Buzzin’ Brood: Student Spotlight – Jessica D’Apice, FCC Biotech Bootcamp Graduate

Jessica D’Apice brings a unique blend of business systems expertise and biotech curiosity to the table. With a Bachelor of Science from Towson University and years of experience implementing enterprise digital solutions, she took a deep dive into the world of contract research organizations (CROs), where she first encountered the complexities of drug and treatment development. After being laid off, Jessica saw the Frederick Community College Biotech Bootcamp as an opportunity to gain hands-on lab experience and bridge the gap between digital product management and biotech. Now, she’s looking to apply her knowledge in ways that directly impact the industry. Read on to learn more about what’s shaping her next steps!

How did you get here?

After 6 years as a business systems analyst at various organizations implementing various out-of-the-box enterprise digital business solutions like ERP, CRM, LMS, and rights management systems, I joined a contract research organization (CRO). I started as a project manager implementing SAP ERP for the organization’s entities acquired through mergers and acquisitions. I then joined permanently as a product manager to lead teams building a custom platform for internal customers to manage applications that enable clients to track pre-clinical studies, estimate service pricing, and purchase animal models and other product offerings. It was here that I first learned about the end-to-end drug and treatment development lifecycle. Laboratory and manufacturing personnel used the applications that my teams built, and I wanted to learn more about what they did. Before I could request to get into a lab to shadow and learn, I was laid off from the company. I pursued the Biotech Bootcamp to get that lab experience, understand the processes, and not only recontextualize everything I had learned at the CRO, but also prepare for potential future roles managing products used/handled by laboratory and manufacturing personnel.

What is currently blowing your mind right now? 

During the course of the Biotech Bootcamp, I learned so much. One of the things that really stuck with me was the fact that most (if not all) of the cells in the human body are negatively charged. I never knew that, or really even thought about it, nor the implications of that fact from a treatment delivery standpoint, until this bootcamp.

If you could explain yourself right now in only emojis, what would those be? 

If you could travel in to the future… what does your LinkedIn Headline say?

If you had unlimited resources to start your own company, what problem would you solve? What would be the name of your company? 

I would honestly continue doing what I'm currently doing - leveraging relationships and technology to solve various problems, both those in present and those anticipated in the future.

Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn!