Henry Bushell’s First Six Months at ApconiX
My name is Henry Bushell and I recently started working at ApconiX in the Business Development team. I received the job advert through my sixth form college careers team, while revising for A-Levels exams. Despite the busy circumstances, I recognised it as an opportunity which I just had to apply for. Knowing that I wanted to take time out before moving onto University and that I wanted to do something business focused (as I plan to study an Economics based degree), this presented to me the ideal opportunity to do just what I wanted. I applied and got through to the interview stage and soon after the interview I was offered the role, starting on August 1st.
I’ve now worked in ApconiX for six months and feel I’ve settled into the role smoothly despite this being my first full-time job. I believe this is down to a few things. Firstly, ApconiX is a reasonably small team, so I have had the chance to speak to the majority of staff. Each member of staff is compassionate and more than willing to help, even while being constantly busy and productive. Meeting many of the ApconiX staff (and people whom ApconiX work with) in person at Alderley Park for our Queen’s Award for Enterprise celebration was then a great opportunity to get to know people and see the facilities. This included a great guide around our lab. Moreover, there are many intra-company events, from staff Teams meetings for everyone to catch up at and for important company updates, alongside other things such as seasonal fundraisers and the planned yearly Christmas dinner and Secret Santa.
Spending time learning about the services ApconiX offer has been a real education. I knew very little about drug discovery and development before joining and even less about toxicology and its important role in getting a successful drug onto the market. Understanding how the safety of drug targets are assessed when James Sidaway as his team compile an Acuity Target Safety Assessment and why hERG is a routinely screened in our ion channel laboratory has been very interesting.
As far as the work I am doing, I have greatly enjoyed speaking to and organising the requests of clients, often getting the opportunity to join calls with them and hear about the work they are doing and how they want ApconiX to help progress their project. Through working alongside Laurence, our Head of Business Development at ApconiX, I have been learning valuable skills in customer relationship management, organisation of requests and efficient use of IT, as well as getting first hand insights into how businesses operate with regards to finance and marketing. From the serious side of being on calls and drafting contracts to the fun side of trialling drug discovery-themed board games, my first three months at ApconiX have been thoroughly enjoyable and I look forward to further showing what I can offer in the role.
