Employee Highlight: Tim Bonnert, Ph.D., Director of Applied Science

Tim joined Rosetta Biosoftware in February, 2006 and works in the United Kingdom. In this interview, Tim describes how he enjoys interacting with and training customers to help them to get the most benefit from their Rosetta Biosoftware products.

What is your background?

I received my Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and spent two years as a Post Doctoral Fellow at Immunex Corporation (now part of Amgen) in Seattle, before returning to the UK to join Merck Research Labs. I have more than 10 years of pharmaceutical research experience in molecular biology, bioinformatics, and biomarker discovery using a range of molecular profiling techniques.

What do you do as the Director of Applied Science?

I first interact with users of our systems before they actually become users themselves. Organizations or laboratories looking to increase their productivity by licensing our software, frequently send us data as part of a system evaluation. In this way, they can see their data in our software, and start to appreciate the benefits of our solutions.

These data evaluations are often blinded or made anonymous, so the analysis is done in a very objective, exploratory manner. It’s a lot of fun using our systems to ‘fish’ for statistical or biological understanding from this outside perspective.

Are you involved with training?

Yes indeed! Training is the other main way I get to interact with users. We have always had a very efficient and knowledgeable Customer Support team, but many customers benefit from supplementing this more ad-hoc support with dedicated system training. I, together with a talented group of Application Scientists, provide a range of on-site or internet-based training for the Resolver, Elucidator, and Syllego systems. This can range from system orientation for new users, to advanced training, to very focused 1:1 training with specific customer data sets.

How do you help customers get the most benefit from their Rosetta Biosoftware products?

With training, it’s great to see and understand the different scientific challenges, objectives and requirements that different groups have, and how the flexibility of the systems can address these needs. I liken training to learning to drive a car. At first, it is all procedural; how to steer, brake, change gear, etc., but the ‘how’, is not ‘why’ you learn to drive. The fun is applying this knowledge in the right way, for the right objective. Different objectives may require different routes, and yield different rewards. Training, in its different forms, allows users to see the different analysis options that are available, and to have the confidence to apply these appropriately. Having been a research scientist and an end-user is a great advantage.

What would you say is the best thing about your position?

I’ve always liked variety in a job. In the role that I do here, it’s nice to have some pre-sales interaction and data analysis, and then to be able to train and impart some of my knowledge and prior experience with the different systems to our end-users. 

What do you do in your spare time?

I’ve recently moved. The house is an old Victorian house, with over an acre of garden, and there’s lots of work to do both inside and outside.