When Jack Moody graduated with a BSc in biochemistry, he hadn’t considered a career in clinical research and was unsure about which career path to take. Now, he’s a year into his new role as a CPM with the start-up ROKC, has completed two CGX training courses and has over 3 years of experience in the clinical research field.

With the help of CGX and the CRA (Clinical Research Associate) Beginners course and recent CPM (Clinical Project Manager) Beginners course, Jack has grown into a confident and capable clinical researcher and practitioner — and he’s only getting started.

What made you think about clinical research as a career choice?

It kind of found me to be honest. It’s a career path that feels a bit hidden when you finish your education. After I finished university, I applied for lots of jobs and grad schemes without much success. I just didn’t really know what I wanted to do or how to write a successful application. Eventually I got my first interview and job as a Clinical Research Assistant with St Stephen’s Clinical Research.

Clinical Research really wasn’t a position or career I had considered… it can feel quite niche. But after reading and learning more about it I found it was the right fit for me. You get to be a part of the science of many different medicines and studies and have a healthy salary alongside it.

I absolutely love clinical research. There’s a scope of different things you get to work on, whether it’s biotech or cancer treatment, any new science you read about you know there’ll be some form of clinical trial you could get the chance to work on. I learnt so much working in HIV research, for example with St Stephen’s Clinical Research. It’s challenging work though – you need to combine your understanding of science with management skills and people skills, patience and due diligence.

how did you hear about cgx?

At this point, I had quite a bit of experience and treated my first job as an opportunity to absorb as much information as I could. But after I left St Stephen’s I joined and was promoted to Clinical Research Associate and Data Management Assistant with the start-up company ROKC. It was quite a big step-up.

The company and I recognised I needed extra guidance and more context about the role. There’s so much that comes with being a CRA I couldn’t necessarily learn on the job. It’s for that reason my company looked at CGX to provide that training; we recognised it provided the direct, hands-on and practical experience I needed.

You completed the CRA Beginners Course about 2 years ago, what made you come back for the CPM Beginners Course this year?

After a couple of years of the CRA role I was offered the role of Clinical Project Manager with ROKC. I was very lucky to have been offered the role — there have been fairly rapid changes to my career since I started in clinical research.

Although I’ve got the background of how the CRA position works within a company, it’s very different to stepping into a CPM role. You need to understand how Clinical Project Management works with different companies, the regulations, the main players you work with… for example you could be a project manager working with a pharmaceutical company, or a bio-tech company. So, having that wider context and understanding is so so important. I needed to have a fuller understanding of Clinical Project Management and how it could change from project to project.

That’s why myself and my company felt it was time for me to revisit CGX. The CPM Beginners course has been really helpful and enabled me to identify things we’re doing well within the company I work for, and things we could do to improve. Especially since we’re a start-up, it’s important to be able to contribute something to our operations.

what did you think of the course format?

I did both my courses in-person which I personally get a lot more out of as I can imagine some people would thrive more in an online learning environment. But the format is great! Both the tutors Lia and Efe had such a great depth of knowledge. They’ve gained a lot of practical experience and wisdom working with lots of different companies, and they were happy to discuss that experience with us as well.

It’s a really relaxed, interactive atmosphere. Rather than it feeling regimented, they’re happy to open a discussion with you, or spend more time focusing on specific topics and areas. It’s a good mix of being able to listen to presentations and put that into group discussions and workshops where you work on a problem. There are enough breaks, so the day doesn’t feel like it’s packed in. There’s a lot of information to take in, but there’s still enough time to digest it all.

How will the content from the courses be of value to you in your career going forward?

In the immediate future, the content I’ve learnt from the CPM course is going to make me more efficient and confident doing my current job; bringing a broader understanding to the role. But equally as important as my career develops is the different pathways and information CGX introduced me to. I learnt about how different industries work, places I could apply to and the steps I could take in the future.

Jack Moody is one of the many students we’ve helped to become more confident and capable practitioners, with the knowledge to make empowered career choices in the future.

If you want to find out more about courses, our tutors, career preparation and how we could help, don’t hesitate to contact us today.