The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia’s “Discovery Starts with Me” series was created to support the attraction, retention, and development of life sciences talent within Greater Philadelphia. Through a series of short videos and testimonial quotes shared on LinkedIn and Twitter, talent ambassadors from the region’s research institutions, cell and gene therapy companies, and contract manufacturing organizations are telling their stories about what led them to Greater Philadelphia, the impact they are making in their work, and what they enjoy about the region’s quality of life.

Dr. Kobby Essien, Director of New Product Planning at Adaptimmune, and Dr. Lindsey A. George, Attending Physician, Division of Hematology, and Director of Clinical In Vivo Gene Therapy at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, are two talent ambassadors who have shared their experiences. Other talent ambassadors represent Cabaletta Bio, Center for Breakthrough Medicines, the ChristianaCare Gene Editing Institute, Iovance Biotherapeutics, Passage Bio, Spark Therapeutics, and The Wistar Institute. You can view the videos on the Select website, Chamber’s LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube channels.

If you would like to share your story as a talent ambassador, please contact Grace Hanlon at [email protected].

The Chamber’s Select Greater Philadelphia website provides another resource for talent looking to work in the region’s life sciences industry with its new job openings search tool. The resource communicates the message, “In Greater Philadelphia, we’re in the business of saving lives and improving health outcomes through collaboration and innovation,” and asks, “Want to become part of this mission?” The jobs board allows talent to search by employer, keyword, or location across two industries, with two more industry segments preparing to launch.

Plans are underway for a Life Sciences and Tech Career Fair this winter, hosted by Campus Philly in partnership with the Chamber. College students and early career professionals interested in life sciences, cell and gene therapy, biology, tech, engineering, math, or data management, will have the opportunity to meet with companies that are hiring for job and internship opportunities. This will be the third Life Sciences and Tech Career Fair hosted by the partners. For more information, visit www.campusphilly.com.

Each of these initiatives – the “Discovery Starts with Me” series, job openings search tool, and Life Sciences and Tech Career Fair – was developed with input from Greater Philadelphia’s Life Science Talent Pipeline Collaborative, an employer–led group of 20 organizations representing cell and gene therapy companies and specific academic research labs in the cell and gene therapy space. The partners are committed to addressing the talent needs on the horizon, including attracting, retaining, and developing talent. The Chamber is the convener of the Collaborative, with Sarah Steltz, Vice President, Economic Competitiveness at the Chamber, providing support. The Collaborative is a result of the work of the Greater Philadelphia Cell and Gene Therapy Initiative, a multi-year effort to promote Greater Philadelphia’s cell and gene therapy, gene editing, and connected health sectors. The Collaborative welcomes additional cell and gene therapy employers to join. For more information, contact [email protected].