Rob Pulido

Senior Scientist, Clinical Development

I did a brief exploratory internship in neurology clinical development at Ionis during my Ph.D. and clicked very well with my team, the role and the company. After graduate school I rejoined the group, which is responsible for the planning, design and implementation of clinical trials using antisense oligonucleotides for neurological indications.

I enjoy clinical development because it is deeply rooted in science, but also requires me to be involved in many other facets that are essential to shepherding a drug through development. In the future, I look forward to seeing the drug programs that I am currently working on soon enter the clinic as well as stepping into more of a leadership role for some drug programs that are in earlier stages of Ionis’ diverse and large pipeline.

1. What motivates the work you do at Ionis?
   My primary motivation is the patients. Knowing that there are sick people that have no options and that we have potentially transformative and life-saving therapies for them makes me do my best work so that we are designing the most safe, efficient and scientifically sound clinical trials.
2. How would you describe the Ionis company culture?
   Passionate, innovative and science driven. Passionate because you really get a sense that people believe in what we’re doing as a company and thus care deeply about doing good work. Innovative because I think scientific progress is made by asking novel and creative questions which drove the genesis of Ionis and has been systematically engraved in its legacy and culture. Science driven because Ionis recognizes that having good drugs stem from doing good science and thus emphasize it greatly.
3. How have you grown in your professional development at Ionis?
   Having come from an academic neuroscience research background, I entered my position at Ionis from a very naïve perspective on how drug development works. Since then I’ve learned how all the various internal and external functions/disciplines interact throughout the drug development process. This has allowed me to truly understand the big picture and all the codependent variables we need to consider in clinical development.
4. What is your favorite thing about your day-to-day at Ionis?
   I love that every day is different. Clinical development gets involved in a diverse set of responsibilities, tasks and meetings so there is never a dull day and I always learn something new.
5. Favorite Ionis moment or career highlight?
   My favorite Ionis career moment was when Huntington’s Disease and Acromegaly patients were invited to come speak to the entire company to tell their personal stories and what Ionis’ efforts mean to them. It was very helpful for me to put all the work we’re doing in context and remind myself why we do what we do.