Top 10 Skills for an R&D Researcher

Alex Philippidis Senior News Editor Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

Want a job in research? Look here first.

Ever wonder what heads of drug discovery laboratories look for when they decide to hire new researchers for their staffs? We’re sure you have. And so did we. So, we asked a number of top discovery scientists who have experience in both industry and/or academia about what they considered to be a good skill set for aspiring drug discovery and development investigators. We received their input and put together the list below, which details the most common responses we received from them.

Strong background in biochemistry, cell biology, and organic chemistry.

Solid training in a basic research laboratory.

Ability to handle large datasets and conduct expert data analysis.

Analytical thinker and critical problem solver.

Excellent time manager with the ability to work independently.

A technophile who’s neither afraid of technology nor enamored by it.

Experience in working as part of a multidisciplinary research team.

A knack for finding new drug discovery targets.

Ability to clearly recognize when your research project is taking you down a dead end.

A leader skilled in interpersonal communication.

GEN especially wishes to thank the following GEN Advisory Board Members for their input to this listing: James Inglese, Ph.D., NIH Chemical Genomics Center; Sumio Sugano, M.D., Ph.D., University of Tokyo; and Carl Wittwer, M.D., Ph.D., University of Utah.