of the reason that antibiotic resistance is becoming such a problem. Nobody cares about the long-term costs of their own use when the costs will be passed off to the next guy who gets sick. You may think that this is a relatively new problem, but The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics has been talking about it for nearly 30 years. They’re at the forefront of the field, and they’re constantly working on “Preserving the Power of Antibiotics.” If you’d like to join them, you can learn about job opportunities here. Right now they’re looking for an Executive Assistant/Project Coordinator and a Part-time Administrative Assistant. Both look like great opportunities, so check them out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How often do you use antibiotics?

MCG

Willy Franzen — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 15:20:12 +0000

Did you know that you can get Amazon Prime for free if you’re a college student? That means unlimited, free two-day shipping on everything you buy.

For the past couple of months we’ve been including more numbers than usual in our daily posts—things like three-year growth rates and annual revenues. Since we’ve been looking mostly at companies on the Inc. 500, we figure that it’s useful information. If simple numbers like those intimidate you, then today’s company is definitely not for you. However, if your response to our daily posts is to seek out more numbers and dig into annual reports and other similar documents, then you’re in luck. MCG is a Providence, RI based company that does mathematical, statistical, and strategic consulting. Their motto is “Nothing is too complex.” The first person listed on their Management Team page is their Chief Analytics Officer, so that should tell you a lot about MCG’s focus. And I almost forgot—MCG has grown at an 834.4% rate over the past three years to $2.2 million in revenue (they were only founded in 2006).

Quantify Your Worth at MCG

I’m not sure which is more interesting, the areas that MCG works in or the clients who use them. Apparently, they break their business up into ten defined areas: Business Consulting, Business Planning and Valuation, Trading Systems, Government Procurement Consulting, Dissertation Assistance, Medical and Biostat Research, Equal Employment Advisory & Litigation Support, Casino Gaming and Sports Analysis, Market Research Services, and Risk Management. With all that expertise, it should be no surprise that their clients include Starbucks, ESPN, Nielsen, Teach for America, Visa, Harvard Medical School, and quite a few other huge names. If you graduated with a degree from a top program in theoretical or applied statistics, pure or applied mathematics, physics, economics and econometrics, psychometrics, engineering, or computer science, then you may want to consider a Career at MCG. They don’t list specific positions, but you can reach out to them about their opportunities at careers@mcg-site.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you a quant?

Remote Medical International

Willy Franzen — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 13:11:08 +0000

Despite how much complaining goes on about the state of health care in this country, the truth is that we live in a remarkable time for medical treatment—especially in emergency situations. With 911, ambulances, and hospitals, we are extremely adept at addressing urgent medical situations. But what happens when those situations happen somewhere that traditional services can’t reach? That’s where Seattle, WA based Remote Medical International steps in. They provide “equipment, training, telemedicine, and onsite medical care for anyone who works or plays where going to the hospital is not an option.” They are yet another Inc. 500 company that seems to have found a great market niche. Over the past three years, Remote Medical International has increased revenues 1184% to $5.2 million. The coolest thing about that growth is that Remote Medical International is offering services that save lives—lives that may not have been saved just a few years ago.

Go Remote

Whether you’re a mountain climber or a member of our armed forces, it’s good to know that there’s someone there to help you get out of a sticky situation. Even in a worst case scenario Remote Medical International might be able to help. Their services fall into four key categories: Medical Equipment & Supply Provisioning, Medical & Rescue Support Services, Wilderness Medicine & Rescue Training, and Telemedicine Services. These are the types of projects that Remote Medical International has worked on in the past. Obviously, offering remote medical services is something that requires a ton of experience. This means that Remote Medical International may not be the ideal entry level employer, but it’s still worth looking at their Jobs page. For instance, I know a lot of students work as paramedics on their college campuses, and those are the types of students who would probably be best suited to a job like Remote Site Paramedic or maybe even Wilderness Medicine Instructor. If you love adventure and have an interest in medicine, there’s no better place to grow your career than Remote Medical International.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever needed medical care in a remote situation?

Forensic Fluids Laboratories

Willy Franzen — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:51:32 +0000

Do you like animals? Need a job? If you said yes to both, then you need to check out entry level opportunities at Nestle Purina. They’re our sponsor this week.

While on a fishing trip last month, I met a guy who was telling me about his daughter’s coursework in forensics. He mentioned that her college’s program has its own house for practicing crime scene investigation. Apparently, it’s filled with all kind of carnage—you know, bullet holes, blood stains, and other—ahem—bodily fluids. I told the guy that I didn’t understand how this house was any different from most college housing after a good weekend, but he didn’t seem to appreciate the humor. My point is that the area of forensics is growing, and Kalamazoo, MI based Forensic Fluids Laboratories is a perfect example of this. They’re an Inc. 500 company with 1,680.7% three-year revenue growth and $2.8 million in annual revenue. Forensic Fluids Laboratories specializes in testing oral fluids—in other words, spit—with a heavy emphasis on drug testing.

Salivate Over These Jobs

There’s a decent chance that once you land a job, you’ll be subjected to a drug test. It’s become a common practice, mostly because it helps companies limit their liability and reduce turnover costs. The problem with drug tests are that they’re extremely invasive. Both urine and blood samples are difficult to collect, and can only be 100% accurate if the samples are collected under supervision by a reliable source. Hair tests provide another alternative, but apparently they’re quite expensive. Forensic Fluids Laboratories offers the opportunity to test for drugs with a simple swab of the mouth. Within 72 hours they can identify a positive test for a laundry list of drugs, and within 24 hours they can identify a negative test. Forensic Fluids Laboratories’ are extremely reliable, and they’re even court approved. It truly is disruptive technology for the drug testing industry. If you’re fascinated by this kind of stuff, you should check out jobs at Forensic Fluids Laboratories. Right now they’re looking for a Laboratory Technologist, and it seems like a perfect entry level opportunity for someone with a background in “chemistry, medical science, biology, biochemistry, microbiology, toxicology or equivalent.” That’s all they have right now, but they’re growing fast and will likely be hiring more people in the near future.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever had your spit tested?

Somark Innovations

Willy Franzen — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:43:26 +0000

If you’re anything like me, you’ve run into this problem before. You’re sitting around the house, and your lab mice are frolicking around. One of them starts misbehaving and you need to scold it, but you can’t because you don’t know it’s name. They all look the same, and you are completely clueless as to who the troublemaker is. Ok, I actually don’t have mice in my house, and I hope that you don’t either, but if you’ve ever worked with lab mice you probably know that identifying them is kind of important.Somark Innovation is a San Diego, CA based company that makes that a lot easier. They’ve developed technology called Labstamp that “applies automated tail tattoos for mouse identification.” The tattoos are human readable, permanent, and available with 46,656 unique alpha-numeric IDs.

San Diego Ink

I know that a lot of people don’t love the idea of animal testing, but it’s essential to all kinds of scientific research. Somark Innovations provides technology that makes testing with mice more cost effective and less prone to mistakes. It may seem stupid, but proper identification of lab mice can be absolutely essential to the success of a given study. There’s a version of Labstamp on its way for lab rats, and I’m interested to see how else Somark Innovations uses their technology going forward. Some of the earlier press on Somark Innovations mentions “chipless RFID tattoos,” which sounds really cool, but it doesn’t seem to be mentioned on their site anymore. Somark Innovations also doesn’t mention a Jobs page, but they do note on their Team page that they’re “always looking for more team members, especially engineers” and “if you would like to learn more about joining the SOMARK team, please send a note to LearnMore@somarkinnovations.com.” They are currently looking for a Marketing intern, so it may not be just technical people that they’re looking for.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you get a tattoo on your tail?

Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation

Willy Franzen — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:46:53 +0000

Over the past year I’ve seen cancer do a lot of damage, and I know that I will see it do more damage as I move through life. Still, I believe by the time I’m starting to get old, cancer won’t be nearly as much of a worry as something else that we haven’t even heard of yet. It doesn’t seem all that long ago when most cancers were death sentences, but now the majority of cancers have strong treatment options. The problem with cancer treatment is that its short-term effects are often worse than those of the disease. The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation is trying to change this. They are a New York City based non-profit organization that was started by thankful patients of an oncologist/hematologist whose name is, obviously, Samuel Waxman. The Foundation is “dedicated to supporting a focused research program to develop targeted cancer cell-specific therapies with minimal toxicity, such as differentiation therapy.”

A Foundation for a Cure

I have little or not understanding of the science that Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation focuses on, but I do know that they’ve put $70 million to work since 1976. They have already had success with the treatment that they’ve helped develop for acute promyelocytic leukemia, and there hope is that their research will apply to treating many other forms of cancer too. What makes the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation unique is that their “research is not disease-specific but concept driven.” This means that they have focused on specific way of attacking cancer instead of focusing on treating a specific type of cancer, which is how many cancer related non-profits work. If you’re excited about the research that the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation is doing, you might want to consider a job with them. Right now they have one position posted on Idealist: Development Associate. It does require a few years of previous development experience, but that’s just the kind of experience that college students are gaining on campus every day (at least it is judging from all the phone calls I get from Cornell).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation?

ZocDoc

Willy Franzen — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:24:33 +0000

Yesterday we talked about how regenerative medicine is making it more and more likely that you’ll be able to heal from a stupid Fourth of July injury. Today we’re going to talk about a company that makes it super simple to make an appointment for a doctor (or dentist) to check out that injury that you’re embarrassed to tell anyone about. The company is called ZocDoc, and they’re based in New York City. They’ll not only help you find a doctor or dentist who specializes in what you need, but they’ll also allow you to make an appointment with just a few clicks. You can even check up on reviews of the doctor before you book him or her, and once you’ve had your appointment, you can add a review. ZocDoc has only rolled out in a few areas so far, so you can’t find any kind of doctor in any city or town, but I’m sure that’s in the plans once the business model gets rolling.

Say Ahhhh

ZocDoc hasn’t fixed the fact that you have to wait in a waiting room before you can wait in an individual waiting room with most doctors, but I bet that their review system will bring down wait times over time. The best thing about ZocDoc is that they put a big emphasis on being able to schedule an appointment today. You get your problem taken care of immediately, and the Doctor is able to fill his or her schedule on days when there aren’t enough advance appointments. It’s brilliant, and surprising that nobody else has already conquered online booking for doctors. I also find it surprising that ZocDoc doesn’t charge Doctors a per-patient fee. New patients are key to growing a practice, so you’d think it would make sense to work with a focus on lead generation. Instead ZocDoc charges a few hundred bucks a month for the service.

We’ve seen a huge boom in businesses that help local customers find local businesses, so it seems logical that the model applies to the medical fields. If you’re interested in ZocDoc, you should check out their Jobs page. Right now they have a ton of jobs posted (must be growing) including a number of positions that seem suitable for a new or recent grad like Software Engineer, Coding Wizard/Ninja, Copywriter/Creative Writer, Finance and Operations Analyst, Recruitment Sourcing Specialist, Marketing Analyst, Operations Associate, and Sales Executive (New York/San Francisco/Washington, DC/Chicago). All of the jobs look awesome, so check them out and see what fits your interests.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Will you use ZocDoc?

Advanced BioHealing

Willy Franzen — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 16:16:28 +0000

Last week a friend was telling me that his wife, who is in her residency, was going to have to work in the ER on the Fourth of July. I have to imagine that’s one of the most active nights of the year with injuries from fireworks, barbecues, and gunshots (especially in Chicago). All you need is a little imagination to come up with some nasty scenarios that would have ruined your holiday and left you with a permanent injury like my friend who passed out at a barbecue and now has perfect grill marks on his forearm—yes, that means he put his arm down twice. Usually these types of injuries aren’t funny, and they can be extremely traumatic with lasting consequences. Luckily, we’re entering an age of regenerative medicine in which injuries may not be so permanent. Advanced BioHealing is a La Jolla, CA based company that “develops and commercializes living cell therapies that repair damaged human tissue and enable the body to heal itself.” Their current product is called Dermagraft, and it’s a “a bio-engineered skin substitute that assists in restoring damaged tissue and supports the body’s natural healing process.” Right now it’s FDA approved to treat diabetic foot ulcers, but it appears that Advanced BioHealing also has a product called TransCyte that might be used to treat the kind of burns that fireworks or barbecues could cause.

Can You Regenerate?

Now, my medical knowledge is pretty much limited to what I make up, so I’m not the guy to tell you all about Advanced BioHealing. You’ll have to head over to their website and delve into their Corporate Info, Product Details, and Press Releases. Once you get a feel for how Advanced BioHealing works and operates, then you can check out their Careers page. They have a ton of jobs posted, and plenty of them seem suitable for new grads with the right backgrounds. These positions include Manufacturing Associate, Shipping and Receiving Associate, Quality Control Microbiologist, Reimbursement Manager, Research Associate, and a number of Sales positions in various locations. You can check out the job descriptions to get a better feel for what they’re looking for since some of the jobs require specific educational backgrounds.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about Advanced BioHealing?

PatientsLikeMe

Willy Franzen — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:49:18 +0000

When I was growing up, I suffered from a pretty bad case of asthma. I didn’t have scary attacks like some people do, but I had triggers that would have me wheezing for hours. Running always did it. So did cigarette smoke. Sometimes it was freshly cut grass, or some other unknown allergen. If I caught a cold, it was significantly worse because of the way my lungs reacted. I saw doctors, I got tests (I was apparently operating at half of normal lung capacity), and I tried medications. Nothing really helped, and a lot of the medications had side effects that made me feel even worse. Luckily, I eventually outgrew my asthma, but I wonder if I could have dealt with it more effectively if I had the opportunity to interact with other kids who were in a similar situation. A site like PatientsLikeMe would have been perfect. Put simply, it’s an online community for patients with similar conditions, doctors, and organizations to interact and share experiences. The Cambridge, MA based company was started in 2004 by 3 MIT engineers who had their lives touched by ALS, and it’s the kind of “healthcare reform” that nobody can argue against—by the patients and for the patients.

EmployeesLikeYou

My favorite thing about PatientsLikeMe is their business model. Instead of shilling for drug companies and letting them blast you with crappy ads about their drugs that have worse side effects than the problems that they cure, PatientsLikeMe has come up with a more creative approach to driving revenue. They’ve entered “partnerships with healthcare providers that use anonymized data from and permission-based access to the PatientsLikeMe community to drive treatment research and improve medical care.” That means that users aren’t only gaining an emotional and informational boost by being members of PatientsLikeMe. They’re also helping drive forward medical research. If PatientsLikeMe sounds like the kind of company that you’d like to be a part of, then you should check out their Careers page. Right now there’s only one position that might be suitable for new grads: Community Moderator. It’s not necessarily an entry level position, but if you have experience managing online communities and you have an interest or background in medicine/healthcare, then it’d be hard to find a better fit. PatientsLikeMe also has a You Tell Us job listed, which means that you can tell them how you think that you’d fit in at their company. Pretty cool.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever used PatientsLikeMe?

WebMD

Willy Franzen — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:03:02 +0000

If you woke up this morning with a sore throat, what would you do? I bet many of you would get on the computer, type your symptoms into Google, and probably end up on WebMD trying to self-diagnose. I’m not sure whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing (maybe we should leave the diagnosing for the doctors), but it’s how most of us operate these days. We have a remarkable amount of medical information available at our fingertips, and WebMD, which is based in NYC with a significant presence in a number of other cities, is responsible for a lot of it. They consider themselves “the leading provider of health information services, serving consumers, physicians, other healthcare professionals, employers and health plans.” If you read that closely, you probably noticed that WebMD’s business goes well beyond their consumer facing website.

A Prescription for Your Job Search

From what I can tell, WebMD’s Consumer Network is ad supported, while they also offer paid Professional Networks, Private Portal Services, and Publishing Services that provide additional sources of revenue. I’d expect their business to continue to grow well because of their unique position. They are in the business of providing information, so they can grow as our consumption of healthcare increases, but they don’t have to worry about the threat of legislation killing their business model. One indication of this expectation for growth is the fact that they have 85 jobs posted right now. Some of the positions that seem best suited to new grads include Associate Project Manager (Montreal, Canada), Customer Service Representative (New York, NY), Health Educator (Indianapolis, IN), iPhone Application Developer (New York, NY), Onsite Health/Wellness Coordinator (Puerto Rico), Sales Planner/Account Specialist (New York, NY), and Web Designer (Portland, OR). It appears that WebMD was actually posting more jobs as I was writing this, so you’ll want to look for yourself and see what they have. There appears to be a good mix of jobs (tech, health, writing), so see if there’s a good fit for you and apply online.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How often do you use WebMD?

Intellectual Ventures

Willy Franzen — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:30:53 +0000

One of the books that I’ve been reading lately is SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance. It’s a great follow-up to the original Freakonomics, and it once again shows how changing your mindset can lead you to all kinds of new ideas (this is a really important lesson for job seekers). One of the companies that is mentioned in the book is Intellectual Ventures, a Bellevue, WA based invention company. They’re all about ideas. Things like product design, product development, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and service all come later, and Intellectual Ventures doesn’t want anything thing to do with those processes. They just invent, invent, invent. The company isn’t tied to one specific area—they’re working on problems like stopping Malaria, preventing hurricanes, and counteracting negative effects from climate change should they ever happen.

An Intellectual Venture for Your Career

For Intellectual Ventures it’s all about owning the intellectual property. They want to come up with the ideas, make them work, and then let other companies do the rest. The business side will be about licensing the technology to the right people on a non-exclusive basis possibly including spin-off companies, but for now it’s all about building a technology portfolio. Intellectual Ventures has been actively inventing since 2003, and since then they’ve filed thousands of patents. These patent applications “span a broad range of areas including computer software and hardware, user interface design, semiconductors, biomedical devices, advanced medical procedures, digital imaging, nanotechnology, nuclear energy and advanced particle physics.” As you can probably tell from that list of topic area (and the company’s name), Intellectual Ventures is filled with extremely smart people. It was founded by two former C level Microsoft executives.

If you’ve always been fascinated by invention and you think that you have the intellect, then you should check out Intellectual Ventures’ Jobs page. They have 50 positions posted right now, and most require a high level of education and experience, but a few seem suitable for new grads. Whether or not a position is right for you will rely heavily on how relevant your background is, so it makes more sense to browse the listings yourself to see what fits. You should also note that Intellectual Ventures has satellite offices in Silicon Valley, Austin, Tokyo, Beijing, Singapore, Seoul, and Bangalore.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you read SuperFreakonomics yet?

Doctors Without Borders

Willy Franzen — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:41:30 +0000

I was traveling yesterday, so I scheduled yesterday’s post and hopped on a plane. Little did I know that my server would somehow forget to do what I told it. Sorry! If you’re looking for yesterday’s post, you can find it here. (Or if you’re reading by e-mail, just scroll down.)

There are a lot of people who aren’t very thrilled with healthcare in the United States. Yes, it can be atrociously expensive, but at least we have access to pretty much any medical procedure out there. Whether it’s something very basic or something that has never been tried before, the US certainly has the medical infrastructure to get the job done. There are plenty of countries in the world where even the most basic medical care is out of reach, and there are other countries where basic medical care becomes out of reach due to a crisis. That’s where New York City based Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) comes in. They provide “aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters.” Doctors Without Borders does this by recruiting both medical and non-medical personnel to travel abroad to offer a level of medical assistance that is well beyond what is typically available.

MD Not Necessary

You don’t have to go to med school to make a difference through Doctors Without Borders. There are plenty of opportunities for lay people to get involved and make a difference. Here’s a sample of the work that Doctors Without Borders does:

In 2006, MSF medical teams gave more than 9 million outpatient consultations; hospitalized almost half a million patients; delivered 99,000 babies; treated 1.8 million people for malaria; treated 150,000 malnourished children; provided 100,000 people living with HIV/AIDS with antiretroviral therapy; vaccinated 1.8 million people against meningitis; and conducted 64,000 surgeries.

If that sounds like the kind of work that you’d like to be involved with, then you should head over to Doctors Without Borders’ Work page. You can learn more about working in the field, or you can take a look at their Office opportunities. Right now they’re looking for an IT/Network/Help Desk Assistant and a Communications Assistant. Both positions look suitable for new grads, so send a cover letter and résumé to employment.msfusa@newyork.msf.org if you’re interested.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Doctors Without Borders?

RxArt

Willy Franzen — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:52:03 +0000

Last night I went to an event for National Coaching Fellows (I’m on their board). It was held at an art gallery, and it went extremely well. For the past few years, the organization has been struggling to feel legitimate (that’s a common problem with startups, non-profit or for-profit). Holding an event at a place with expensive art on the walls made a drastic difference—it felt real. Even though I’m not all that interested in art, there was no doubt in my mind that the art on the walls played a huge role in the mood of the event. RxArt is a New York City based non-profit that is taking advantage of this effect in a very different way. They curate contemporary art exhibitions in healthcare facilities to “relieve stress and anxiety, while increasing appreciation for contemporary art” for patients and staff. Considering how cold hospitals and doctor’s offices usually feel, I think this is an amazing idea.

An Rx for Your Job Search

Being a patient sucks. No matter how much better off you’ll be after going in for treatment, you never actually want to be in a medical facility. RxArt will never be able to change that, but they can make the process a little more pleasant. Through a variety of projects and working with a number of contemporary artists, RxArt is improving everyday people’s lives. I wouldn’t even be surprised if the health outcomes of people who are cared for in RxArt facilities end up being a tiny bit better than those in places with bare walls. I don’t know that we’ll ever seen an epidemiological study of RxArt’s effectiveness, so for now we’ll have to go off of their stories. If you’d like to be a part of those successes, then you might want to consider working for RxArt. Right now they’re looking for a Director of Development. This isn’t typically the kind of job that I’d feature here (that title usually requires a bunch of experience), but the job posting leaves it open enough that I think that you might want to check it out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of RxArt?