“The number one pain in any company is if you don't hire the right people, you don't get the right culture, and if you don't get the right culture, you don't get the right company. ”
In this episode, I talked with Dr. Leila Jaffar, CEO of Nuclidium, where she shares her journey from a childhood influenced by her father's passion for science to becoming a leader in the biotech industry. She discusses the challenges she faced during her career, including personal and professional, and her transition from academia to industry. Leila elaborates on the mission of Nuclidium, focusing on the development of copper-based diagnostics and therapeutics for oncology. She also emphasizes the importance of company culture, the impact of every team member, and the lessons learned in leadership and hiring.
Here's what you're in:
- What is the goal with Nuclidium?
- What is unique about Nuclidium?
- If someone was listening to this - why should they join Nuclidium?
- Why life science and why a PhD in Biophysics?
- Why did you decide to go down the founder route?
- What are some painful lessons you have learnt through hiring?
- How can networking becomes crucial for career advancement?
- What is the reality of being a CEO?
Timestamps:
02:08 Journey into Life Sciences
04:26 Dealing With Career's Lowest Point
09:31 Getting A Job After Finishing PhD
11:09 Founding of her Own Company
14:37 Nuclidium and What Sets It Apart
21:55 Why Join Nuclidium - What is its Culture?
24:22 Lessons Learned Through Hiring and Managing People
27:38 Quickfire Questions
About Leila
- Dr. Leila Jaafar, CEO of Nuclidium, a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical working on copper-based diagnostics and therapeutics.
- Dr. Leila is also the co-founder of LinaThera, which is partnered with Nuclidium and focuses on the production of medical radionuclides.
- Prior to joining Nuclidium, she was the CEO of Swiss Nuclides for 5 years and Program Manager at Areva for 6 years.
- Outside of her professional role, she plays the violin and loves to read in her free time.
Connect with Leila: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leila-jaafar-605642130/
About Nuclidium
- Nuclidium is a biotech company focused on developing copper-based radiopharmaceuticals for precision oncology, aiming to provide personalized cancer treatments with improved accuracy and accessibility.
- The company utilizes a proprietary CuTrace platform that combines copper radiometals with cancer-targeting molecules to create both diagnostic and therapeutic products.
- The program consists of two components:some text
- 61Cu-NuriPro: A diagnostic radiotracer for imaging and staging prostate cancer
- 67Cu-NuriPro: A therapeutic counterpart for treating prostate cancer
Company Website: https://nuclidium.com/
Pipeline: https://nuclidium.com/pipeline/
About Me
My name is Charles Spence and I lead Discera. After many years working in the life-science recruitment world, I decided to work for myself. Before doing recruitment I graduated with a biomedical degree, have worked in hospitals (including translation work in Seoul, South Korea), and also spent a year working in diabetes research in Stockholm. After doing research and travel, a career in business and science felt the most appropriate.
In 2023, I decided to launch his firm - Discera Search. A firm committed to solving the biggest talent needs of early clinical stage SME biotechs on the East Coast and DACH.
Connect with me:
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-spence-clinical/
Website: https://www.discera-search.com/
