Adam Najduch

Being part of an international university in an international city helps connect you with lots of different kinds of people and ways of thinking.

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Since December 2018 I work as a Quality Control Radiochemist at Alliance Medical Radiopharmacy. They are the radiopharmaceutical manufacturing division of Alliance Medical, producing radio-tracers used in the imaging of cancers using PET-CT and other imaging technologies. My role is to quality control test batches of FDG, the most common radiotracer, prior to injection into a patient.

Before that I worked as an Analytical Chemist at Broughton Laboratories from October 2016 to December 2018 

What do you think was the most valuable aspect of your time at Edinburgh in preparation for your career?

Being part of an international university in an international city helps connect you with lots of different kinds of people and ways of thinking. The facilities at the university are world-class and lecturers come from a range of backgrounds giving insight into a range of different career options.

What advice would you give to students who are interested in your area of work?

Reach out directly to companies and discuss your career aspirations with them.

To start a career as an analytical chemist, you need some knowledge of the general skills required, the common techniques used and how this fits in with regulations around pharmaceuticals. Have a basic knowledge of the regulations and why they’re important to the industry and public safety.

Once you start out, take every opportunity available at a company you work for, push yourself to be exposed to new skills, don’t expect or wait for your manager to put you forward for things. Understand what skills are desirable which are not part of your core role and try to gain exposure to these.

Would you give any advice to your past self?

I did not do any placements during university, however I wish I had to gain more insight into different industries. I wish I had been more proactive seeking opportunities for summer and gap-year placements and wish I had known I could find opportunities myself; I didn’t have to apply for a university provided one.

Interview conducted in 2019.