FIMMPOD is the first professional development programme of its kind in Finland, with the core missions of promoting the wellbeing, networking and career opportunities, mentoring, transferable skill training and recruitment of postdoctoral and senior researchers at FIMM. As part of these efforts, a joint industry-academia postdoctoral position initiative was launched in 2018.
The first, and now the second, such position has been established together with Bayer as the industrial partner. The joint postdoctoral position builds on Bayer’s expertise in clinical trials, FIMM’s experience in industry-academic collaborations and research training, and the existing research collaborations in cancer therapeutics. It is designed to offer simultaneous training in cancer research and translation to and management of clinical trials.
Among the 14 excellent applicants, Dr. Mahesh Tambe stood out thanks to his relevant research experience and excellent problem solving and team leading skills.
“Besides offering an exciting career option, the joint position promotes interactions between FIMM and Bayer. Our interests are clearly aligned and we stand to benefit from good and active relationships with industrial partners, such as Bayer. There were many excellent candidates who showed interest towards the call, underlining the need for more of these types of positions“, said Dr. Markus Vähä-Koskela, FIMMPOD coordinator at FIMM.
Mahesh graduated from Uppsala University, Sweden, in 2010. He received his PhD in the field of cellular and molecular biology from the University of Turku, Finland, in 2016. After completing his PhD thesis, he has been working as a postdoctoral researcher in Krister Wennerberg’s and Caroline Heckman’s research groups at FIMM. His recent projects have focused on molecular mechanisms of drug resistance in acute myeloid leukemia.
“I am truly grateful to the people at FIMM and Bayer who gave me this exciting opportunity, it is a privilege and a clear step forward on my career track. It has always been my goal to be involved both in cancer research and in its translation to clinical use. What a sensation to be able to do both at the same time.”
Dr. Mahesh Tambe, FIMM-Bayer postdoctoral researcher
Within FIMM, Mahesh continues to work on leukemia precision medicine with Research Director Caroline Heckman. Within Bayer, he will work as a Study Manager trainee and will become familiar with clinical studies, project management and leadership.
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