As a UCD undergrad Craig had wanted to be a pathologist, but was stung by a lecturer’s comments that perhaps “science was not for her”. “I think that comment actually spurred me on,” she laughs. By the time she graduated, she had found her niche in physical chemistry and in particular, molecular modelling. “I just loved it,” she says, “and I found that research project in my final year really got me interested in pursuing a career in Science.”
Determined to continue with her studies, she entered into the world of biosensor design with Professor Robert O’Neill in the UCD School of Chemistry & Chemical Biology. “You really had to fight for a place on that team,” she recalls, noting how she immersed herself in the work, which involved examining polymer coatings on brain sensors. The idea was that they would allow real-time management of brain function following car accidents or other trauma. Peer-reviewed publications followed, providing international acclaim of Craig's PhD work and consolidated her position as a research scientist.
For a time Craig continued down the traditional route of post-doctoral research where she was involved in some lab management. This time it was the management aspect she enjoyed. Soon she was offered a job as project manager of the Applied Neurotherapeutics Research Group based in UCD Conway Institute. It was one of the first groups of be funded by SFI www.sfi.ie/ to the tune of €10.2 million and was run between UCD, TCD and Wyeth Discovery Research and involved managing some 46 people in multidisciplinary teams. “I loved the job -particularly the business end.”
Motivated by the role, Craig went for a position on the MBA Programme in the UCD Smurfit Graduate Business School and within weeks, for the first time since school, she was studying non-scientific subjects. “It was a huge challenge, I had not written any essays in years but it was worth it.”
The benefits extended beyond the course. Her group in the MBA programme still act as a sounding board for one another. “It’s a lonely job being a CEO, you often have to take quite big decisions and the group is a great support mechanism.” Not long after she graduated another opportunity arose.
Her former employer, co-ordinator of the Applied Neurotherapeutics Research Group, Professor Ciaran Regan had set up a UCD spin-out company Berand Neuropharmacology to carry out research and development and niche contract research for pharmaceutical companies. But it required someone at the helm, and Craig joined at the beginning of 2007 and Berand located in NovaUCD at the same time.
The company now has several large clients and employs six full time staff, up from three when she joined. All split their time between contract research for larger corporations such as pharmaceutical companies and the company’s own research. The split is currently about 80:20 in favour of contract research but Craig says she is determined to tip this ratio back to about 50:50.
Much of Berand’s own research is focussed on autism and obesity. While it may seem like an odd combination to the lay person, Craig says it appears that the same drug strategies may work on both. “We are trying to discover new drugs by examining alternative applications for existing drugs, or overlooked therapeutics.”
In obesity research, the company focus is on binge eating and behaviours associated with this that lead to repeated failures by individuals attempting to lose weight. The core symptom of social withdrawal has been the focus of research for novel autism therapeutics, this being an area of unmet clinical need. Initial tests throw up the possibility of using novel compounds which are normally used in cancer treatment.
At the heart of the approach is an in-depth understanding of the mechanisms regulating brain function which when dysfunctional contribute to the emergence of brain disease and thus how novel drugs may be developed to facilitate the brain’s adaptive ability to overcome disease. Although at an early stage, she stresses that successful proof of concept studies have been carried out to date. The contract research focuses on behavioural pharmacological research in neurological conditions, such as depression and schizophrenia, and degenerative brain diseases caused by the loss of neurons in Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Much of it concerns characterisation and proof-of-concept of proposed new drugs that are at the preclinical/clinical stage of development.
Craig relishes the role which she says is both hugely challenging and rewarding. “You have to be very adaptable, you need management skills, people skills and flexibility - a small company is quite different form a more formal corporate environment. You don’t have IT or HR or Finance people so you need to be able to do a bit of everything as well as management accounting, finance and business planning. I could never have done it without the MBA.”
Crucially she says she also needs to be able to understand the research and what it is that the client needs. Her scientific background enables her to quickly establish credibility and get to the heart of the client’s requirements. “The solution we provide is unique and can be tailored to meet the client's specific needs. This means our solution is not only more cost efficient but also provides results in a quicker more efficient manner which allows clients to focus on later stage development and have more cost effective research programmes in house.” says Craig.
“Keeping an ear to the ground of the scientific and business communities, as well as understanding the practical issues faced by potential clients allows us to understand and address the issues facing the sector.”