This post was written following the September 28, 2017 iJOBS event with Regeneron Regeneron prides itself for being a company thriving on quality research and the active role it plays in the entire life cycle of its drugs. The company was found by two M.D Ph.Ds (Leonard S. Schleifer and George D. Yancopoulos) with the goal of creating regenerative medicine for neuroscience research. The company, which initially received $1 million in venture capital funding, now has over 5,500 employees and 6 FDA-approved drugs, which were all invented in-house, from start to finish. We learned this and more from company representatives, George Peterson (talent acquisition specialist) and Jonathan Cruz (postdoctoral fellow and Rutgers alum), at the iJOBS event on September 28. There are various options available to students who are thinking of applying for a post-doc position, or an industry job and the company has an array of career options for both academic and non-academic positions. Here are some of the exciting things we learned about Regeneron: Post-doc positions: I start with this because you can do a post-doc at Regeneron regardless of your career interest – academia or industry. They enroll 7 post-docs per year (5 for the R&D track and 2 for their genetics center). The application process begins in October, ends in December, and the position starts in July or August. It is a 4-year program, but the average post-doc spends 2.5 - 3 years with the company. You are required to be there for the first 2 years, but can leave after your first-author publication. Some of the post-doc opportunities at this company remind me of academia and the iJOBS program. They have research advisors, committees, career mentors and professional development classes (e.g. science writing) that can help you get the training you need for your career goal. The program is relatively new, but 8 out of 9 people who did their post-doc at Regeneron now work there. If you are interested in working for Regeneron, check out their post-doc program as a way of getting your foot in the door. This is especially true for people interested in drug discovery positions as they put a heavy emphasis on post-doc training for new hires. 
Genetics center: The company prides itself on having one of the most comprehensive genetics databases, which was launched in 2014. Since then, the center has sequenced over 180,000 human exomes and now sequences approximately 150,000 exomes annually. The goal of this facility is to be able to rapidly detect genetic factors that play a role in human diseases. The employees at this facility have a range of projects, such as gene sequencing and disease modeling, which help strengthen preclinical and clinical pipelines. Exciting technologies: Regeneron has advanced technologies to help them speed up the R&D process. They created Velocigene, a technology that allows for rapid alteration of mouse DNA, as well as Velocimmune, a method for producing fully human antibodies. There are other exciting veloci-based technologies created by the company; it is no surprise that they had two FDA-approved drugs in the past year alone. If you enjoy making new discoveries and have interests in genetics and immunology you should definitely see the incredible impact Regeneron is making in those areas. Science writing: Unlike a lot of companies, Regeneron values peer-reviewed publications and has published 99 articles in 2016 alone. The company values research programs and takes pride in sharing their work with the scientific community and employees are encouraged to publish their work. If you want to combine a love for research and writing in a non-academic setting this is a place to look into. Science outreach: The company is one of three sponsors of the science talent search, which allows high school seniors to participate in a science research competition. The prestigious program allows students to present their work to professors in the field and Regeneron has pledged to support the program for 10 years with $100 million. The application is now open and runs through November 15, so if you know a high school student with a passion for science and math then have them check out the program. If you enjoy science outreach then find out how you can make an impact through Regeneron. Partnership with academia: While the company prides itself in its ability to conduct thorough research and make new discoveries; they also value collaborations with both academic institutions and small companies. They have over 45 research partners to help them with skills that may not be readily available to them, which was evidenced by their partnership with Intellia Therapeutics to develop CRISPR/CAS techniques. Thus, working with research facilities, or small companies that partner with Regeneron can be an initial step to working for the company. In addition to the great programs they offer, the company has a nice culture of nurturing and enhancing employee skills. They support patient communities and they believe in “doing well by doing good”. If you want more reasons to consider the company, they are rated as one of the 100 best companies to work for (3 years in a row), and 94% of the employees are proud to work there. These are some of the reasons why George Peterson referred to Regeneron as “the humble organization”; Regeneron believes in not letting bureaucracy stifle good ideas. Regeneron currently has over 300 positions available, across the board, and they are willing to sponsor H-1B applicants for both post-doc and career opportunities. Before you apply, keep in mind that they rarely have openings for associate scientist positions, which is an entry-level position for new Ph.Ds. They prefer a post-doc training for R&D positions.
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