James Mc Keown

Experience

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  Boots Ireland

  Jul 2011 - Aug 2011

  Pharmacy Undergraduate-Summer Student

  My position involved contributing to a variety of activities at store level which included:-Working with Healthcare Advisors in the responsible provision of OTC medicines and healthcare advice, screening patient queries and referring to the pharmacist when necessary-Collaborating with store management to help reach specific sales and customer care targets for the branch within the organisation e.g: I as part of the team to surpass our Nurofen Express launch sales targets and heavily involved in the product roll out in store-Developing my clinical knowledge, time management and communication skills through shadowing and assisting both dispensers and pharmacists to fill prescriptions-Was involved in monitoring and managing OTC stock levels and ordering of products to ensure efficient stock turnover-Helped to identify rationale behind monthly change in stock turnover and product sales with a view to optimising business conduct to ensure store targets were achieved. Show less

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  University Hospital Waterford

  Aug 2012 - Aug 2012

  Summer Student

  I undertook a short one week work placement to get insight into how pharmacists contribute to the patient health in a secondary care environment.Working with various healthcare and pharmacy staff I :- Underwent rotation in a variety of departments: CCU, AMU, ICU, SARI Antimicrobial Stewardship, Clinical Trials management and research for Roche Pharmaceuticals on a novel drug agent, Chemotherapy Compounding Unit- Actively contributed to patient care and medicines management on individual, ward and hospital levels.through building on my teamwork and critical thinking / problem solving skills in a Multidisciplinary Team Show less

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  Boots Ireland

  Jul 2013 - Aug 2013

  Pharmacy Undergraduate-Summer Student

  This position built on my current store and community pharmacy experience through:-Provision of healthcare services in particular the stop for good smoking cessation service in-store-Greater involvement in dispensary responsibilities which included repeat prescription management, liaison with fellow Boots pharmacies and local GP surgeries, claims verification.-Further patient- centred OTC service provision and improvement of consultation and interview skills though handling of patient queries, concerns and problems encountered.-Involvement in dispensary self auditing process carried out in conjunction with the Area Manager and store pharmacist Show less

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  School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Trinity College Dublin

  Jun 2014 - Aug 2014

  Research Assistant

  Supervisors: Prof. Mary Meegan and Mr. Andrew ByrneOutputs achieved:-Further derivitisation of nitrostyrene base structures -refining current promising compounds tested in biochemical cell cultures-Achieved further crystalline structures for X-ray analysis of compounds in lieu of exploring SARs and the establishment of possible target action sites.Skills/Techniques learned:-Further synthesis routes and techniques in organic chemistry such as the Vilsmeier–Haack reaction-Problem solving skills in relation to characterisation of organic compounds using spectroscopy and spectrometry Show less

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  Irishtown Pharmacy

  Sept 2014 - Sept 2015

  Pre-registration Pharmacist

  As part of my role ,I was involved in contributing to a wide spectrum of activities which included:Management of MDS tray system in the pharmacy, involving medicine supply to both nursing home and local patients ensuring efficient planning of time and staff resources so that patients receive their medications on time and that their clinical needs are addressed to the highest standardsBeing part of the dispensary team involving :-The accurate screening ,running , labelling and dispensing of prescribed patient medication-Procurement of medical products through reliable channels necessary for our patient's medical care-Liaison with local GP surgeries in relation to regular prescription collection and ordering on behalf of patients-Stock control, rotation and appropriate medicines disposalDealing with patient's medical and lifestyle related queries advocating for a patient-centred approachHelping in the provision of pharmacy health screening services such as BP measurement and was a key player in the successful provision of the seasonal influenza vaccination programme in the pharmacy Show less

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  Trinity College Dublin

  Oct 2015 - Feb 2021

  As part of the Masters in Pharmacy course (M.Pharm.), I was involved in helping to deliver the following modules:PH1101-Inorganic Chemistry in Pharmacy-this was from a foundation knowledge ofvalency and coordination bonds to current therapies which centre around inorganicelements (1 st Year Pharmacy students) PH3110-Beta Agonists (Medicinal Chemistry behind their drug design and clinicaluse in Asthma & COPD therapy-3 rd Year Pharmacy students) PH2101-Heterocyclic Chemistry, Acid-Base Chemistry –Covered the concept ofreactivity of various heterocycles , effect of pH; pKa values on functional groupreactivity (2 nd Year Pharmacy students)I was involved in the preparation and delivery of a series of lectures on the medicinal chemistry of anticancer agents to 3rd year pharmacy students which covered the topics of:-alkylating agents-organometallics-antineoplastic antibiotics-antimetabolites Show less Project title: Discovery of therapies for lymphomas & leukaemia: Synthesis and antiproliferative action of novel ethanoanthracenesMy PhD work involved drug discovery, optimisation and exploration of the activity of maprotiline based anticancer agents in CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia)In doing so, I have been exposed to the following techniques:-Small molecule synthesis,purification & characterisation (NMR,IR, LC-MS, HPLC)-Reaction and crystallization optimisation (% yield, impurity purging)-X-ray Crystallography-UV & Fluorescence spectroscopy -Flow Cytometry-FACS analysis-Mammalian cell culture & storage-Cellular based assays such as Alamar Blue (cell viability), reactive oxygen species (ROS) assays-Molecular modelling, Cheminformatics & CADD (Computer Aided Drug Design)Furthermore, I have good experience of grant and research proposal writing during my PhD (Irish Cancer Society, Irish Research Council, CAS Future Leaders initiatives) . Show less As part of my college studentship and PhD, I served as a demonstrator and seniordemonstrator for a wide variety of modules in the Pharmacy programme in TCD across years1-4: Clinical Skills-Pharmacy Practice, Dispensing & OSCEs (Objective StructuredClinical Examinations)-this included dealing with professional skills such as patientcare, differential diagnosis of minor illnesses, disease presentation ,communicationskills. Pharmaceutical chemistry-Organic Synthesis & Analytical Chemistry Pharmacognosy-Plant material testing, physical and analytical identification againstpharmacopoeial standards Pharmacokinetics & Pharmacodynamics- Clinical ADME calculations & modelling ofclinically relevant drugsIn addition to this students were also referred to me by lecturing staff for one to one tuitionwhere needed in spectroscopy &; molecule characterisation covering IR, NMR, MS and UVanalytical techniques. Show less

  • Temporary Lecturing Cover

    Sept 2018 - Feb 2021

  • PhD Student in Pharmaceutical Chemistry

    Oct 2015 - Feb 2020

  • Laboratory Demonstrator & Senior Lab Demonstrator

    Oct 2015 - Feb 2020
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  Clarity Locums

  Dec 2015 - Jan 2020

  Locum Pharmacist
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  PharmaConex

  Jan 2016 - Feb 2020

  Locum Pharmacist
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  Thomas St Pharmacy

  Apr 2016 - Dec 2019

  Locum Pharmacist
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  Solvotrin Therapeutics - Active Iron

  Jan 2020 - Aug 2021

  Postdoctoral Research and Development Scientist

  In this role, I was investigating the possible mechanisms of action of lead compounds identified in previous studies. This involved:- fluorescence and luminescence binding assay research, design, method development, implementation and troubleshooting (TR-FRET, FP, Luciferase)-working in research team helping with stability and metabolism studies using HPLC -building on previous molecular modelling experience through docking studies of lead compounds and known actives on protein targets of interest in addition to cheminformatics analysis-expansion of existing panel of drug candidates through SAR determination and subsequent derivative synthesis Show less

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  APC

  Aug 2021 - Jun 2022

  Process Development Scientist 2

  Provision of technical support, guidance and oversight on pharmaceutical process research and development projects and activities within APC’s small molecule commercial projects portfolio. This includes:-Identification and characterisation of key process parameters and development space of client projects (incl. yield, impurity tracking and purging, particle engineering (crystallisation), reaction optimisation)-Data rich experimentation utilizing PAT (process analytical technology) such as FBRM, PVM, IR, Raman-Computational modelling and prediction for solvent selection, solvate forming propensity, reaction kinetics, crystal shape/ crystal growth kinetics-Authoring of technical presentations, updates, reports and client facing materials and informationMentorship of junior team members-both within and outside of projectsCross-disciplinary and cross-functional collaboration (process scientists, engineers, quality, safety) to deliver value-added changes on client process development and API drug productionAs part of this role, I upskilled by completing the following internally delivered courses:-Crystallization principles, fundementals and practical considerations-Interviewer skills-Lean Six Sigma White belt trainingI am also involved in the promotion of and positive change within lab safety in the Chemistry function, as well as being an active member in our Environmental and Green committee.Other internal memberships of note:-Process development group-Molecular modelling group-New Research areas group Show less

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  Syngenta

  Jan 2023 - Feb 2024

  Formulation Chemist-Principal Scientist

  -Provision of formulation expertise for early stage New Active Ingredients (AIs)-enabling initial biological testing (glasshouse, semi-field and field trials)-Formulation optimization in early stage product development and product definition-working in multidisciplinary and cross functional teams to deliver robust product concepts that are safe, efficient and cost-effective. Involves working over a broad range of formulation technologies e.g. SC, EC, FS, WG, WP and utilization of particle engineering and solid state analysis techniques (wet milling, PSD, pXRD, DSC, optical microscopy).-With my backgorund as a pharmacist and medicinal chemist, providing technical input on toxicology studies for AI and product registration as needed- Using of molecular modelling and cheminformatics to inform formulation, co-formulant and solvent selections e.g COSMO RS, HSPiP, leading to more informed and efficient screening processes in early stage product development-Representing Formulation Development on cross-functional project teams as main point of contact -Acting on select projects as the responsible formulation chemist for pilot-plant trials of new AI formulations and subsequent testing and stability in conjunction with formulation engineering-Acting site visitor contact for Formulation Development department Show less

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  Novartis

  Mar 2024 - now

  Functional Lead in Biologics (Global Drug Development)