Scientist Snapshot | Jonathan Welsh, Senior Bioanalytical Scientist

Jonathan Welsh joined Sterling’s Deeside team in 2023 as a Senior Bioanalytical Scientist. In his role, Jonathan is responsible for method development and quality control analysis of large molecule drug conjugates.

Can you tell me about your background?

I went to the University of Liverpool where I studied a master’s in chemistry with medicinal pharmacology, before going on to a role within a small pharmaceutical company.

Here, I worked on small molecule inhalation products, and this was my first real exposure to GMP and development laboratory work.

In 2012, I moved to Leeds for a biochemistry role with a contract research organisation, which is very similar to the work I do now at the Deeside site. I was here for around three years undertaking various analytical testing, including validation and routine GMP testing of HPLC and capillary electrophoresis methods for protein and antibody drug conjugate (ADC) analysis.

I then moved back to Liverpool in 2015 to work on the development and validation of methods for small molecule analytics within the New Product Development department at Teva Pharmaceuticals. I was here for around eight years before joining the team at Sterling’s Deeside site.

I decided to join Sterling as I wanted to get back into the biochemistry space; I think this area of pharmaceutical development is really exciting, and I was eager for another opportunity within this space.

What does your role as Senior Bioanalytical Scientist involve?

Although quite varied, my responsibilities in this role are for the method development and quality control analysis of large molecule drug conjugates. My team and I are involved with both GMP and non GMP projects, developing and testing new methods from the validation stage all the way through to GMP stability and release testing.

Another part of my role is validating new equipment at the site, as well as scheduling work and managing a range of projects.

How does your team and the work you do support our customers?

We collaborate closely with our customers to understand their project requirements, desires, and timelines to ensure that their needs are met. We then work with them throughout their project to ensure we deliver on these promises, as well as the highest quality service possible.

If we face project challenges, we like to go to our customers with a solution rather than a problem. So, we focus on drawing on the knowledge and expertise of the team at the Deeside site, as well as across our global network, in order to achieve the best outcome for our customers.

How does your team and the work you do support our customers?

We collaborate closely with our customers to understand their project requirements, desires, and timelines to ensure that their needs are met. We then work with them throughout their project to ensure we deliver on these promises, as well as the highest quality service possible.

If we face project challenges, we like to go to our customers with a solution rather than a problem. So, we focus on drawing on the knowledge and expertise of the team at the Deeside site, as well as across our global network, in order to achieve the best outcome for our customers.

How important is partnership and collaboration with our customers in your role?

As a contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), this is critical. We apply our values during every interaction with our customers, ensuring we are transparent and honest in our conversations with them is key to projects running smoothly and ensuring success.

What is your favourite thing about your role at Sterling?

Probably what attracted me to the role in the first place, which is the science. I enjoy the nuances involved with analysing drug conjugates, and there’s been really quick industry growth in this area, which means there’s a lot of variety in the types of projects we get to work on at the site.

Our site and teams are very flexible when it comes to meeting our customers’ requirements, working in collaboration with them to ensure we achieve the desired result. Not only does this benefit our customers, but this also gives our employees the opportunity to be exposed to a lot of different areas of the business, which is great for their training and development.