Here at Mission Bio, we welcome interns and employees to join our team and significantly impact the development of new therapeutics against cancer and other diseases. This spring, we were fortunate to have had Brittney Le join the Informatics team as an intern for four months. She made many valuable contributions, including improving user guides and producing high-quality video tutorials for our Support Center. Brittney took a few minutes to share her background, as well as her thoughts about her time at Mission Bio. She recently graduated from UCLA and is off to her next adventure. We know she will make great contributions in whatever career she pursues.
Tell us a little about yourself and your background.
I was born and raised in San Jose, California, and I recently graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology and Society. I love going on roller coasters and any type of thrill-seeking adventure. I also like to listen to and attend musical theatre performances. In my free time, I enjoy working out and doing various art projects (watercolor, collage, doodling, etc.)
Why did you decide to do an internship in biotechnology?
I was looking to get more insight into molecular biology and actively seek opportunities that would allow me to better understand this field. Mission Bio gave me a chance to learn about various fields during my internship and allowed me to widen my perspective about what is possible with today’s technological advancements.
How was your experience at Mission Bio?
I came into this internship excited yet somewhat apprehensive about this new field I was about to enter. I was elated to combine my interests in biology and technology but felt nervous about the depth of knowledge I was required to know to be able to complete my duties. However, this concern quickly went away due to the endless support I received from my manager, Samantha, and the entire team at Mission Bio. They constantly reassured me about how important it was to go at my own pace. This encouragement gave me the chance to ask questions whenever I had the chance and never feel shy at messaging others for help.
What insights did you gain during your internship?
“Being a part of Mission Bio means being a part of something bigger and better than myself. As I worked with teams around the world, I quickly learned science never sleeps.”
Working with so many people around the clock for the commonality of discovering the mechanisms of cancer showed me how committed everyone is to this gargantuan endeavor and how vital teamwork is. This experience gave me a better understanding of the work necessary to create and push innovation in the scientific field.
I was constantly amazed at the work every team member put in at every hour of the day and this experience taught me it really takes a village to create impact. Having the opportunity to work for a company that is contributing to the development and advancement of cancer research is not something anyone gets to say they get to do and I’m glad I had this opportunity enter my life.
What have you learned about working in the biotech industry?
One of the great things that came from my time here at Mission Bio was my ability to meet so many new people, including interns who were in the same stage of life as me and people who were already well-established in their careers.
“My interactions with my colleagues here at Mission Bio gave me so many new perspectives of what is possible in the biotechnology space and what types of roles I could possibly take myself one day.”
As someone who is about to enter the next stage of my life as a fresh college graduate, it was enlightening to see all the non-linear paths everyone took and what was in store for me one day.
Now that you have graduated, what are you planning to do next?
Following my graduation and internship at Mission Bio, I will be a health policy analyst looking to improve state and federal healthcare policy.
Interested in learning more about what it is like to work at Mission Bio? Visit our Careers page!
