Zak Murray

A combination of studies in science and commerce guided Zak through lab work and sales positions into his current customer-facing role in biotechnology.

I’ve always been curious and liked to see how things worked right down to the cellular level, so I was drawn to maths and the sciences.

After completing a conjoint Science and Commerce degree, I settled on a Biotechnology major for the Honours year. This included being part of a research project looking at the Nosema parasite in honeybees and the parasite’s association with a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder. It worked for me as it had both behavioural/ecology and a molecular focus, as well as direct relevance to a key industry.

Through contacts, I landed a research assistant role at ESR (the Institute of Environmental Science and Research). I was part of a project looking at unique viruses in New Zealand bats. This involved DNA sequencing of bat droppings! I then moved into a technician role in the clinical lab at ESR, this time assessing human swab samples to identify whether respiratory viruses were present and if so, which type of virus they were infected with. This work was particularly relevant in the context of the recent pandemic as many patient samples taken for COVID-19 testing would have been assessed using similar methods (PCR testing) to what I used at ESR.

While I was developing essential technical skills and knowledge, the plan for me was always to combine these skills with the business and marketing skills from my Commerce degree. A job came up at Thermo Fisher Scientific and I went for it. I managed a sales territory for the lower North Island, across a variety of sectors, with a focus on research and academia. My day-to-day role involved helping scientists and technicians find new and innovative products that could assist with their work. I worked with the universities and research institutes, as well as food and beverage companies, district councils, and industrial manufacturers. What I learned from my marketing studies really kicked in, such as understanding the sales process, and concepts and terms that are used in the commercial sector. There were practical skills, too, such as presenting ideas one-to-one and in groups and making complex information understandable.

My study at Honours level was essential in building credibility with customers and learning about the wide range of products that I sold and their usage. The scientific sector is fast-changing and growing but it is still a competitive market. Along with technical/lab skills, my Honours year was a big year for learning key workplace skills such as time management, dealing with pressure, and developing coping mechanisms as I balanced a thesis alongside coursework. In the workplace the pressures were meeting sales targets in a competitive market; however, the coping mechanisms remained the same.

After working for Thermo Fisher Scientific for around two years, I decided to dive back into more science with a PhD at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. My PhD project involved selecting novel nucleic acid molecules (called aptamers) that showed binding to a range of environmental contaminants. The purpose of this was to use the aptamers to identify these contaminants in water samples. After three and a half years in the lab, I decided that lab work wasn’t for me. I went back into a commercial role as a business development manager for Sartorius in New Zealand.

Recently, I moved to the United Kingdom to start a role as technical specialist for Aptamer Group, using the skills from my PhD studies. This role is heavily customer facing but allows me to use my technical PhD background to help my sales colleagues and our customers find the correct solution to the problem they are facing.

My single piece of advice to students wanting to work in cell and molecular bioscience or a related field is to differentiate yourself by combining science with another useful skill set, such as commerce, law, or even the arts.